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Original poster

Electric gates..naff or not?

28 replies

Spockster · 29/09/2008 13:49

We have wooden gates to our drive which we always leave open, rather than having to get out of the car to open & close them, and to avoid having to go out to let visitors in, etc. I appreciate that this rather negates the point of having gates, and I would rather like to use them for the privacy and security...and child safety benefits, as we live on a fast busy road. So, electric gates seem like an answer...but are they chavvy in a Victorian semi; and will I need a second mortgage???

OP posts:

MrsBadger · 29/09/2008 13:53

chavvy in a victorian semi

open them before you leave
close them when you get home

wouldn't have thought gates on a drive have any security benefits unless they are 12' high and actually locked.

babyOcho · 29/09/2008 13:54

we have an electric garage door in a residential road which only has 2 garages and it's the best. means extra security and all you need to do it press a button.

not sure whether gates and doors differ that much in price, but we got ours discounted because friend's own a commercial garage door company.

Original poster

Spockster · 29/09/2008 17:27

I rather thought that if they are electric they are harder for a burglar to open, and therefore they then can't drive off with your car/large TV/husband, etc.
I do tend towards the thought that unless you live in Southfork they are a bit chavvy, but if we can get ones that look like the existing gates then perhap no-one owuld know....?
Oh, for a garage...!

OP posts:

Fizzylemonade · 30/09/2008 18:04

We also have an electric garage door which is fantastic for my DH to drive his motorbike in without having to get off, open it, drive in, go back out and lock it instead of using the internal door into the house.

I will tell you to have a brand new garage door in a non-standard colour (no it is not bright pink just black) the garage opener which has the emergency over-ride and you can re-lock it even in a powercut cost me £570. I'm in Yorkshire. I have no idea on gates. We went with the company we went for as they displayed their prices very clearly with no small print, no hidden extras.

I think your gates would look fine as long as you keep them simple so no ornate swirly pattens in the ironwork!! I don't know if you can get wooden electric? They would keep your children in, as long as the rest of the front of your property is secure. Also don't forget you will need access for your postie/window cleaner/leaflet delivery person! A person gate to the side?

expatinscotland · 30/09/2008 18:06

i had a garage with an electric door and i loved it!

if someone found it naff, i wouldn't have given a damn.

they're fab.

i'd love electric gate here.

Milliways · 30/09/2008 18:08

DS had a school friend who was late for school as a power cut meant the car couldn't get out the drive

CantSleepWontSleep · 30/09/2008 20:13

We also have a wooden gate to our drive, and wooden fencing around the front and side of our front garden. The fencing is falling apart, so we are replacing it with wrought iron fencing, and getting new electric gates to match, as well as a pedestrian gate. We don't like big fancy ones, so have asked the company to make them to look just like the rest of the fencing, which will be about 3 ft high, and looking like this. Security and privacy isn't an issue for us, but keeping the children in is.
As for 'will I need a second mortgage' - I don't know how much the gates would be on their own, but the driveway gate, pedestrian gate and several metres of fencing is setting us back about £7k, plus the electrics which are being done as part of some other building work that we are having done at the same time.

MadameCastafiore · 30/09/2008 20:19

We have huge big wooden electric gates and Mungs DS thinks they are cool and magic - is kinda nice beeping them to open whilst driving up too!

cupsoftea · 30/09/2008 20:25

Sounds a good idea - my gates are fab

Original poster

Spockster · 01/10/2008 13:42

Yes I get the impression from the web that they will set me back around £5k. I would like wooden ones best and sliding even better, but i think that means £££. I would prefer £2k, but it's funny how housey things always cost almost exactly twice what you think they should.
The power cut thing is worrying..."Sorry DD was late for school, the electric gates wouldn't open"...yeuch.

OP posts:

cupsoftea · 01/10/2008 13:54

If the gates don't open as there is a power cut then you have a key to unlock the bit that holds them closed & they just open like usual gates.

Check on the cabling as this will have to be dug into the ground at the proper level.

PaulIan · 13/07/2011 10:17

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

mumblebum · 13/07/2011 10:22

We just had motors fitted to our existing (metal) gates so they still look exactly the same as.everyone else's on the road. Just ours tend to be closed whereas those without electric tend to leave them open all the time.

SirenSusan · 13/07/2011 22:24

Personal feeling is that they are naff -unspeakably bling and very laughable - as agreed by the postman and half the neighbourhood - where the gates are waist high - still if you want them go for it but you did ask!

Jacaqueen · 13/07/2011 23:05

We have wooden electric gates that slide behind the garden wall. I really like them as they provide privacy and security. We have a postbox built into a sandstone pillar on the outside of the gate for letters etc. There is an intercom keypad for visitors to use to get access. Friends have the code other people have to be buzzed in. You can set them to automatically close after you have driven out/in or use the infra red remote control. You can also set a timer for them to open/close at a particular time.

echt · 14/07/2011 09:49

They are very common here in Oz, therefore not common/naff/chavvy.

We don't have them in the house we've just bought, but I can tell you, I felt like frickin' Elvis when I swung into the last rental, pressed the button and glided into the garage.:o

echt · 14/07/2011 09:52

But then he was a mega-chav.

queenmaeve · 14/07/2011 11:10

Do people think they are chav? Why. In the winter time I like not having to get out in pitch dark to have to open gates.

SybilBeddows · 14/07/2011 11:15

who cares if they are naff or chavvy? If they will make your life easier and you can afford them, go for it.
And it's not like they're hard to get rid of so when it comes to selling the house if the buyers don't like them they can take them out.

nocake · 14/07/2011 12:01

We've just had electric openers fitted to our gates and they're not in the slightest bit chavvy. It means we don't have to stop the car across the road and get out (leaving DD in the car) to open the gates.

We had the openers fitted to our existing gates and despite having heavy duty openers to cope with large close boarded gates we paid a lot less than £5k. If your gates are open boarded then you can use much smaller, and cheaper, openers. I suspect the £5k figure you're looking at includes new gates, which you probably wouldn't need.

You also need to consider where the wiring will go. How easy is it going to be to get a power supply to them and also run the cabling across the gates? Block paving is easy to lift but if your driveway is concrete or tarmac it will be a lot harder, and more expensive, to lay the cable.

wahwahwah · 14/07/2011 12:07

In Italy it is quite common in the countryside. Here it's not so - I keep trying ot get my sister to get some. It is no fun jumping out of the car on a long , dark, unlit slippery driveway (in the deep snow that we had in the winter), hauling open the gates, etc. She is on a farm, so cant leave any gates open, and in Scotland where the weather isn't exactly great!

Mandy21 · 14/07/2011 12:33

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1210965/Boy-9-crushed-death-family-electronic-gates.html

I would never have them - not from a chavvy point of view but from a safety point of view. I know this is a freak accident but this stry really affected me.

bemybebe · 14/07/2011 12:50

What is your definition of "chavvy"? Can any gates be "chavvy" unless you paint them burburry check?

I thought the term is mostly used to describe appearance, not functionality and certain not applicable to a domestic appliance.

nocake · 14/07/2011 16:22

Our installer mentioned the safety risk that Mandy has posted about. The recent deaths have all involved sliding gates, rather than swing gates which are much safer. We have two safety devices fitted. The first is an electronic eye that stops the gate closing if someone steps in front of it. The second is a device that stops the rams if the gates hit something. I would recommend asking for any quote to include both of these.

Fizzylemonade · 14/07/2011 17:48

I posted on this thread 2 years ago!

I have moved since then and we have one large wooden gate that is wide enough to cover the drive entrance between two wooden pillars and we are then fenced. The gate is about 5ft high.

As our drive is quite large I close the gate and the DCs ride their bikes and scooters on the drive and I love having the gate closed from a safety point of view. The only issue is that I have to re-open it by hand when DH comes home then close it again.

I would love electric gates now and a post box at the bottom of the drive.

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