Sliding gate or swing gate, which one is better?

[Jack L 0]

Hi, I am sourcing a gate for a semi-D, wonder which type of gate is better? Frontage: 10m, gate width: 4m. Would like to hear your thoughts. Thank you.

[snoozee 98]

sliding gate make sure you have enough set back at the front for the track and gate since these are supposed to be within the boundary unless you want your gate to slide on the inside of your boundary wall instead of outside.

sliding gate will be slightly slower than swing but negligible.

your gate width of 4m if you do swing gate means need to do bifold of 4 x 1m panel width. note that by right swing gates can only swing into the house for safety reasons. some swing gates will have an additional locking plate on the floor for the gate to lock into and prevent over-swing so if you don't want the plate on the floor, have to tell the contractor in advance.

ultimately which one you choose also depends on your terrain. if perfectly flat ground then no problem with either. i wanted to do a sliding gate but ended up doing swing gates as my terrain too challenging to design and install a sliding gate.

 

[prodriver6 7]

@snoozeewhat were the considerations that led you to actually prefer sliding over swing?

learnt something new, didnt know that swing you need to swing inwards... but honestly, i have never seen anyone implemented it this way.

[snoozee 98]

11 hours ago, prodriver6 said:

@snoozeewhat were the considerations that led you to actually prefer sliding over swing?

learnt something new, didnt know that swing you need to swing inwards... but honestly, i have never seen anyone implemented it this way.

with swing gates, the gates will always be in the way when open but sliding gate will be like part of the boundary wall when opened. We didn't want the obstruction but no choice had to do swing gates instead. Also if the swing gate is opened outside, it narrows down the access angle to drive into the driveway since now you have a channel formed by the swing gate which you need to clear before you can get into the house. it can be quite challenging if the road in front of your house is narrow and/or if someone parks on the road directly opposite your gate entry point. imagine trying to do a 90 degrees turn from the road into your house with just less than 2m of clearance between your car and the edge of the gate panel when the gate is swung out.

by right swing gates are supposed to swing inwards. of cos most people do it "by left" to swing the gates outwards or alternate with one side in and one side out. anyway the swing arm mechanism can be installed just before you move into the house so ahem...

another consideration is whether one chooses to have a separate side gate or not to enter/exit the house. Some people integrate the side gate into the main slide/swing gate. But with integrated side gates, it will be challenging to do the electronics to perform remote unlock of the side gate from inside the house. This also means one will need to manually unlock the gate from outside the house as well and can't use a keypad or access card to unlock the side gate. Of cos one can always open the main gate for pedestrian access but it will just reduce the life span of the motors since these things don't last forever.

whichever type of gates is chosen, request for the optical sensor to be installed as well to stop the gate from moving when obstruction is detected. I had accidentally closed the gate on my car at my in-laws place when I accidentally pressed the remote control to close the gate when my car was still halfway out. caused a small ding on my car. haha

most gate suppliers will provide 2 or 3 remote controllers for you. Don't need to waste money to buy additional remotes at $20+ per remote from them. The remote controllers can be bought online for about $4 per remote controller. Just need  to open up the existing one to check which frequency the gate control receiver uses (either 333mhz or 433 mhz). After buying the new remote controllers, it's just a matter of adjusting the dip switches inside the new remote controller to set it to work with the gate side control receiver. Can always buy a few more to keep as spare with the batteries removed so won't spoil the PCB inside if battery leak.

[petetherock 13]

12 hours ago, prodriver6 said:

@snoozeewhat were the considerations that led you to actually prefer sliding over swing?

learnt something new, didnt know that swing you need to swing inwards... but honestly, i have never seen anyone implemented it this way.

By right, but many swing out, and as he has pointed out, the practicalities of how easy it is to enter also influence your choice.

The sliding version is much slower, and you need to plan space for it.

Also consider where the receiver for the remote is: say you always drive from the left side in, and you need to see if the remote can reach the sensor to open, so that when you reach your home, the gate is open.

Also plan where your side gate is, and how it open, the type of lock - eg digital or manual and whether you have a little hood for it. You can design your own gate, laser cut your house number into it, but consider the materials used - wood looks nice but tends to require more work and maintenance. The type of metal will also be important and more hinges help prevent sagging. Get at least four remotes and remember to change the batteries.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by petetherock

[petetherock 13]

By right, but many swing out, and as he has pointed out, the practicalities of how easy it is to enter also influence your choice.

The sliding version is much slower, and you need to plan space for it.

Also consider where the receiver for the remote is: say you always drive from the left side in, and you need to see if the remote can reach the sensor to open, so that when you reach your home, the gate is open.

Also plan where your side gate is, and how it open, the type of lock - eg digital or manual and whether you have a little hood for it. You can design your own gate, laser cut your house number into it, but consider the materials used - wood looks nice but tends to require more work and maintenance. The type of metal will also be important and more hinges help prevent sagging. Get at least four remotes and remember to change the batteries.

https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2019/09/choosing-gate-for-your-new-house.html

[prodriver6 7]

thanks guys for all the great sharing. as i prefer to have maximum opening, we have decided to go for a double later sliding gate.

i'm actually surprise that object sensors are not included by default considering is 2022

for sure i need the side gate integrated into the main gate as mine is an inter-terrace and wont have enough space for dedicated side gate. will take note of how the wiring runs, i initially assumed this was easy-peasy to have remote lock/unlock. my plan was to have keypad at one of the sidewall.

[petetherock 13]

Remember to get the gate company contact 

you’ll need their help years later

also decide what happens when there’s no electricity- gate shuts or there’s a release option 

And keep one PowerPoint near the gate post and a water tap point too 

[prodriver6 7]

noted, thanks for all the suggestion! much appreciated!