Menu
Buying a driveway gate can be a huge decision – it’s the first thing someone sees when coming to your home. Therefore, it needs to look great, maintain security, and most importantly… it needs to work. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to have a driveway gate that only happens half of the time?
We have over 15 years of experience in building driveway gates, so we thought it would be helpful to provide a complete guide to buying a new gate. We’ll break it down into a few different sections to make it easier:
When we’re helping someone come up with a driveway gate design that fits their needs, we like to consider 5 factors. Some may be more important than others, so think about what is most important to you.
Driveway gates operate in much the same way your garage door does. In other words, you probably don’t want to get out of your car before driving through. Most companies will offer a wide range of automation options (button triggered, sensors, etc) so make sure to think about how you want the gate to open. If you’re on a budget, it might make sense not to have an automated open.
Since a driveway gate will stand at the front of your property, it can be opportunity to make your yard more private. Knowing your preference here is important because some materials are more or less private. For example, a wood and iron gate offers more privacy than a standard wrought iron gate. You’ll be able to see the wide range of options when we cover design inspiration in the next section. For now, just think about how important privacy is so you can share that with the company that is helping your build.
One of the most important functions of a driveway gate is to keep unwanted guests out while allowing certain people in. All iron gates we install are secure (because it’s difficult to break down iron), but certain design choices do affect the overall security. For example, if your gate opens manually that means anyone can open it. Think about how important security is to you, especially when deciding if you want an automatic driveway gate. A simple motion detector might be the most convenient, but that could also diminish the security of the gate.
The great thing about working with a metal driveway gate is that you have a variety of materials to consider. To clarify, you can use wrought iron, steel, aluminum, wood, or a combination of all of them. Usually, how the gate is constructed will depend on how important the above categories are and how you want the gate to look. For instance, if privacy is extremely important to you then a metal frame with inserted wood might be the best choice.
Once you have an idea of what functions are important to you it’s time to think about how you want the gate to look. Since this will be the entry to your home, it’s important that the design matches the rest of your architecture. The possibilities are endless, so convenience, privacy, and security are good places to start before looking at the next section.
Use some of the photos below to help you get an idea of what you might want your gate to look like. You can hover over an image and write down its reference number to make it easier when using our free design consult.
The average cost to build and install a driveway gate is $3,700 to $7,000 depending on the size of your driveway, material, and other choices you make during the design process.
Use the above sections to come up with a priority list, then you can contact us to get a more accurate quote.
