Some garden arches are just showy pieces of ironwork. The purpose of a garden arch however is to support the plant growing over it. Who doesn’t love walking through, or sitting under a green canopy? One customer had such a dream. Her backyard was sunny and bright and she wanted to grow a canopy over her garden setting but the arches she’s seen elsewhere were flimsy and cheap.
When selling your home, first impressions are pivotal in whether a prospective buyer will turn up at your open inspection, so it’s important to get their attention. You don’t get a second chance with first impressions. For this reason alone, a welcoming front entrance with a beautiful, high quality wrought iron gate can make a huge difference in how buyers view the overall quality of the property. The initial outlay in bettering the street appeal of your home, can add thousands to the asking price of your home as we all having buyers line up at your open inspection, wondering what other quality features the house has to offer.
If you want a wrought iron gate or fence in Adelaide it’s important to understand the difference between a genuine wrought iron product that will last a lifetime and a cheap and inferior product which will never look the same or last as long. The more Farmweld’s reputation grows, the more we hear about “fake wrought iron”. A large percentage of Adelaide fencing businesses advertise wrought iron gates when in fact all they supply are thin tubular steel panels adorned with cast aluminium spears. It’s surprising how few people recognise the difference between genuine wrought iron gates & fence panels and these cheaper tubular products labelled as ‘wrought iron’.
We were approached by the owners of the new Landscaping and Design Centre on Glen Osmond Rd in Adelaide, to build a unique fence and wrought iron gate. They wanted something contemporary rather than traditional as their display centre had some unique modern landscaping layouts.
Farmweld is one of a few professional artist blacksmith businesses practicing the age old craft of blacksmithing within the Adelaide area, in South Australia. Located at Birdwood, in the Adelaide Hills we have one of the last forges able to take on large projects as well as small. Over the last 20 years we have produced some lovely examples of traditional wrought iron.
Blacksmithing is no longer taught as a trade in Australia, with few working professional blacksmiths, let alone Adelaide or South Australia. Many businesses who advertise ‘wrought iron’ products use imported components, or cast iron products. Tweaking ready made wrought iron to fit is quite difficult, so for something to look well done it needs to be made properly from the start.
Mass produced wrought iron components have their place in fabrication, but they need to be tweaked to fit.
Locally, handcrafted wrought iron is dearer than mass produced wrought iron or imported products that are made overseas in third world countries, however the benefits of buying your wrought iron-work from Farmweld is that you are:
Hand forged wrought iron can be made more affordable by using a combination of traditional and modern metal working techniques. It’s often said that if blacksmiths of old had access to a welder or angle grinder, they’d certainly have used one. An example of how wrought iron can be more affordable is to use a combination of modern welding techniques rather than forge welding or riveting.
Modern blacksmiths have the advantage of using modern and traditional techniques. This piece uses traditional blacksmithed scrolls and ironwork for the fancy parts of the gate, however the frame is welded. Once painted it will be hard to tell that this gate has not been entirely, traditionally blacksmithed.
Modern machines like welders reduce the labour time. Consequently this brings down the price of what would have been an entirely hand forged the wrought iron piece. The finer details such as scrolls are still traditionally blacksmithed so it still looks, and is, hand forged. Because the scrollwork and details are hand made, and tailored to your piece, the design is kept in proportion and doesn’t look like a modification.
This reproduction of a heritage farm gate has been entirely hand forged and riveted.
Custom made wrought iron should be matched to the existing architectural features of the building no matter whether it’s a piece of wrought iron furniture indoors or a wrought iron fence. It’s important to be sympathetic to the architectural style of your home. Unfortunately many renovators with older style homes in the inner Adelaide regions such as North Adelaide, Norwood, Unley, St Peters, Port Adelaide and Thebarton installed ready made ‘faux’ wrought iron (pool fencing with spears) and cast iron fences & gates. These types of gates and fencing rarely meld well with the existing architecture. Federation and Art Deco homes, especially the simpler homes, had timber, mini-orb or wire fences, with the original owners investing in a ‘pretty’ hand forged gate – usually made by the local blacksmith. The beauty of wrought iron is that designs are tailored to suit particular periods, e.g. art nouveau, Victorian, Art Deco, modern and when done well is hard to distinguish whether the wrought iron piece, such as a gate, is authentic or not. This is the mark of a good addition or renovation. Even when modernising your home, certain ‘heritage’ features can be picked out and incorporated into the wrought iron piece.
Although the front garden was modernised, the art deco design from the stained glass window of this home was mirrored in the design of the gate
[quote]If you’re looking for a well made, authentic piece of wrought iron give Farmweld a call on 8568 5433. Visits to the workshop are by appointment Monday to Friday 8-4pm.[/quote]
All Farmweld wrought iron products are custom made for each customer. Unique wrought iron pieces are made to your own design or we can design something for you. Wrought iron designs include those for:
Interstate enquiries and commissions are welcome. Farmweld regularly delivers to customers all around Australia.
Our gates are absolutely gorgeous – thank you! They’ve turned out exactly as we had imagined them (if not better) and we couldn’t be happier with the result.
Thanks again for all your help in developing the design, and for the outstanding workmanship of the end product – we’ll be referring people your way without hesitation.
I just wanted to send this quick email to say a huge thankyou for all your patience and help with me in deciding on our railway gates. They fit perfectly and the kids love opening and shutting them each day. They are also successfully keeping the dog in as well. I am sending through some photos of the gates with this email too.
Please find attached a picture of the gate that you made for us, we are both very happy with the end result, it really complements the picket fence.
We have had a lot of people comment on how nice it looks. Thankyou for your help and professional service.
Many thanks for the gate. We have it all painted and installed. A fantastic quality product. Your service and communication has been superior. We will certainly be recommending you to family and friends if they require quality
I had my heart set on a sturdy, well built arch for my much loved garden but was not able to find anything in the shops that even came vaguely near my expectations. Then I contacted Tricia at Farmweld. I sent through a photo and description and Tricia promptly came back with confirmation that they could build the arch and a quote. The arch now takes pride of place in the middle of my garden with a passionfruit growing up one side and a Jasmin the other. I can’t wait till they smoother the arch with heavenly fruit and perfumed flowers.
Michelle Leigh, Eden Hills, South Australia