Wooden Driveway Gates - Acceptable Width

[Davidte1974]

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice/opinions regarding some wooden driveway gates we need. We are ready for our builders to sink the posts in and there are several options for placement, none of which are ideal.

The best looking placement of the 6”x6” metal posts would leave a 4.4m span for the entrance. We would like a pair of wooden gates (1.5m high). My question is whether 2.2m width per gate is too wide? Would they sag over time? We are thinking of using Iroko.

Thanks, David

 

[Diver Fred]

Family property gateway is 3m wide with single gate - but is Farm Gate style.

Depending on your planned construction and is the gateway level you could have a roller bearing on the non-hinged end of each gate or at worst a support pin that the gate rests on when closed and fully open.

 

[Davidte1974]

Thanks for those ideas Fred. The driveway is gravel and a bit sloped so a wheel might be difficult but your support pin suggestion could work. I guess something that doesn’t stick up too much with perhaps a metal plate under the gate? What were you thinking for this?
Cheers

 

[Lorenzl]

I have seen a length of timber in the drive sticking up about an inch and the non hinged end of the gates made with a protrusion below the gate that rests on the timber in the ground when closed.

I did wonder what the timber in the ground was until the gates were closed.

 

[Diver Fred]

A (concrete) pad in the ground where the 2 gates meet and 'Pin's' in the bottom of the gate stile. By 'Pin' I'd use a 8 or 10mm Coach Bolt screwed in so the gate stands around 25-35mm clear of the Pad.
In a gravel drive you could use a 200mm square of a concrete paving slab.

 

[TheUnicorn]

on the question of sagging, obviously the better the construction, bracing etc, the less of an issue it would be. That said, I would expect that they would sag over time, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue with adjustable field hinges.

 

[Davidte1974]

Great, thank you! I’ll use the pins and put adjustable hinges on. I’ll let you know how it goes.