When choosing the size of the timber gate for your garden you have a few variables to take into consideration. You have the obvious height and width choices which are primarily dictated by the size and width of the gap you have to plug with your garden gate but sizes can also be chosen based on aesthetic reasons.
As well as gap and aesthetic reasons you also have security issues to take into account which will be an influence on the third dimension of your timber gate, the depth. One other deciding factor on the size of your garden gate is cost, which unless you are extremely wealthy, will be a judgement based on a balancing act between necessity and funds available.
First of all we shall look at what many will see as the most important factor, the gap for which your timber gate is to fit into. Now from my experience this is actually one of the least important things to take into consideration when choosing the size of timber gate you wish to go for. The reason for me coming to this conclusion is that there are many things you can do to make room for a garden gate to fit into the area you wish to have it in. Some of these could be trimming back a hedge, knocking down part of a wall or even taking a few fence panels down to make room for your timber gates. By the same token you can also extend a fence or wall and plant new hedges or plants to fill a gap should a slimmer garden gate be your gate of preference.
Although making space for your timber gates may be simple enough, once you have created the required gate you then have to make sure that you measure the gap correctly. If you do not get this step right you could have a hand made wooden gate made and then have to mess about re-adjusting the gap to suit the garden gate. When measuring your gap make sure that you allow for gate posts if you are having them to go with your timber gate too.
Now for the aesthetic part which is what I would class as the most important aspect when choosing the size of your garden gate. If you only have a small garden then a 6ft by 6ft timber gate is just going to be too over powering for the layout of your garden. A nice delicate 3ft garden gate would be just the ticket for a petite garden whereas a large 5 bar timber gate would look lovely at the bottom of a garden with a long drive.
Tall garden gates are more suitable as passage way gates where they are up against the side of the house or some structure. Having such a timber gate in a normal garden with a smaller wall running around it just would not set the scene of a beautiful garden at all.
These taller timber gates do offer more security though and if you want a gate to keep intruders out then these may be the type for you. A thicker gate would also stop would be intruders gaining access to your premise if they were to try brute force as a means of trespass. Thicker garden gates are also ideal for pet gates which need to with stand the test of dogs and such like jumping on them all day long.
The final decision you have to weigh up is whether each of the above is worth the extra cost that they would take. Taking all of the above into consideration should give you all the answers you need to select the right sized timber gate for your particular need.
Daniel McLean works for FMC wooden gates and has a wealth of experience of customers requesting garden gates for different needs. FMC wooden gates hand make timber gates in a variety of different sizes.