# Forum Home Renovation Fences & Screens  New gate height question

## Moondog55

It might sound a bit silly but what IS a good height for a gate where we want mainly privacy but also we need to stop the wind blowing rubbish from the street into our new carport.
Gate will need to be made to fit the space and probably will match the new fence cosmetically
~~4000mm wide driveway
Is 1800 too tall?
One single gate?
Cat & kitten ?
Equal sized halves??
Thinking I'd use one of the gate kits sold at Bunnies
May also need a shorter height at the street frontage but a cheap farm gate may do the job there

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## PlatypusGardens

At 4M wide I'd go half/half with two gates, but depends what you gonna use it for....how often will you need to open half/all of it?

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## Marc

Both my side gates match the height of the fence, that is 1.8, however that is not set in concrete and depends from your frontage. Clearly going over the fence maybe silly but you can always go lower ... 1.5? Depends what's the gate made of? What is that Bunnings kit? Metal and wooden slats? Seen those, seem well made but pricey. I agree with PG, at 4 meters you will have to go two gates. As far as big and small or equal, id depends what your carport looks like. Are you likely to walk in and out from there all the time? If so a smaller door for pedestrians and the bigger one to move the car may make sense. You could make one single gate with a built in door, factory style ... Hard to suggest really since it is at the front of the house and you are the one that must use it and like it.

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## PlatypusGardens

Opening a 2M gate enough to walk through isn't a big deal as long as it swings freely.   :Smilie:

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## Marc

Sure, but it seems that Moon question is more to do with aesthetics and that is hard to answer.

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## Moondog55

Has to fill the hole where the car is, 450mm in front of the house, where the gutter is. 
Those Bunnings kits are expensive but a lot cheaper than my tradie mate and they have that built in provision for the diagonal brace above the gates top back to the tall post if needed.

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## PlatypusGardens

So the gate is going somewhere at the part where the side fence slopes down?
Not at full height or low height?  
a bit hard to tell where "450 in front of the house" is.  
Also, what is this (expensive) Bunnings kit you speak of?
Is there not a local fencing/gate mob that can make a (cheaper) gate for you?     :Smilie:

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## Marc

Yes ... now I see ...  :Smilie: 
I would go with a two gates, equal sizes and have them on post independent from the house and the fence. 
Actually, come to think of it ... you could have the gates away from the house some 800/900 and have a door perpendicular to the gate so that you can use a door to get in and out sideways and keep the gate shut and the door will not change the appearance of the main gate.

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## Marc

Bunnings sells a kit made of SHS 25x25x2 or 2.5 more or less. Very clever and adaptable to any width and with proper braces that you then cover with timber or any other material you want. I remember looking at it when I had to do 2 side gates but decided against it because of price ... however that was 10 years ago or more so may be they are a bit down in price, not sure. I have to make a gate for my daughter, may be I go for one of those, I have too much on my plate right now ... sorry, back to Moon's gate ... what do you think of an extra side door at 90 degree?
Mm ... you will have to move that blue thing ... what is it? Milk crate?

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## Moondog55

Blue thing is a kids play table, the one with the hole in the middle to put a bucket or tub of water in Good for party beer when filled with ice. My mate said the existing carport post is more than strong enough to swing a gate from he should know he did all the repair work on it, so only one post needed in line with the gutter 
Front of the carport lines up with the house eaves.gutter not the front of the house
2 equal halves sounds doable

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## Moondog55

> Actually, come to think of it ... you could have the gates away from the house some 800/900 and have a door perpendicular to the gate so that you can use a door to get in and out sideways and keep the gate shut and the door will not change the appearance of the main gate.

  An excellent idea
Cecile though of that too but there is a storm water drain there-abouts and we're not redoing that

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## droog

Do those gate kits come in 2m width? If they are the ones that i have used in the past they only go a bit over 1.5m.

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## Moondog55

2400 now I think but it is a good question I'll need to check

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## Marc

Hei Moon ... did you end up catching the big boy that did it?  :Smilie:

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## DEMAK Timber

25x25 is not strong enough for a 2.0m gate leaf. 50x25 fully welded with bracing would be a better option. Let me know if we can help you out with it? The other option on a 4.0m opening is a sliding gate, will leave extra room inside the gates for parking vehicles...  https://www.demak.com.au/?s=sliding

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## Moondog55

Nice but absolutely no space for a sliding gate. 
Original gates on all of these houses were the agricultural Cyclone wire gates, twin 1800's and just shy of 1700 tall and it was usually the posts that failed, rotting off at ground level; and I would have thought the kits Bunnings sell were stronger because of the integral diagonal bracing

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## DEMAK Timber

> I would have thought the kits Bunnings sell were stronger because of the integral diagonal bracing

  In my experience, even with the diagonal brace there just isn't enough strength on the bigger 25x25 frames.
The weight of the cladding can have a lot to do with it too...

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## phild01

Cedar is an ideal lightweight cladding.

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## Moondog55

A weldmesh gate is an alternative I suppose; clad to match the fences

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## PlatypusGardens

Boom gate?

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## Moondog55

Goes with the boombox I 'spose

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## Marc

Try to find a colorbond supplier that has this gate kits, if you don't like the Bunnings one. I personally think there is nothing wrong with the Bunnings one providing you don't clad it with one inch thick iron bark. At 2 meters each I would use fencing panels but you may not like the look. Gates by Gramline® | Gramline®

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## Moondog55

Gate cladding will probably be the same treated pine 150*25 we use on the fence; heavier than steel but much lighter than ironbark the same size

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