Security gates: the complete guide

Updated October 2026 by Mikael Harris, Sales & Commercial Manager.

The opening chooses the security gate. A patio slider takes a retractable trellis door. An everyday front or kitchen door takes a hinged burglar door or a swing security gate. A wide opening with wall beside it takes a sliding security gate, and a vehicle entrance takes a sliding or swing driveway gate. Robo Door makes each one to the measured opening in its own factories. Trellis doors start from R3,500; other security gates are custom-quoted after a free site visit. This guide sums up our gate guides and links to each one.

The types of security gate

• Trellis doors: retractable, stacking to one side so the opening stays usable by day. Four lines: Econo, DuPlus, Deluxe and Alu-Deluxe.
• Swing Trellis Door (hinged burglar door): a rigid leaf that swings like a normal door, for a single doorway with room to open.
• Swing Security Gate: a lockable steel gate that swings open in front of an entrance door.
• Sliding Security Gate: one rigid panel that slides along a track beside the opening, so it needs side space.
• Driveway gates: sliding, swing, or the Sliding & Turning Driveway Gate for entrances with neither side run nor arc space.
• Garden gates and pedestrian gates: matched to the fence and the driveway gate.

For the mechanisms in detail, read sliding, swing or retractable and trellis, hinged or sliding.

Choosing by opening

List every opening a person could climb through, with its width and whether it must stay open by day. That list is the brief.

• Patio slider or stacking door: a trellis door. See trellis doors for sliding patio doors and how to secure sliding doors.
• Front, kitchen or side door: a Swing Trellis Door, or a Deluxe Trellis Door for the break-in cover.
• Wide opening with wall run beside it: a Sliding Security Gate.
• Vehicle entrance: sliding where there is side run, swing where the ground is level and the arc is clear, sliding-and-turning where neither fits.

The room-by-room version is in which security gate is right for my home. Locks matter as much as steel: a trellis door takes a slam lock, a deadlock or both, up to three per door. Slam lock or deadlock explains when to use each.

Prices

Trellis doors start from R3,500, and the Deluxe Trellis Door from R4,500. Security gates and driveway gates are custom-quoted, because each one is made to the opening. As an example, a two-door job in Gauteng in September 2026, a Deluxe Trellis Door and a steel security gate, came to about R14,500 including VAT after the 7% upfront discount. That is one job's total, not a rate.

Pay in full upfront and get a 7% settlement discount. Quotes are valid for 7 days; the other terms are on payment options. Before you accept, read what a security gate costs in 2026, driveway gate prices, is a cheap security gate worth it and how to compare security gate quotes.

Warranties by product line

The Break-In Repair Guarantee covers Deluxe and Deluxe Fixture only. If a confirmed forced-entry attempt damages Robo Door-made components, we repair or replace them, given a police case number and a written claim within 30 days. The product must be fitted by Robo Door or an authorised installer. Paint and rust cover follow the finish and where the gate stands. The full table is on the warranty page, and the Robo Door warranty explained walks through it. Our gates are security barriers; no barrier can promise to stop every break-in.

Finishes and the coast

Every quotation records a zone (inland, a coastal suburb more than 500 metres from the sea, or within 500 metres of it) and an exposure (sheltered, semi-exposed or fully exposed). Finishes run from red oxide and spray paint up to hot-dip galvanising with powder coat. Hot-dip galvanising with powder coat carries a 5-year paint warranty on sheltered and semi-exposed openings, and a rust warranty of up to 10 years inland. Hinges are welded on after galvanising, so check those welds once a year.

Within 500 metres of the sea, choose aluminium or hot-dip galvanised steel. Read aluminium, galvanised or mild steel and coastal security. Standard colours are bronze, charcoal, white and sand; any other colour adds about a week. Powder coat colours that age well and laser-cut gate designs help with the look, and the maintenance guide keeps the warranty alive.

Installation or supply-only

In Gauteng our own team measures and fits; elsewhere in South Africa the Robo Door location for your town does, and in Zambia our Lusaka team. In other markets the Robo Door distributor fits, or we supply for your own fitter. The Seychelles and DR Congo are supply-only. Supply-only gates are made to your measurements and delivered with fixing instructions. Installation or supply-only compares the two, and how security gates are measured and fitted shows what our team checks.

Trellis doors take 5 to 7 working days to make, DuPlus 10 to 14, and custom gates 15 to 21. Add a week for hot-dip galvanising or a non-standard colour. On a driveway gate, the motor is sized to the gate and battery backup is an option on the quote: see the gate motor sizing guide and gate motors and load-shedding. Buying from another country? Read buying Robo Door outside South Africa.

Next step

Measure each doorway and the side run beside your driveway before the visit. Request a free quote, WhatsApp +27 82 888 1919 or call 082 888 1919. In Zambia, WhatsApp +260 97 543 2222.