Living in South Africa often means that ensuring your home is safe and secure is a necessity, not just a luxury. External security measures, such as security gates, are often the first line of deterrents that keep your home safe. If you are a particularly sustainability-focused homeowner, you may find that wooden security gates pique your interest.
Wood is one of humanity’s oldest construction materials and has remained a popular construction material all the way up to the present. Wooden gates offer an environmentally friendly, yet durable option for home protection.
There are a number of different woods available for our expertly-crafted security, pedestrian, and driveway gates. In this quick read, we will break down the qualities of the different woods, the provinces they are best suited to, and maintenance requirements.
Wood Options For Security Gates
Glow Innovations offers a number of wood options for security gates. All of the wood options in our catalogue were selected for their durability, their reliable performance and the protection they offer when fashioned into a security gate.
Our catalogue includes:
SA Pine Timber
South African Pine has been growing in the country for approximately 370 years. It is a fairly tall tree, reaching about 37 metres at maturity, and is known for its distinctive pale yellow or yellowish-white wood, straight grain and resinous pockets.
South African pine is known for producing some of the best structural timber in the world.
Pine wood is a popular wood among South Africans, not only in home construction or for gates, but also for furniture. While this wood is known for its slightly coarse texture, it is relatively easy to work with.
This wood selection is one of our pocket-friendly options, as the wood is grown locally. It is important to note that this wood option for gates is lauded for its stiffness and low bending qualities, but its crushing strength and shock resistance are low.
Maintenance: Pine gates require a light sand, clean and recoat during the first 12 to 18 months. Thereafter, it will need the same treatment every 18 to 24 months, depending on the gates’ UV exposure and other environmental factors.
Recommended provinces: All. South African pine wood is known to withstand extreme weather conditions, but maintenance is important to ensure the wood’s longevity.
Thermo Pine
European Pine is a sapwood and a popular option as it is widely available, durable, and easy to work with. This wood can be reddish-white or yellow-white in appearance, and the heartwood is a distinctive reddish-brown. Thermo, or thermal modification, is a process that serves to preserve and reinforce wood. This extends the wood’s longevity and improves its appearance as well.
The wood is heated, and the steam generated causes chemical changes to happen in the wood, changing its appearance and extending its lifespan.
As the wood is heated to high temperatures, the process of caramelisation begins, deepening the colour of the wood. This also increases the wood’s stability, and as the water within the wood is evaporated, the chances of wood decay are reduced too.
Maintenance: This wood requires minimal cleaning every 12 to 18 months, and oil can be used to prevent discolouration as the wood ages.
Recommended provinces: As this wood is treated, it is made to withstand various weather conditions, making it suitable for just about any South African province.
Meranti
Meranti is native to Southeast Asia but is known as a value-for-money wood option in South Africa. It is a popular and dependable hardwood option. Meranti is fairly easy to work with and takes well to staining and other finishing techniques. There are several varieties of Meranti woods, with Balua being most commonly available in South Africa.
Maintenance: This wood requires a light sand, clean and recoat within the first 12 to 18 months. Thereafter, it will need the same treatment every 18 to 24 months.
Recommended province: If the wood is properly maintained, it can cope in a variety of regions with differing weather conditions.
Thermo Poplar Timber
Our Poplar timber is made using American Tulip Poplar and is thermo-treated. This wood is known for its medium to fine texture and is generally sought out for its natural dimensional stability. The latter only increases during the thermal modification process, further strengthening the wood.
Poplar is also a popular option for gates, as the wood is strong but light. While unmodified, poplar wood has low density, meaning it is easily dented and scratched. It is also quite shock resistant. The process of thermal modification also stops the wood from swelling and shrinking and being susceptible to wood rot caused by water damage.
Maintenance: Thermo Poplar is a minimal maintenance option and requires a light cleaning every 12 to 18 months. The wood can also be oiled to prevent discolouration as it ages.
Garapa Hardwood
This Brazilian hardwood is an all-around workhorse known for its natural decay resistance. It is a popular wood used in construction and home renovation and has a captivating appearance. Many believe the colour of this hardwood changes as shadow and light fall on it. If left untreated, this wood also turns a distinctive silver-grey as it ages; however, if you wish to maintain its golden yellow hue for longer, treat the wood with a UV inhibitor annually.
Garapa hardwood is often used in exterior or outdoor projects as it is durable and easy to work with, despite being dense.
Maintenance: None. As mentioned above, your Garapa hardwood security gate can be UV treated but the wood will still turn silver with age.
Recommended province: All. If the wood is properly maintained, it can cope in a variety of weather conditions.
What To Consider Before Settling On Your Final Gate Design
Once you have selected the wood you would like for your security gates, it is time to consider the finer details of the gates’ overall design. The material your security gates are made out of is not where the decision-making train stops.
Not only does Glow Innovations have a number of pre-existing wooden security gates available, but our customisation option can help bring your dream gate to life. Here is what to consider as you deliberate on the design of your security gates:
Budget: While there are a number of factors that determine the final cost of your security gates, our quick and easy selection process will also generate a quote. This is a fuss-free way to help our clients determine whether our gate options align with their budgets.
Custom or not: As mentioned above, we are able to bring your custom-designed security gates vision to fruition. This could be anything from the sort of motor your gate uses to the finish of your selected wood.
It is important to remember that as with anything that is uniquely tailored to client tastes, our custom gate designs are more costly than our catalogued security gate styles. That being said, even our most pocket-friendly options do not skimp on quality, strength or durability.
Privacy: Consider whether you’d like your wooden security gates to completely conceal your home from street view, or only partially.
DIY installation or professional installation: Our services allow our clients to choose whether they would like to install the gates themselves, or to include installation when ordering the gates.
While all DIY security gates are delivered with instructions, we advise making use of a professional installation service to ensure your new gates work as intended.
Popular Wooden Security Gate Trends In 2023
Often, the utilisation of wooden gates is associated with words such as “rustic” or “barn-style”, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. While there is nothing wrong with associating wood with these design styles, it is a versatile material that can elevate any property when used properly.
Wooden gates can help your property look more modern and luxurious while offering reliable and trustworthy security solutions. While many are scared off by the maintenance of wooden security gates, the reality is that most woods only require treatment and cleaning every 12 to 24 months.
There are several factors that have influenced wooden security gate sales in 2023; primarily, it has been attributed to homeowners putting a larger emphasis on sustainability and making a bigger effort to move towards more eco-friendly home improvements. Many homeowners are also looking to use reclaimed wood or other upcycled materials when customising their security gates.
There has also been a marked uptick in designs that are modern and minimalist, as the clean, simple lines are very complimentary to the architecture of modern homes. Typically, the more popular designs for minimalist gates include a number of materials, including wood, glass or steel.
More About Glow Innovations
At Glow Innovations, our services reach beyond security applications. We also produce fabricated balustrades, staircases, garden trellis, structural support beams and more. We have been servicing the Western Cape for more than 20 years, and all our offerings are locally produced in our Diep River factory.