Benefits and Drawbacks of Sliding Gates to Your Property
If you are looking to install a new gate at the bottom of your driveway, chances are you will come across sliding gates when searching for a solution to suit your needs. Sliding gates are relatively new in the market and have been considered an elemental design that would be best for residences with a contemporary home. However, with the assortment of styles and materials available, you can be assured that you can find designs that would be able to complement your property. Nevertheless, before investing in these gates, you need to be aware of the various benefits and drawbacks that they would present you with.
Benefits of sliding gates
A major advantage of sliding gates is that they do not take up nearly as much space as conventional gates do. Since sliding gates open by retracting into the wall, you will not have to worry about having space allowance for the gates to swing open. This property of being space saving also makes the sliding gates great for properties with a shorter driveway, which would risk swinging gates becoming an obstruction on the street.
Sliding gates do not acquire damage easily. When it comes to conventional gates that swing open and shut, you would have to contend with damage at the bottom of the gates at some point or another due to the constant scraping of the gates with the driveway. The friction could also lead to premature damage to your driveway necessitating repairs. Sliding gates, on the other hand, operate on a wheel mechanism. Therefore, the bottom of the gate never has to come into contact with your driveway. As such, neither your gates nor your driveway will be at risk of damage.
Lastly, if your property is located on a slope, chances are your driveway will be quite steep. When installing new gates, you would have to consider this steepness as the gates would have to operate against the steep gradient of your property. If you would prefer an efficient way of opening and closing of your gates, you should invest in sliding gates, as the slope of your land will not affect them.
Drawbacks of sliding gates
Nonetheless, sliding gates do have a few drawbacks. Firstly, these gates are much noisier than swinging gates as they have significantly more components at work during operation. Secondly, sliding gates require labour intensive maintenance to ensure that they stay in optimal performance.