How much does it cost to put a gate in brick wall fence?

river_kwai

My question is regarding a house with a detached garage and driveway at the rear. There is no driveway at the front so we would have to park at the rear driveway and walk to the front and into the property (very inconvenient!). The property has a brick walled fence. I am therefore thinking of installing a gate at the rear of the property where the driveway is situated. This will allow us to park the car at the rear driveway and enter the back garden and to the house via the gate.

So, my question is how do I go about getting this done? Who should I approach, fencing contractors, builders? Any idea of how much this would cost?

elfmay

I think you should check if you need planning permission before you start anything. I know we had to receive it at my old property to construct a driveway? Although it was a long time ago and we did have to alter the kerb outside?

river_kwai

elfmay wrote:

I think you should check if you need planning permission before you start anything. I know we had to receive it at my old property to construct a driveway? Although it was a long time ago and we did have to alter the kerb outside?

There is already a driveway with proper kerb access, all I want to do is to add a gate access. I read this from the ODPM website: "You will not need to make a planning application to take down a fence, wall, gate or other means of enclosure. However, in a conservation area, you might need conservation area consent (see Chapter 6)."

I guess I will be removing part of a fence and replace it with a door.

elfmay

river_kwai wrote:

There is already a driveway with proper kerb access, all I want to do is to add a gate access. I read this from the ODPM website: "You will not need to make a planning application to take down a fence, wall, gate or other means of enclosure. However, in a conservation area, you might need conservation area consent (see Chapter 6)."

I guess I will be removing part of a fence and replace it with a door.

ohh I'm with you now!

Can't help you with that im afraid! I'd just start knocking out bricks, with a view to putting in a couple of posts and a gate! No doubt that isn't the way to go about it! Unless you don't mind the whole wall coming down!

Malestrom

The easiest way is with a stone-cutter, which you can hire from somewhere like Torex. You just cut from the top of the wall down to the ground in two straight, parallel lines and then remove the unwanted bricks with a sledgehammer. Your cuts need to be the width of your gate, plus your two posts, plus half an inch for clearance, which is quarter of an inch on each side of the gate. Fix two posts, one to each wall using frame fixings or preferably sleeve anchors and hang the gate. The sleeve anchors need to be recessed in the posts with something like a flat-bit.

A days work at most for a competent DIYer and not much more than a hundred quid for machine hire and gate/posts I wouldn't of thought. Ensure you wear goggles, dust mask, ear protection and thick gloves when using a stone-cutter and if you've never handled one before then make a few test cuts on the part of the wall thats coming down before making the proper vertical cuts. They are heavy and awkward to use but invaluable and a time-saving must. Don't just start knocking bricks out as you'll end up with a hell of a mess.

Also an easy job for a builder but expect to pay a lot more and be prepared to chase them as its only a 'small' job.