The decision on the driveway gate may seem easy enough when you arrive at this point of the question that everyone seems to find themselves in. Should it swing in or out?
This is not something to get wrong and lose convenience. You stand in danger of security problems, town issues, and a gate that quarrels with your driveway on a daily basis. The positive news is that there is an easy method of making the decision. Actually, there are two rules that respond to virtually all situations.
Let’s break it down clearly.
Rule One: The Slope Rule
Never swing a gate into a hill.
When the driveway is slanting upwards leading to the house, the gate must not swing inwards. The law of gravity will never be on your side.
This is what can happen in case this rule is not followed:
- Motors strain and fail early
- Hinges wear unevenly
- Renal resistance is misread by safety sensors
- Gates scrape or stall
A gate swinging up hill will have to struggle against gravity each time it opens. That is a losing cause, particularly where automatic swing gates in Melbourne properties do most of the heavy lifting with motors.
What to do instead
In the event that your driveway is steep:
- Bang the gate out, where you can.
- Or become a sliding design or telescopic design.
The neglect of slope rule results in continuous repairs. It has no lasting workaround.
Rule Two: The Property Line Rule
Always swing a gate into a place of people.
This includes:
- Footpaths
- Nature strips
- Roads
- Council land
When one of your gates goes over the property line to open, it is not good. It’s not just bad design. It’s often illegal.
This is a law that is applicable to all the automatic driveway gates, irrespective of materials and size.
Why this rule matters
A swinging gate, leading to a place of publicity:
- Creates a safety hazard
- Exposes you to liability
- Is able to fail council inspections.
- Risks forced removal
This is why many homes with a small frontage are not able to use outward-swinging gates in case the slope would permit it.
The Interaction of the Two Rules
This is the main thing: the harsh rule prevails.
Let us consider typical situations:
- Flat driveway, considerable internal space.
- In-swing works perfectly.
- Up slope driveway, no external footpath.
- Out-swing is usually better.
- Slope in driveway and footpath external.
- Swing gates are perhaps entirely inappropriate.
This is the point at which the professional advice is very much necessary, particularly to the homes that are thinking about installing aluminium driveway gates in Melbourne, which are usually used because of their clean appearance and being relatively lighter, but still need proper direction of swing.
Physics, Do Not Let Aesthetics Have the Upper Hand
There is an urge to select the swing that appears to be beautiful on the plans or pictures. However, gates are artificial systems initially and design-related characteristics second.
Function comes first and then good design. Always.
The gate which looks the clearest is of no use provided it:
- Struggles on slopes
- Violations of the property lines.
- Is always in need of rearranging.
This is regardless of whether you are putting up steel, timber, or aluminium driveway gates in Melbourne suburbs with narrow designs.
The Bottom Line
Never swing into a hill
No swinging on to the public area
These two rules can resolve the majority of the swing gate Melbourne decisions in real time. All the other things, the materials, the automation, styling, all this is second.
In case of doubt, redesign the type of gate instead of pushing the swing direction in the opposite direction. Since with gates, physics of fighting is always more expensive in the long run.
