Advice please - automatic gates

Looking for advice on the type of gates needed to close off the entrance to a small private road - the main questions would be:

a) Power supply - does solar power work or does it need to be wired into the mains?
b) Access control - keypad? Entry phone? How do visitors, post and bin people get in and out?
c) I know that the width has to be a fixed minimum because of emergency vehicles but are there any other statutory requirements? I have a dim awareness of mechanisms which will stop automatically if there is pressure or resistance against them (to stop people/animals/cars being squashed) but if there are any other pointers...

If there are specific suppliers that anyone can recommend, please feel free to PM me.

Comments

  • Alpha58
    Alpha58 Posts: 193 Forumite
    Bump! Any ideas?
  • Alpha58 wrote: »
    Looking for advice on the type of gates needed to close off the entrance to a small private road - the main questions would be:

    a) Power supply - does solar power work or does it need to be wired into the mains?
    b) Access control - keypad? Entry phone? How do visitors, post and bin people get in and out?
    c) I know that the width has to be a fixed minimum because of emergency vehicles but are there any other statutory requirements? I have a dim awareness of mechanisms which will stop automatically if there is pressure or resistance against them (to stop people/animals/cars being squashed) but if there are any other pointers...

    If there are specific suppliers that anyone can recommend, please feel free to PM me.

    It'll depend on the gates you want to go for. For handiness I think it's best for the gates to open INTO the driveway and not out onto the road.

    In terms of power supply: Use which ever you feel more comfortable with, most automatic gates I have come across run off the mains, but again this would depend on the actual size/weight of them!

    Access: You can use a remote for yourself, and a keypad/entry phone for visitors. Put a post box outside your gates so the postman doesn't have to enter the premises and you can collect it on your way in/out everyday. Put you bins outside the gates for when they need collected. Binmen (especially round my way) generally don't walk up someones driveway to get their bin, if it isn't out, it isn't emptied.

    I unfortunately, couldn't offer much help in terms of the last section. I would assume some sensors on both sides of the gates that stop the gate from opening if they are blocked.

    Best thing to do would speak to a supplier/fitter for these gates and see what they recommend!
  • lostinrates
    lostinrates Posts: 55,283
    I've been Money Tipped!
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    Note op is talking about a road not a driveway.

    Op, there is a good chance bin men will not serve a gated road. It varies by area I think. Here they will not serve unadopted but publically owned roads/ tracks for example. An option might be to build a bin housing area into the entranceway to serve the roads needs.

    The other thing to consider is times of very poor weather and high winds / power outage when some gates cannot safely be manually opened I understand. For a drive to a domestic house this is usually an inconvenience. For several properties this might be more so. However my information might be wrong. :)
  • Gloomendoom
    Gloomendoom Posts: 16,550
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    We rent a holiday home with power gates. They are mains powered but there is a manual release in case of a power cut (I believe power outages only affect American manufactured gates) but you need to be inside to operate it. There is also a keypad in case you don't have the remote.

    There are infrared sensors that stop the gates if anything gets in their path while opening.

    Bins are kept outside and the postman and other callers can enter through an unlocked pedestrian gate.
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