Geelong · Surf Coast · Bellarine

DRIVEWAY GATES GEELONG

JC Fencing and Gates designs and builds custom driveway gates across Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine. Swing or sliding, timber or steel, sized to your opening and hung on hardware that suits the weight — with automation available where the site and the gate design support it.

The right answer is usually decided by the driveway, not by preference. Swing gates need clear space to open into and a driveway that is reasonably level near the opening. They suit wider frontages, look more traditional and are generally the simpler installation.

Sliding gates need clear run-off space along the fence line but no swing clearance, which makes them the practical choice on short driveways, where the driveway rises steeply from the street, or where a car needs to stop close to the gate. They are also usually the better option for very wide openings.

We will look at the fall, the clearance and how you actually use the driveway, then tell you which configuration will be less annoying to live with. A gate you have to nudge open with the car every winter is a design problem, not a maintenance problem.

Timber driveway gates are made to measure by our qualified carpenters, with framing sized to the span so the gate does not sag. They suit period homes, rural frontages and anywhere the gate is meant to be a feature rather than just a barrier. We can build vertical, horizontal or slatted infills and match an existing fence.

Steel and Colorbond gates are the low-maintenance option and match straight into an existing Colorbond boundary fence. Where the gate is wide or a heavy infill is used, the frame is built to carry it rather than relying on sheet fixed to a light rail.

Either way, the hinges, drop bolts, latches and rollers are chosen for the weight and span of the gate. Hardware is where cheap gates fail first, and it is the least sensible place to save money.

If there is any chance you will want an automatic gate later, say so before we build. A gate that was designed for automation — correct frame stiffness, level travel, room for the motor and conduit already run under the driveway — can be motorised easily. Retrofitting a motor to a gate that was not planned for it usually means digging up paving and sometimes rebuilding the gate.

Automation also needs power at the gate and a decision about how you will open it: remotes, keypad, intercom or a sensor on the way out. Those are best sorted at planning stage while the trenching is still open.

Where automation is part of the job, we coordinate it with the gate build so the mechanical and electrical work line up rather than being handed between trades with a gap in the middle.

Gates are measured on site, every time. Driveway openings are rarely square, the ground rarely falls the way you would like, and a gate built to a number read off a plan will not close properly. We measure the opening, check the fall across the swing path and set the posts accordingly.

Posts for a driveway gate are the most heavily loaded posts on the property. They are sized and concreted for the weight and span of the gate, because a gate that drops is almost always a post problem rather than a hinge problem.

Installation includes hanging, adjusting, fitting the hardware and checking the gate through its full travel before we leave.