Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Hinges for Gates

When it comes to securing your garden, one thing you shouldn’t compromise on is gate hinges. You can ensure the gate and the rest of its hardware perform well with the right hinges. There’s a lot more to choosing the best hinges for gates than simply the opening and shutting of doors. There are several factors you’ll need to consider when choosing gate hinges, including the size of the gate, what it’s made from and the gate hinge style and finish. Here, we’ll look at the types of hinges available to help you choose the right ones for your gate.

How to Choose the Right Gate Hinges

When choosing the right gate hinges, you first need to consider where you’ll be using them (indoors or outdoors) and what you’ll be using them on. The strength and functionality of your gate and attached fence, if applicable, depend entirely on the hinges. When selecting the right gate hinges, you’ll want to ensure they provide full maintenance, durability and functionality of the gate and are easy to use. Whether you are planning to hang a gate, barn or shed door, you must consider the width, weight and what you plan to attach it to, such as a post, wall or door frame.

If you are looking to use gate hinges outside, they’ll have to bear the weight of the gate and stand up to extreme weather, such as heavy snow, sleet, ice and rain and harmful corrosive salt and UV rays.

Materials

There are typically two things to consider when it comes to materials: the gate post and the gate itself. The material you are working with will determine how you will secure the gate hinges to the gate and gate post. If, for example, your gate is made of a metal like steel, you might choose a weldable hinge or a screw-fixed hinge. However, with wooden gates, you’ll only be able to use screw-fixed hinges. The same applies to the gate post. Depending on its material, you’ll need different fixings, ranging from masonry to metal or wood.

Weight

Weight is crucial for gate hinges and ensuring maximum safety and functionality. If the hinges and hinge pin aren’t the correct size to handle the weight of the gate, the weight of the gate, impact and long-term weight can cause the hinges to fail. Knowing your gate’s total weight will help you determine the quantity, size and type of hinges you need to avoid hinge failure.

Light Duty Gates

If you have a small metal garden gate, small gate hinges will likely suit your needs. Continuous hinges, flag hinges or universal hinges should be able to do the job for you.

Heavy Duty Gates

As their name suggests, heavy-duty gate hinges are designed to handle heavier weights, such as garage doors or a farm gate. If you have a heavy gate and want to make sure that you use a suitable hinge that can take the weight, it’s a good idea to check:

• The maximum weight the gate hinges can take (sometimes these limits are stated in pairs)
• Gate hinges material is durable and strong (such as brass)
• Whether the gate hinges have grease points that will enable smooth hinge operation
• The hinge maintenance recommendations

Hinge Size

You’ll also need to consider the size of the gate frame, such as its thickness, height and width, and hinge length. The gate width, in particular, will play a key role in determining the strength of the gate hinges, as the wider the gate, the more pressure will be put on the top hinge. Some gate hinges will come with a recommended gate width that they are suited for. It’s also a good idea to check that the hinge fixings’ width corresponds to the gate leaf’s thickness. For example, a weld-in gate hinge shouldn’t be thicker than the frame it’s welded to.

Location and Usage

Consider where the gate is located, as this will determine how the gate is used and how often. For something like a large industrial estate with metal gates or a special delivery entrance, the gate hinges may need to frequently open their gate or keep it open for long periods, and the gate hinge pin will have to take a lot of wear and tear. If large vehicles frequently pass through, the gate will also need to open more than 90 degrees requiring hinges to open this wide.

For the average garden gate, the priority will likely be less about how wide it can open but more about reliability, can stand up to frequent use and won’t seize up quickly. Stainless steel hinges are a great option for a garden gate hinge.

Types of Gate Hinges

While all of the fundamentals of a gate’s construction must be sound to work effectively, choosing the best gate hinges will ensure that the rest of your hard work will work seamlessly together. Some of the best types of hinges for gates include:

Butt Hinges

You’ll most commonly see butt hinges as interior door hinges where the cylindrical barrel is the only part visible when the door is closed. A butt hinge has a rectangular hinge plate and can take a good amount of weight. As they are non-corrosive, you can use them outside, thanks to their stainless steel construction and stainless steel screws, making them a popular choice for use as a gate hinge for lightweight gates.

Marine Hinges

Marine hinges are designed to withstand hard use and extreme weather and are therefore incredibly tough and corrosion-resistant and make a great gate hinge for use on doors exposed to the elements, such as shed doors, barn doors, or driveway gate hinges. Stainless steel 316-grade marine hinges come in various styles, such as unequal leaves, equal leaves, cranked leaves and counter flap hinges.

Heavy Duty Hinges

Heavy duty hinges are an ideal gate hinge as they are strong enough to support the weight of heavy hanging gates. They are often a surface mounted hinge connected the gate to the post to support its weight while providing a smooth closing and opening. For example:

• Heavy duty continuous hinges or piano hinges can run the full length of the gate and use ball bearings to reduce friction to ensure the smooth operation of a heavy, solid gate.
• Heavy duty modular hinges come in mild steel and stainless steel, 3mm to 5mm leaf thickness and can be configured as either a removable pin or fixed hinges.

Polymer Hinges

Polymer hinges are light-weight to medium-weight alternative to hinges with stainless steel components. Polymer hinges available as continuous, symmetrical or asymmetrical hinges with wide or narrow hinge leaves which are suitable for use as a gate hinge. Polymer hinges are durable enough to withstand regular use and will continue to deliver high performance in all weathers without showing signs of wear.

Shop Cooke Brothers’ Range of Gate Hinges Online

At Cooke Brothers, you’ll find a range of high-quality adjustable hinges and gate hinges.

Shop all hinges for gates here.

Order online, and you can choose same-day, next-day or 48-hour delivery to suit you. If you need advice about our range of gate hinges or your next hinge-related project, speak to a member of our team today.

At Cooke Brothers, we’ve been designing, manufacturing and supplying high-quality cabinet hinges since 1872. All our hinges undergo vigorous testing before being added to our ranges, so our customers have peace of mind that our hinges are robust and of the highest quality.