Advice

No matter who you purchase your gates from, make sure they are galvanized. Galvanizing is the process of coating iron or steel with a thin zinc layer in order to prevent rusting. This process protects the metal from rust for more than 50 years.

Before you start to build brick or stone piers for your gates or railings, contact your blacksmith to discuss the best method for hanging the gates. Often customers build hollow piers with no hangers or means of hanging their gates to piers. This means that the blacksmith must erect steel posts beside the piers, which may look unsightly.