Looking for Distinctive Driveway Timber Gates?
Good looking electric wooden driveway gates add a touch of elegance and distinction to your property frontage. Whether the architecture is contemporary or period, the blend of natural wood and sleek design will complement it. At 1st Choice Security Systems we work with clients’ requirements from concept, through bespoke design to secure installation. We’re established electric gate installers working across Bedfordshire, the Home Counties, and North London.
Which Wood to Choose for Driveway Timber Gates
Whilst metal electric gates can easily withstand the extremities of the British weather, wood is more susceptible, so the choice of material is particularly important. All electric wooden driveway gates require careful maintenance to guarantee durability, but a good quality wood will certainly wear better. Timber tends to break down into two categories – softwood or hardwood.
- Softwoods, if carefully chosen, offer excellent and long-lasting value for automatic driveway gates. Accoya is an excellent choice; it’s a variety of pine which has been modified to increase its durability and resilience to rot. Alternatively, Western Red Cedar is naturally durable.
- Hardwoods tend to be chosen for their appearance. The wood produces less knots which accentuates the distinctive quality of the natural grain. Popular choices include Idigbo, Meranti and European Oak, all of which are hardy enough to offer durability in the face of rain, ice, sun, and snow.
Swing or Sliding Gates?
The way your residential electric gates open will be determined, to some degree, by the dimensions of your driveway. Which is one of the reasons why 1st Choice designers make a site visit at the start of the process. If your driveway is deep and flat, you will have the choice of installing either swing, or sliding gates. If it’s shallow, or built on an incline, we’ll need to install sliding gates to accommodate this.
Many of the driveways we design for are space restricted due to their location within towns or cities. Bi-fold automatic gates are swing gates that fold in half as they open. This lessens the depth of the arc required for smaller driveways. We also install telescopic sliding gates where parallel panels align when sliding open in order to minimise the space required at the side of the driveway.
Security Features for Your Automatic Gates
As well as looking good, residential electric driveway gates offer enhanced privacy and security for your home. They offer a ‘first line of defence’ as the gates allow family members to identify callers and provide access only to people they know and trust. If you have gardens at the front of your home, carefully designed driveway gates provide privacy for family, members and a secure barrier between the public street and your private property.
1st Choice engineers carry out a free security audit for all clients as part of their driveway gates service. This allows us to alert clients to any vulnerabilities on their property, and recommend security systems that will reduce the risk of intrusion, or doorstep scams. These may include residential CCTV, intruder alarms, or door entry systems.
Working With 1st Choice Security Systems
At 1st Choice Security Systems, we know how important it is to be able trust installers working in, or near your home. All our engineers are DBS checked, SafeContractor approved, and SSAIB approved, and we’re a DHF member. We work to the ISO2001-2015 standard. Should you need us in an emergency, we are available 24 hours.
In need of CAMESAFE CCTV systems?
Our CAMESAFE Installers have vast knowledge and experience to be able to offer the required security solutions and automation safety for all our security systems.
Would like to talk to a 1st Choice designer about electric wooden driveway gates for your property? Simply give us a call at 1st Choice Security Systems on 0800 1182414.
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