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What are the Different Types of Rolling Gates?

Troy Holmes
Troy Holmes

There are many types of rolling gates available. These gates are typically connected to automatic gate openers and allow a gate to move by sliding the gate on a rolling wheel. Rolling gates are available for wood, steel, vinyl, and fabricated gates. They typically come in either a ground roller or slide roller configuration. Rollers are extremely durable and are designed to support both large and small gates.

Rolling gates are most often used in driveways. These gates provide security and easy access for driveway entry. The gates typically slide horizontally to the left and right of the driveway surface. They can be designed to work on remote controls similar to a garage door opener, making entry into the driveway convenient.

Man mowing the grass
Man mowing the grass

A rolling gate can also be used for sidewalks or walkways. This is a smaller version of automatic gate, but provides a means to open a gate similar to a sliding glass door. The gate is typically secured with a standard hitch lock and supported with wheels. Many sidewalk gates include special springs that force the gates to automatically close after they are open.

Gates can be made from steel, wood, or vinyl. The roller gate hardware is designed to be used with most types of gate material. The wheels of the roller are attached to the bottom portion of the gate, which enables the gate to slide on the wheels as it is opened.

Some rolling gates use a special tray-and-hinge design that hides the roller wheel from view. This design typically uses a steel tray that lies horizontally in the middle of the fence door. When the door is opened, the roller wheel moves over the tray area, allowing the door to slide open on a smooth roller surface. This is a good option for fences on grass or rough surfaces because the roller wheel uses a tray rather than the ground for movement.

Most military facilities use large rolling gates to close the entrance areas. This is necessary because of the extreme load requirements of the large concrete doors used in these fences. A military unit uses gravity to close the doorway on rolling wheels.

Large dams also use rolling gates to open and close dam valves. This makes it easier to open and close water gates with heavy water pressure. These gates are typically operated with automated computer systems and can be opened and closed electronically.

Discussion Comments

lonelygod

@MrSmirnov - If you want to keep costs down when you go to purchase and install rolling gates I would suggest checking the scrap metal yard and seeing if they have any fences and gates for sale. You would be surprised at what ends up there.

When we were doing a renovation on our home we decided we like the security of the rolling gates, but not the price. We ended up finding an old iron gate for a very cheap price off a scrap metal yard.

We had it professionally installed, but just not buying the main gate new saved us quite a bit of money in the long run.

MrSmirnov

My business is looking to increase the security we have on our property, and I am curious if installing a large rolling gate would be a good way to restrict access to our parking lot. We currently have simple chain link fence gates and I think they aren't that appealing to look at. Plus, the chain sealing them is too easily cut.

If we decided to go with rolling driveway gate is there anything we can do to keep the costs down?

From what I understand rolling gates can be a bit expensive to put into place and I am hoping not to go over budget during this project.

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      Man mowing the grass