daughter inlaws wants these gates for her driveway the span is id say 4mtr or thereabouts and she is one of those who knows it all im only a novice at this welding game and I said use 40mm box section then it would be nice and strong but hoo no 40x40x3mm angle iron will do the job as she is wanting 3 gates not 2 gates all on hinges so they fold back and just use one if wants to access so I thought id ask people in here as they have done driveway gates etc themselves I will no the problems that will accrue
yeah mate I looked what Kim did and she made a fantastic job of those gates that's why I told daughter inlaw to use box section as it would be far better than using angle iron because over a long span the angle iron would be flimsy well that was my thought
Bifolding gates need to be pretty strong especially if you’ve got three hinged sections. There’s a lot of possibility from them to drop over time.
If she is being an “expert” I would let her build them Then she only has herself to blame if they go wrong
Hi , I can give my experience as we got a family father-son company of steel constructions , both civil and heavy industrial . You say the gate is about 4 mtr long , bad idea to use a 3 hinged gates solution , you would need very heavy duty hinges and structure to keep it in position , and a very strong pillar . In this cases here we use this solution : 2 gates , one longer and one shorter , then apply electric automatic pistons ,like ones from Came or Nice or Roger ( or cheaper brands like BFT ) , so it's possible to open only the small one to go in and out when needed . So the small one could be 1,2 mtr long then the other should be 2,8 mtr , in any case you need strong hinges ( for examples we use ones with ball bearings ) but the entire solution will be cheaper and easier to be assembled .
I’ve done a few bi and tri fold ,you have to use square,either solid or hollow,angle will just flex to hell and back,also make them as tall as possible to get the hinges far apart,the greater the width compared to height,the more sag.
exactly what I said but im wrong in her eyes when I saw how Kim b made the gates square box section for strength
don't worry im not building the gates for her out of angle iron as I know what's going to happen parm think someone else is going to weld them together and let him have all hassle when they sag and look *****
I’d put bearings on the pillar. Do it how Kim done her pillars, braced underground. Bronze hinges/eyes on the pedestrian gate. Both gate hinges need to be adjustable really. You’re looking at a few hundred quid in materials alone before you even get into automation or cladding it. It’s the sort of job I’d be quoting a fair chunk of dosh for!
If she's that much of a know-it-all do not take on the making of these gates. No matter how well you make them she will find fault with them & likely not pay you fully. And being family you'll look bad if you pursue her for the shortfall. Let it be someone else's problem.
@Parm had it spot on! . If she's the kind not to listen, tell her she will need to find an engineer who can calculate all the design features and get the gates made. Sounds to me that she was hoping you'd do the job for her, preferably free gratis.....
like I said from the start angle iron isn't strong enough for gates you need to be using the box section then you have a fighting chance to do a really good job the box section is too flimsy but oh no she insisted she has seen gates made out of angle iron .some people will just not listen. I have seen the job Kim b made she made a fantastic job of her gates
Apart from 40 x 40 x 3 angle being way too flimsy, as others have said, they'd look hideous in my opinion. Thick-walled box section or solid bar is the way to go. BTW, I'm with @Parm on this.
