The side gate is the easiest way into most homes. It sits out of sight of the street, often in shadow or behind planting, so someone can work on it without being seen, and it leads straight to the back of the house where the doors and windows are. A front door gets locks, lights and a camera. The side gate gets a single bolt and no second thought. That gap is the problem. Securing a side gate comes down to four things: a lock that cannot be reached from outside, hinges the gate cannot be lifted off, enough height to stop a climb-over, and no gaps to reach through.
Here is how to close each one.
Why the side gate is the soft spot
Two things make a side gate easy. First, it is private. Out of sight of the street and the neighbours, someone has time to work at it without being noticed, which is the opposite of a front entrance. Second, it is usually treated as an afterthought, a basic latch on a flimsy gate, when it leads to the most vulnerable part of the house. An intruder through the side gate is already at your back door, your shed, and your windows, away from view.
So the side gate deserves the same thought as a front entrance, not less.
Fit a lock that cannot be reached from outside
The most common weakness is a latch or bolt that can be opened by reaching over or through the gate. If someone can get a hand or an arm to your latch, the lock is decoration.
- Keep the release out of reach. The latch or lock release should not be reachable from the outside, whether by reaching over the top or through a gap.
- Use a lockable latch or a keyed gate lock, not just a slide bolt that anyone can flip. A keyed lock that works from both sides is convenient and secure.
- Close the reach-through gaps. A solid or close-slatted gate gives nowhere to put a hand through to the lock, which a widely spaced or lattice gate does not.
Stop the gate being lifted off its hinges
A gate that lifts straight off its hinges is not secure no matter what lock is on it. On a swing gate, the hinges should be fitted so the gate cannot be lifted up and away, which on quality hardware is done with the hinge pins set so the gate cannot be raised off them. It is a small detail that is easy to miss and easy to exploit, and it ties into which way the gate swings and which side the hinges go.
Height and gaps
A low side gate is a step-over, not a barrier. A height of around 1.8 metres, matching a standard fence, stops a casual climb-over and removes the easy reach to the latch. Just as important, there should be no large gaps at the base or sides. A gap big enough to reach through reaches the lock, and a gap big enough to crawl under makes the gate pointless. A gate built to fit its opening closes those off, which is covered in our guide on how wide a side gate should be.
Keep it maintained, because a worn gate is an open gate
Security hardware only works while it works. A latch that has stopped catching because the gate has sagged, or a bolt that no longer seats, leaves the gate effectively unlocked. Keeping the hinges and latch in good order is as much a security job as a maintenance one, which we cover in maintaining an aluminium side gate.
A secure gate starts with a solid gate
You can fit the best lock made, but bolted to a flimsy gate that flexes or a fence post that wobbles, it does not hold. Real security starts with a solid, well-hung gate: a strong frame, hinges fixed to a proper footing, and a lock that suits the gate. Our aluminium side gates are fully welded and built to fit the opening, with a full range of locking and access options to match. Get a quote on a side gate built to keep your property secure.