Aluminium Horizontal Slat Double Gates

Splitting a wide opening into two leaves is what makes horizontal slat gates work on a driveway. Each leaf is half the width, so it weighs less, swings through half the arc and puts far less leverage on its hinges and post than a single leaf covering the same span would.

The detail worth getting right is where the slat lines land. On a well-built pair the slats run continuously across both leaves so the horizontal lines read straight through the join, and the gap at the centre stile is even from top to bottom. That only happens if both leaves are set out together as one panel and then divided — which is how we fabricate them.

Leaves do not have to be equal. If your driveway sits off-centre in the opening, or one side has a pier in the way, an uneven split often gives a better result than forcing a symmetrical pair. The carport gates in our gallery are a straightforward even split; the white pair in a side passage shows the same approach used where a single leaf simply had nowhere to swing.

Ground fall across the opening sets how low the leaves can be built, because both have to clear the high point as they swing. If your driveway rises towards the house, mention it — it is the single most common reason a double gate ends up with a bigger gap underneath than the owner expected.