Gates – Slide vs. Swing

It's a question that is asked quite frequently for those who are just now trying to get a gate for their driveway. Even though it's a pretty straight-forward question as to which one you should get, it doesn't have such a straight-forward answer.

Each one can have its own advantages and disadvantages, although one does have more advantages than the other. Let's compare the two so that you can see what might be better for you and your needs!

Which one is better?

If you look at the differences between these two commonly used types, besides the difference in the way that they move, you will see that there can be a good amount of benefit from using one over the other depending on your situation.

Swing gates usually use a hydraulic opener and are not only the most commonly used, but also the most commonly sought after. When someone thinks of one that is nice and fancy outside of a mansion or higher class home, they think of one that swings open.

The swing types don't only have fewer moving parts than the sliding type, but they are also a lot safer. Although there is room for maybe a car to get tapped by one of the swinging doors, there is no potential for anything or anyone getting pinched or injured.

Those fewer moving parts also usually mean less maintenance, less things to buy, and are a lot less trouble. On top of that, swinging types have a lot more of a compact, slim, and simple design to them that makes them not only a pleasure to use, but also to look at.

Since we are talking about driveway gates, you obviously are going to have your driveway clear of anything so that the doors (and your car) have clearance. That means that doors that swing match perfectly, whereas with doors that slide, you would have to have a large area beside your gate that isn't covered with any landscape, brush, etc.

On top of all this, sliding types have a groove that the door itself rides in, that needs to stay super clean for it to run as intended.

So, Why Use A Sliding Gate?

So, you might be asking, why use one that slides then? Well, there a couple of scenarios where types that slide are ideal. The first one being if your driveway is fairly sloped. If you don't want the doors themselves swinging away from the house, then a sliding type is your only option. This is because the extra slope causes a lot of undue stress on a swinging automatic opener and it just wouldn't last very long.

Another situation would be if the area that the doors were going to swing into was covered in some way, if you needed to park there, or if you just wanted the extra room.

So with all of this in mind, we can't choose for you, but hopefully we did the next best thing and gave you a little better idea as to which one is the best choice for your needs.