Sliding Gate guides, calculator & reference

An electric tracked steel sliding gate in Ireland typically costs €3,000 to €5,000 supplied and fitted (including the gate leaf, ground track, rack motor, safety edges, photocells and remotes). An electric powder-coated aluminium sliding gate costs €4,200 to €7,500+, and a trackless cantilever sliding gate costs €3,800 to €6,800 in steel or €4,800 to €8,500 in aluminium. If a new concrete ground-track beam is needed, allow €500 to €2,000.

For a standard tracked sliding gate on a V-groove ground rail, you need straight, unobstructed run-back space behind one pier equal to the clear opening width plus 450mm to 600mm for the tail and motor mount (for example, a 3.6m entrance needs 4.1m to 4.2m of side run-back). For a trackless cantilever gate, allow 1.35× the opening width (about 4.9m for a 3.6m entrance).

A sliding gate is the right choice whenever your driveway rises uphill behind the piers (where inward-opening swing gates would ground out on the tarmac), where the driveway is short and cars park right behind the gate, or on exposed rural and coastal sites where strong winds can catch wide solid swing leaves and strain the motor arms.

Under Class 5 of Schedule 2, Part 1 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 600 of 2001), capping or replacing a gate at an existing entrance is exempt from planning permission provided the gate and piers do not exceed 2 metres in height and do not create a traffic sightline hazard. Widening an entrance onto a public road or creating a new entrance requires planning permission.