Working With a Developer

A single home and a six-home development are different jobs, and we set this one up accordingly. On a development, the gates aren’t just one family’s front entrance; they’re the shared threshold for several households, plus their visitors, deliveries and comings and goings.

We worked closely with Boughtonwood Homes from early on, so the gates, the piers, and the access system all fitted the layout of the site and the way residents would actually use it. Getting a developer, a groundworker, and a gate installer pulling in the same direction is something we’ve done many times, and it’s what keeps a project like this running smoothly.

Letting Six Households In & Out

With several homes sharing one entrance, the access had to be simple for residents and easy for visitors, so we set it up in two parts.

For residents driving in and out, we fitted vehicle road loops. A road loop is a sensor set into the road surface that detects a waiting vehicle, so the gates open automatically as a resident approaches to leave, with no button to press on the way out. For visitors, we fitted a six-button GSM intercom. That’s an intercom with a button for each of the six homes that calls the right household over the mobile phone network, so a visitor presses the name they want and speaks to that home directly before being let in. Between the two, residents flow in and out without fuss, and visitors reach the right door.

Why Iroko Hardwood is Great

Iroko is a dense, hard-wearing hardwood with a warm, honeyed colour, and it’s a lovely material for gates on a quality development. It weathers gracefully, it’s naturally durable outdoors, and it gives a set of new homes a solid, established feel from the day the first residents move in.

Timber also softens a new-build entrance in a way metal sometimes can’t, and a matching pedestrian gate alongside the main gates keeps the whole entrance looking considered. You can see more of what we do with wood on our wooden gates page, and how we power gates like these on our electric gates page.

Service & Maintenance

Shared gates on a development get plenty of use, so they need to keep working for everyone. We build with that in mind, and we’re happy to keep looking after gates once residents have moved in. Regular servicing and repairs keep the motors, the road loops and the intercom reliable, which matters all the more when six households are depending on the same entrance.

The Result

Boughtonwood Homes ended up with an entrance that suits the development and works for the people living there. Residents come and go easily thanks to the road loops, visitors reach the right home through the intercom, and the Iroko hardwood gives the scheme a warm, secure frontage that should look good for many years.

If you’re working on a scheme that needs automated hardwood gates in North Chailey or anywhere across the South East, we’d be glad to get involved early and design an entrance that works for every home. Call us on 01825 705160, email info@sussexgateservices.co.uk, or fill out our contact form.

How does a vehicle road loop work?

It’s a sensor buried in the road surface that picks up a waiting vehicle. As a resident drives up to leave, the loop senses the car and opens the gates automatically, so there’s nothing to press on the way out.

Can one intercom serve several homes?

Yes. A multi-button GSM intercom has a separate button for each household and calls that home over the mobile network. On this development we used a six-button unit, one for each of the six houses.

Are automated hardwood gates a good choice for a new-build development?

Yes. Automated hardwood gates give a run of new homes a warm, established look straightaway, and Iroko in particular is durable outdoors. A shared automated entrance also adds security and convenience for every household from day one.

Latest From Our Clients

  • Very helpful in guiding me on the specification which best suited my needs.
    Communication was excellent throughout.
    Very happy with the finished product.
    I have already recommended them to a friend.

    Peter Merchant

  • James and Paul recently installed some electric entrance gates which we are extremely pleased with. They were very professional and very thorough. Cannot recommend them enough.

    Pauline Tunna

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