Bespoke gates in Saumur, steel and wood

Choosing a gate works the other way round from what most people expect. Before style, two very concrete questions: how wide must the opening be, and how much clear space is there on each side? Here is how we work in the Saumur workshop, for old houses and new builds alike.

Swing, sliding, folding

A swing gate is the most common choice: two leaves opening inwards on existing pillars, for openings of 3 to 3.50 m in two 1.50 to 1.75 m leaves. A sliding gate avoids the need for swing room but needs a rail as long as twice its width, or an equivalent free run for the self-supporting version.Folding gates with four to six leaves handle very wide openings with neither swing room nor rail. And a pedestrian gate, 1.00 m wide with a deadlock and top bolt, is usually built in the same drawing as the main gate.

Steel, wood, aluminium

Our base material is S235 structural steel, welded, hot-dip galvanised then powder coated: rigid, repairable, weldable, and protected even where paint chips. Solid wood (oak or robinia) brings character on a steel frame that keeps it straight. We do not offer aluminium: lighter and rust-free, it flexes more under wind on wide openings, and we do not weld it in the workshop.

Infill and light

The infill decides light, privacy and wind load. Vertical bars leave 60 to 70% open: you see the house, the gate disappears, wind passes through. Bars set at 11 cm close the view at eye level while staying transparent. Solid sheet gives full privacy but behaves like a sail — wind area multiplies, pillars and motor must be sized for it, and the noise in high wind is audible indoors. Horizontal timber slats on a steel frame are the best compromise in old buildings: warm, open, replaceable slat by slat.

Motors and safety

A motorised gate is not a gadget: it is a machine that can crush. EN 12453 requires safety devices, EN 12445 defines the tests and EN 13241 frames the product. In practice a power-operated gate must have photocells, a sensitive edge or obstacle detection, a flashing light, an emergency stop and a keyed manual release. Mechanically, an articulated arm suits leaves up to 3 m, an underground ram is invisible and quieter but dearer, and a rack drives sliding gates.

Standards and duties

A professionally installed powered gate must be compliant, CE marked and supplied with its installation and maintenance instructions, and the manual release must stay reachable without removing covers. On planning: a declaration is generally required for a fence or gate above 2 m, and may be required below that if the local plan says so. In Saumur’s old centre and protected areas, the French heritage architect also has a say on colour, design and height.

Starting prices

The prices below include tax, supply and installation, with galvanising and powder coating in a standard RAL colour, starting from a simple configuration without pillar masonry.

Lead times and installation

Allow four to six weeks between survey and installation, longer for a self-supporting sliding gate or a peak-season order. Fitting a swing gate takes a day including adjustment; a motor adds two to three hours of testing and commissioning. We ask for pillars to be built and dry before we arrive: a hinge anchored in fresh masonry never stays straight. Every gate comes with its instructions and release keys, and a powered gate with its declaration of conformity.