Different Types of Gates to Suit Your Fencing Needs (Part 1 of 2)

Few images capture the essence of the classic American home quite like the white picket fence. However, today’s homes feature a wide variety of fence constructions built to increase the privacy, security, beauty, and value of your home.

When choosing a fence, it is important to consider how your gate will support your fencing needs and how it will connect your home to the surrounding community. This article looks at some common reasons why homeowners install a fence and what considerations they should make for its gate.

Keep Intruders Out With Gates

The automated gate system is the ultimate guard dog in the gate family. Automated gates come in a variety of materials and styles, ranging from ornate metalwork to wood slats.

Attachable to almost any fencing system, automated gates come in two main designs:

Swing gates. The most common choice of homeowners, these gates open inwards or outwards in a single- or double-door construction. Swing gates are easier to install and usually cost less than other automated gate systems.

Cantilever and rolling gates. If you have high traffic flow or limited space at the entrance point to your home or residential community, a gate that slides open might be preferable to a swing gate. Rolling gates slide open on a v-track embedded in the driveway, while cantilever gates slide open on a counterbalance system, “free-floating” off the driveway. Although rolling gates take up less space, cantilever gates are ideal for homes that experience frequent snow or ice that might obstruct the track on a typical rolling gate.

Access Control

In addition to gate design, you will want to consider what type of access control best suits the traffic flow of your home. Your gate can be equipped with a card reader, telephone entry pad, or radio control, depending on what you find to be most convenient and secure.

Automated Gates

Automated gates once posed a safety risk of entrapment, particularly for small children, but in 2001 the US Consumer Product Safety Commission mandated the use of sensors, similar to those found on garage doors, that will reverse the gate if it detects or comes into contact with an obstruction.

To be safe, consider having a Certified Automated Gate Operator Installer ensure that your automated gate comes equipped with these precautions.

While automated gate systems can effectively secure your property, neighborhood community, or commercial complex, there are other ways in which gates can help protect the members of your family and your privacy.

Read Part 2 of this blog post to learn how gates can help protect other important members and areas of your home.

Find your local Best Pick™ Fence Company