Gate piers and ground levels: the survey that saves the job
Most gate problems are not gate problems. They are pier problems and level problems, and both are visible on a twenty minute survey before anything is made.
What piers actually have to resist
A gate leaf hanging from a pier applies a rotating force, constantly, in one direction. Add wind on a solid gate and the force multiplies. Older Dublin piers were frequently built of block or brick with no reinforcement and no proper foundation, sized for a light timber gate.
The failure is gradual: the pier tilts slightly, the gate starts catching, someone adjusts the hinges, and it repeats until the pier cracks. By then the fix is rebuilding the pier.
Options when the pier is not up to it
Three routes. Rebuild the pier with a reinforced core and a proper foundation. Install a galvanised steel post alongside or within the pier so the steel takes the load and the masonry is only cladding. Or change the gate design to reduce the load, for example an open bar leaf instead of a solid one, or a slider instead of a swinger.
The steel post option is the most common on retrofit work because it is quick and does not require demolishing a pier the client likes.
Ground levels
We check levels across the full swing arc of each leaf, not just at the hinge. A rise of even 50mm across the arc dictates the ground clearance for the whole gate, and that clearance is what determines whether the finished gate looks right and whether a dog can get under it.
Where the levels do not allow a decent looking swinging gate, we say so at survey rather than delivering a gate hung 120mm off the ground.
What the survey records
Clear opening width, pier construction and condition, levels across the arc, available run for a slider, power availability for automation, and the route a delivery vehicle can take.
That half hour is what makes the difference between a gate that fits and a gate that becomes an argument.
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Common questions
Need this done properly? Talk to the workshop.
Send us drawings, a sketch or a site photo. We come back with a fixed price and a firm lead time, usually within one working day.