Garden gates and side gates

Measurement starts at the opening, never at the gate. Brick piers, fence posts and house walls are rarely parallel, so width gets measured at three heights and the smallest reading wins. Clearance follows: 10mm to 15mm each side for hinge knuckles and latch throw, plus enough gap at the foot to clear a rising path. Gates swinging over a sloping drive get cut on a rising arc or rehung to open the other way.

Hanging posts do the work. A 1.8 metre side gate hangs off one post carrying the whole leaf weight as a cantilever, so that post goes deeper and thicker than a fence post, typically 100mm square set 750mm into concrete. The slam post opposite takes only the latch and can be lighter. Hinges get sized to the leaf: band and gudgeon for heavy timber, strap hinges for lighter gates, adjustable ones where ground moves. Ironmongery usually sits inside a quote beside the gate and labour; new posts, concrete footings and old gate removal often do not.

Side gates are security fittings as much as garden ones. A 1.8 metre gate with a close boarded face, no toe holds outside, hinge bolts against pin removal and a garden side lock is the usual side return specification. Drop bolts into a ground socket stop a pair of gates sagging and rattling. Height rules work the same way as fences: two metres under permitted development in England, one metre next to a highway used by vehicles, and in Scotland one metre where the gate fronts a road or comes forward of the principal elevation.