NORTHERN BEACHES of Sydney, Lower North Shore & part of North Shore

The dozen or more projects pictured below have been selected to show specific areas of Gate and Specialised Fencing expertise to demonstrate our well honed skills.

Handy Work makes a wide variety of custom gates and specialised fencing from vertical picket fence styles to fully framed, screening style gates as well as tongue and groove paneled gates.

Gates can be almost anything. Including :

Pedestrian gates, like one down the side of the house
Double gates across a driveway
Safety gates to protect children or pets, installed at the top of stairs from a deck, protecting a pool area or keeping a pet safe.
More fancy front entry gates like Federation or Contemporary styles.

Materials will vary depending on the client's architectural and environmental preferences, but Handy Work will recommend materials that last, including treated pine (both the painted kind and the yellow/green CCA kind of treated pine), hardwood and cedar. Handy Work will only use stainless steel or galvanised fixings that will stand the test of time and weather. Mostly we recommend magnetic latches to ensure long-term trouble free closing. We also install steel and aluminium fencing gates and can project manage the fabrication of galvanised steel or stainless steel gates for you.

Pricing for custom made wooden gates varies, depending on how much complex joinery is involved. Contemporary gate styles using straight pieces of timber joined together and paneled gates are often quite cost effective (between $1,600and $2,100 for a good pedestrian gate) although extremely simple gates can sometimes be less. More complex Federation Style gates incorporating curved timber, multiple mid-rails, fancy spokes, “X” crossed rails or champhored edges etc increase the cost significantly (between $2,400 and $4,500).

Metal gates such as Galvanised steel and welded aluminium gates are factory made and therefore mostly require CAD drawings, hot dip galvanisation processes or powder coating and are therefore relatively costly to custom make. The exception is pool gate style aluminium gates. They can be sourced through specialist fabricators fairly inexpensively and Handy Work installs them.

Automated gates such as electric rolling gates require concrete footings, laser aligned tracks, electricians etc so are a more expensive proposition again. Where Handy Work has made many a gate for Automation, specialist firms are required for the actual automation part of the project.

Handy Work is multi-skilled in virtually all areas of property, building & carpentry improvements.
No matter whether it is new work, modifications or repairs. Get us to fix everything you need done in one go. You don’t have to hang around day after day, waiting for multiple trades, who may or may not turn up.

Call Bruce on 0418 26 46 49 or click 'Contact' to ask your question and we’ll call you.

Taking the hassle out of your property improvements.

Handy Work - Just one call for all your property work… Done !

The old story still applies; “GOOD PEOPLE ARE BUSY, AND THOSE THAT AREN’T, YOU SHOULD PERHAPS WORRY ABOUT” Therefore it is always best to get your job bookings in early to avoid disappointment.

There are many examples of different styles of timber, stainless steel, driveway gates, federation style, hardwood and picket gates below. Recent projects include:

Stairwell Gate - Lane Cove

To prevent their dog going upstairs our client commissioned a bespoke contemporary gate with a fairly unique design. It was made on-site and hung with sprung hinges so the gate closed immediately.

Federation Gate - Clareville

Our client had seen a similar gate in Whale Beach and commissioned us to make a very similar bespoke Federation style gate for the front garden. I demolished the old gate, dug out the old posts and installed new ones in concrete, hung the gate and latched it and the client did the painting themselves, then sent me a snapshot.

Double Driveway Merbau Gates - in leafy Avalon

The clients prized their privacy and wanted natural timber gates to blend in with the very natural environment they craved for rest and relaxation.

Contemporary Driveway and Pedestrian Gates - Newport Beach

Our client had specific ideas for the style of gate to go with there contemporary weatherboard and stone cottage. Where the stone pillars look sturdy, it was considered too risky to rely on the stone pillars alone for gates support, so special H4 (in-ground) Treated Pine smooth finished posts were sourced and concreted in for the driveway gates to ensure long life. The smooth finish allowed the paint finish to look professional, where most H4 Posts are rough header finished.

Double Entrance Gates - Lower North Shore

Primarily to prevent their dog from escaping, these double entrance gates were built, hung, latched and installed ready for the painters to finish coat in around 1 1/2 days of work. So, where double gates often cost twice as much as a single gate, because these gates were open slatted with vertical ballusters and a simple cross, they were quicker and a little cheaper to custom make than panelled (Tongue & Groove panelled) gates, while maintaining a more fancy, federation style into contemporary double gates.

Hardwood Gates - Bilgola

Barking dogs in the area drove the owner’s own crazy to in an effort to keep him further from the troublesome dogs, they needed gates in several places. Because the nearby fences and balustrades were oiled hardwood, I was comissioned to make hardwood gates from Merbau, an Indonesian timber which was a similar colour to the existing balustrading.

Contemporary/Federation influenced Driveway and pedestrian gates - Northbridge

A builder commissioned Handy Work to build gates which had a federation influence in their design.

Driveway & Pedestrian Gates - Mosman

A busy road in Mosman dictated privacy gates across the drive and a pedestrian gate to cut back noise primarily. The client had specific ideas for a design, which due to the drive sloping across the opening and curved top meant the very much bespoke gates needed to be made onsite to ensure they matched the slope entirely. The frame was made and routed out for the paneling and the curved top to the frame was made from very wide pieces of treated pine. The client later on painted the gates themselves.

Before Gates

With Gates

Uniform Retirement Village Gates - Bayview

Gates were not made for every villa in this retirement village but there was a requirement that it matched the design and colour of other gates in the village. Because her grandchildren were old enough it was time for gates. So we custom made matching gates to size, hung them and painted them.

Before Gates

New Gates

2.4m High Gate to slow the Brush Turkeys down a little - Cremorne

The Brush Turkeys were creating havoc in their leafy yard. The client hoped that a high gate may slow them down. I doubted and said so because I had seen them jump onto the garage roof, but the client insisted, so I complied and built their bespoke gate and hung it. Our client insists it has helped but admits that the Brush Turkeys are more athletic than she gave them credit.

Contemporary High Grade Fencing - Mosman

The clients had a lovely home of contemporary style, based on the originally Federation Style home in Mosman and wanted a high grade fence in sympathy with the home and similar to what they had seen on another property in a nearby street. To get the strength needed the posts needed to be buried deeply in concrete. Only H4 timber can be buried and there are very few smooth posts which are rated H4. We sourced large 135mm square H4 posts and then battled with tree roots to dig holes deep enough. A big job but one which will guarantee a long life for this fence.

Build 6 New Gates - Forestville

This house had 5 old gates which had deteriorated badly. Most were hanging and scraping badly on the ground and were made of hardwood, which lasts a few years but not nearly as long as treated pine. Handy Work demolished the 5 old gates and some unneeded brick panels and built 6 new gates from H3 Primed LOSP Treated Pine. These new gates will last substantially longer and the timber comes pre-primed. In this case the client intends painting the gates himself to reduce the cost.

Old Gate

Narrow gate and brick panel removed

Converted this storage eye-sore to ......

Old Gate and ugly brick panel

The old picket style front entry gate was scraping on the ground and to make matters worse, it was such a chore to open that people started jumping the gate instead.

Privacy from the busy street was also an issue for the owners. A new 1.8m high modern, screening-style gate was constructed and utilised a pool gate style magnetic latch which could be reached easily by those who new where to lift the release button. Making the owners feel much more secure.

New Gate

Double panel, hinged gate allowed greater access width

.....This! Which is much nicer next to the pool and entertaining area

New Gate

Decking Gate - Waverton

Repair Gate - Fairlight

The fence posts had rotted enough for the fence to lean over and the gate was rubbing against the house so hard that it was gauging out chunks of timber. As the fence was in generally good repair, rather than replace the fence an additional metal fence post was concreted in so the fence remained upright and therefore stopped further damage to the house.

Federation Gate Replica - Mosman

Before

The client specified an identical copy of the heavily rotted Federation Style gate to be made and installed. Photos and precise measurements were taken but this time it was to be made from LOSP Primed Treated Pine. The client wanted to paint the gate himself.

After

Cedar Fence and Gate - Elanora Heights

This large home on 5 acres needed a tasteful gate and fence to keep the dogs in while hide garbage bins, which are now stored discreetly behind the fixed panels. Handy Work lifted pavers, steel posts were concreted in and cedar paneling was used to give the look the client liked while ensuring a long life. Special self closing hidden hinges and a push latch without any handles were used, so the elegant nature was maintained while easy to use, without the dog getting out. Later Handy Work applied Sikens Primer and two finish coats to protect the valuable timber from the weather.

Before

After

Pavers were lifted, steel posts concreted in and cedar paneling was custom made to ensure a long life and the aesthetic requirements of the discerning client, including special self closing hidden hinges and a push latch without any handles, so the … — Pavers were lifted, steel posts concreted in and cedar paneling was custom made to ensure a long life and the aesthetic requirements of the discerning client, including special self closing hidden hinges and a push latch without any handles, so the elegant nature was maintained while easy to use, without the dog getting out. Later Handy Work applied Sikens Primer and two finish coats to protect the valuable timber from the weather.

Stainless Steel gates with key released magnetic latch - Chatswood

A residential Strata building found that neighbours were constantly putting their garbage in the Strata's bin, leaving no room for the resident's own garbage. Nothing seemed to dissuade the neighbours from their selfish behaviour, so the strata had Handy Work install specially fabricated stainless steel gates to the garbage shed. The engineer who designed the gates specified an electrically operated magnetic latching system which was released by the normal front door key to the strata building entry door.