Guides

Everything we know about automated gates.

Written from the workshop, not a marketing calendar — start with the complete guide, or go straight to the question you actually have.

The complete guide · Twelve chapters

The Complete Guide to Automated Gates

Types, materials, automation, design, our process, cost, servicing and the standards every project is held to — everything you need before briefing anyone.

§ —Or, go straight to your question

Planning permission

The 1m and 2m height rules, listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 Directions — in plain English.

Swing vs sliding gates

A head-to-head comparison — space, security, cost and maintenance — with real projects from Hertfordshire and Essex.

What automated gates cost

Published price bands, the eight factors that move the price, and four real projects placed within them.

§ —Materials

One material, in depth.

Beyond the buying guide’s overview — how each material is actually made, what it costs against the alternatives, and real projects built in it.

Wrought iron gates

How it's forged, iron vs mild steel, four real projects, and how to care for one for seventy years.

Aluminium gates

What it actually is, how it compares to iron and steel, and the three real designs we build it into.

What is wrought iron, really?

The real metallurgy, why genuine production ended in 1973, and what the term honestly means today.

Read enough?

Book a site visit — a proposal follows in ten days.

workshop@hertsessexgates.co.uk