Planning Your Fence Gates: Sizes, Placement, and Common Mistakes

A fence without well-planned gates is a daily inconvenience. Gates are the parts of your fence that get used, pushed, pulled, and slammed more than anything else. They need to work smoothly every time, and that starts with proper planning.

Pedestrian Gates

A standard pedestrian gate should be at least 900 millimetres wide. This allows comfortable passage for one person and is the minimum you want for a side gate or garden entry.

If you are tight on space, 750 millimetres can work in a pinch, but it starts to feel narrow, especially if you are carrying anything. For a front gate where visitors and deliveries come through, 1 metre or wider is a better choice.

Access Gates

If you need to get a wheelie bin, lawn mower, or wheelbarrow through the gate, the opening needs to be wider. A 1.2-metre gate handles most of these. For ride-on mower access, trailer entry, or moving bulky items, a double gate of 2.4 to 3 metres is usually needed.

Think about what actually needs to pass through the gate, not just today, but in five years. If you are planning a shed, a pool, or landscaping works, a wider gate now means you will not need to remove a fence panel later.

Gate Post Strength

Gate posts carry more load than standard fence posts. Every time the gate swings, it puts lateral force on the hinge post. Over time, a post that is too light or set too shallow will lean toward the gate, causing it to drag on the ground or fail to latch.

Gate posts should be a heavier gauge (for steel) or a larger dimension (for timber) than the line posts. They need deeper footings with more concrete. This is one area where saving a few dollars on materials causes years of problems.

Hinges and Latches

The hardware on your gate determines how long it works properly. Cheap hinges wear out quickly, causing the gate to drop and drag. Cheap latches seize, bend, or fail to engage.

For residential gates, heavy-duty strap hinges or adjustable hinges are the standard. Adjustable hinges allow you to fine-tune the gate position after installation, which is invaluable when timber swells or settles in Brisbane's humidity.

For latches, a gravity latch or D-latch that engages automatically when the gate closes is the most reliable option. Spring-loaded latches work well on pool gates where self-latching is a legal requirement.

Swing Direction

Think about which way the gate opens. A gate that swings into a path, driveway, or garden bed creates an obstruction. Ideally, gates should open inward to the property so they do not block footpaths or driveways.

Pool gates are the exception. Queensland law requires pool gates to open outward, away from the pool area.

Common Mistakes

The most frequent gate problems we see in Brisbane are:

• Gates too narrow for their intended use
• Gate posts the same size as line posts (too light)
• Hinges that are not rated for the gate weight
• No consideration for ground clearance on sloping paths
• Gates placed in locations that block other access points when open

All of these are easily avoided with proper planning before the fence is built.