wrought iron gates information page

We Pride ourselves on finish and attention to detail, All our wrought iron gates whether they are for a cottage Town house or stately home are all made to the same exacting standards.

Gate designs/styles may vary slightly depending on the size and number of bars in each product

and reserve the right to alter the design or specification of any of our products at any time without notice or liability

All Our Wrought Iron Products are Deep Tank Dipped in Black Zinc Rich QD. Enamel Primer

and Require a Further Coat Of Good Quality Exterior Metal Paint before outside installation

Please note that the very nature of Hot Dip Galvanizing can only be described as an industrial finish and can sometimes leave rough deposits

Barrier Protection

Like paints, the hot-dip galvanized coating provides barrier protection from corrosion. Barrier protection, as it name implies, protects against corrosion by isolating the steel from the electrolytes in the environment. As long as the barrier is intact, the steel will be protected and corrosion will not occur. However, if the barrier is breached, corrosion will begin. The impervious nature of zinc makes it a very good barrier coating. Furthermore, zinc corrodes approximately 1/10 to 1/40 the rate of steel depending on the environment, making the corrosion rate of a thin zinc coating equivalent to a much thicker steel piece.

Cathodic Protection

In addition to barrier protection, galvanizing also provides cathodic protection to steel, which means zinc will preferentially corrode to protect the underlying base steel.

The table (right) shows a series of metals arranged in order of electrochemical activity in seawater (the electrolyte). This arrangement of metals determines what metal will be the anode and cathode when the two are put in a electrolytic cell. Metals higher on the scale provide cathodic or sacrificial protection to the metals below them. Therefore, zinc protects steel.

The scale indicates magnesium, aluminum, and cadmium also should protect steel. In most normal applications, magnesium is highly reactive and is too rapidly consumed. Aluminum forms a resistant oxide coating and its effectiveness in providing cathodic protection is limited. Cadmium provides the same cathodic protection for steel as zinc, but for technical and economic reasons, its applications are limited.

Sacrificial Zinc

As previously explained, zinc is anodic to steel; therefore, the galvanized coating will provide cathodic protection to exposed steel. When zinc and steel are connected in the presence of the electrolyte, the zinc is slowly consumed while the steel is protected. The zinc’s sacrificial action also offers protection where small areas of steel may be exposed due to cut edges, drill holes, scratches, or as the result of severe surface abrasion during rough handling or job site erection (see illustration below). Cathodic protection of the steel from corrosion continues until all the zinc is consumed.

Over The past thirty Years we have been asked many times, what is the best paint for the protection of steel, The answer has always been the same

When ordering posts with gates please make sure you supply total size of the opening including posts even if you are ordering one post we still need the total opening gap that the gate and post will fit into see below

A small allowance (2mm) 1/8inch will be deducted from opening gap sizes to allow for easy installation between brickwork

Top frame of panel (1/2")(12mm) down from the top of column brickwork or under copping stone (B), A gap of (1")(25mm) is to be left between panel bottom and wall copping or brickwork at the bottom of the frame this is to allow for maintenance of the wrought iron panel for future painting (C), The height or arch of the panel is between 5 and 6inches for point (A) to point (B) depending on width. The gap between infill bars will always be 100mm (4")(100mm) or less (E).(d) on the drawing is an adjustable foot for panel over (6ft-6") (2mtrs) wide

All Wrought Iron Gates Come Complete With all necessary Fittings For Wall or Post Fixing

Gates arriving by mail order will be boxed up and the sneck on the gate will require unbolting, and re fixing in the correct position

this is placed in an upright position for delivery purposes only. any separate hinges, adjustable eyelets, lock keeps,

or fixings will arrive inside one of the cartons in a separate plastic bag

Before you start installing wrought iron drive gates, single gates or tall gates it is important to establish a level starting point

if the ground you are working on is like the drawing above, you will need to establish a leveling point

for slopping ground then it is best to start installing at post mark (c) at the highest level point

Note: all our posts come with a mark across the post. This is a ground level mark and provides 2" clearance under the gate

Dig a hole 12inches square or thereabouts not round as square produces a stronger fixing a lest 18" deep.

If you have dug the holes and the bottom of the hole is clay or soil you are in luck, place the post in the hole and level for plumb

Place a block of wood on top of post and with a hammer knock the post down into the earth an extra 4"or 5", to the mark on the post plumbing it as you go this should leave the post in a fairly stable condition, supporting itself until concrete is placed in holes. this action alleviates the necessity for props to hold them in position

Level from the top of post at point (c) to the next post, remember to take into consideration any rise in terrain of the drive.

Repeat the procedure above except making sure the two post are level. The mark on the second post may be above ground if the floor was not level

This mark could be ground off if required.

fitting wrought iron arched gates into existing brick archways requires a little bit of positioning to allow the gate to open fully.

attempting to fix a arched gate in exactly middle of the brickwork that is 9" wide or more. can lead to problems

with the arched part of the gate binding with the brickwork when fully open.

ideally fix the gate no more 3.5" to center of fittings from face of brickwork

checking that the gate opens properly before fixing

Posts arrive with hanging fitting attached to the post, but latching post come with a separate catch the reason for this is that when concreting post in it is very difficult to line the gate up and is much easer to fix the catch afterward when every thing is fixed or set , self drilling self tapping screw are provided for fixing no pilot holes in post are required a cordless drill is ideal for fixing .

Posts also arrive with marks on the bottom showing ground level if the posts are fitted at this point a gap of 2" will be left underneath the gate

All our wrought iron fencing panel That are attached to metal posts come pre- drilled

and supplied with self drilling self tapping fixing screw bolts for easy D.I.Y installation

no welding is required

We would recommend a proper mixing of concrete rather than these diy post fixing bags ,A mixture 3.2.1 fairly wet:

3 of Gravel 20mm 2 of Sharp sand and 1 of Cement

We always use extra rapid cement this allows you to fit the gates 2/3 hours later depending on weather. Extra rapid cement is available from B&Q at about £10.99 A bag (20Kg) or Wickes in smaller bags

Once the posts are set, place the bottom adjustable eyelet on the gate (midway position) and stand on post put second top adjustable eyelet on post and draw the top of the gate into it (reversed hinge pin), same with the second gate if (drive) and adjust both for level with each other, leave about 1/2" clearance between gates Job Finished

Note: Don't forget to give all gates a good coat of spirit based paint as soon a possible( preferable before fixing)

When installing wrought iron fencing panels over garden or paths that have a lot of fall it will be necessary to drop each panel as you progress along,

Find the level from point (A) to point (E) on the drawing above, calculate the amount of drop and divide this by the number of panels in that run. Fix the panels as above

Majestic Gates Unit 5. Temple Street, Industrial Estate, Beverly Road, Hull. East Yorkshire Tel: 01482 441466

Barrier Protection

Cathodic Protection

Sacrificial Zinc