Sliding or swing: the first decision
Electric gates in Christchurch start with one question: where can the gate go when it opens? A sliding gate needs a clear run along the fence to slide into. A swing gate needs open ground to swing over, and a slope in the driveway can get in the way.
Neither is better on paper. Measure the width of the driveway, the length of the fence beside it, and the fall of the ground, and have those numbers ready for the door specialist.
Openers made for each kind of gate
| Sliding gates | Swing gates | |
|---|---|---|
| Dominator | NeoSlider 500 (up to 500kg, 6m) and NeoSlider 800 (up to 800kg, 8m) | Elite SGO-1, with a DC motor and optional smartphone control |
| Merlin | Slide 600 | Swing L300, Swing A200 and Swing LR 500 |
Wind on a big flat gate
A solid gate catches the wind much as a garage door does. Christchurch has 52 days a year with gusts over 61 km/h, NIWA says, and the airport's record is a 172.4 km/h gust from the west-north-west in August 1975.
Ask the door specialist how the opener you are looking at copes with wind on a gate of your size and infill, and whether an open or slatted design would make its life easier. If your gate faces the nor'easter, say so.
Wiring, and who does it
Motors run from a nearby outlet, and on the NeoSlider that means a weatherproof 240V 10 amp point no more than 1 metre from the mounting spot. Where 240V is used, the manual says a qualified electrician must do the installation.
In New Zealand only registered and licensed electrical workers can do that fixed wiring, and the EWRB says they must give you a Certificate of Compliance. Keep it with the house papers. Beam cables run underground across the gateway, so have that conversation before any paving is laid. For a gate far from the house, Dominator's sliding openers have battery backup and SmartSolar packages, and Merlin makes a solar powered rural gate opener.
Gates around Christchurch
New sections
On a new build, get the conduit for power and beams in before the driveway goes down. Retrofitting under finished concrete is a bigger job.
Lyttelton and the coast
Lyttelton Harbour averages 15.9 km/h of wind and sits inside the 500 m Zone D rule for harbours, so ask about salt on the gate and its fixings.
Windy months
NIWA has January as the airport's windiest month, at 17.3 km/h, so check beams and gate travel before summer.
What we would do
Stand in the driveway and walk the gate's path before you choose. Check where a swing gate would land on a slope, where a sliding gate would park, and whether a car waiting at the gate would be sitting on the road. That ten-minute look decides most of the job.