Driveway Gate Install

[troutsqueezer]

>It looks like in the picture above the gates will be located on a part of the drive that is sloped. Have you thought how this is going to work out? Can you grade the driveway flat in that area?

If you open the gates toward the polaris, they will be really high in the air when they are open(might not be a problem really). If you open them toward the wheelbarrow, you will probably have the cut the driveway down up toward the wheelbarrow area. <

Thanks for looking so closely. Yes, I have thought about the sloping since the inception and carefully selected the part of the driveway where I would run into the least amount of trouble. The gates will swing away from the polaris which is a very slight uphill slope. There is also a very slight downhill slope from left to right. I should have the clearance but if not, I am prepared to drag the tractor bucket to get the inch or so I may need. I plan on welding the gates on tomorrow so we'll see how it plays out but yep, I sure have thought about that a lot.

>Great idea putting grease fittings on the hinges!

I thought so too. Of course, they were already on there when I bought them.

 

[tractchores]

The reason for the gates is that several homes not far from us have been robbed lately. Ive got several game cams set up but those won't deter anybody. At least the gates will keep someone from casing the joint. I am at the end of a long gravel road and at the top of a hill so it's pretty private.

I priced out concrete blocks at Lowes today, about the same size as yours. Two five foot columns came out to almost $500. Thats at $2.88 apiece, 120 blocks. I do like how easy it would be.

This is the product I used. https://www.techo-bloc.com/product-category/walls-pillars/ It's a Techno bloc pillar kit. I used two kits per side to get 3x3x7' I believe. It's got a nice texture and is colored all the way through, so it looks decent. The tops are just formed concrete and there's a small space in th center of them for conduit for the lights. I put mine on a concrete pad, but they can be on compacted ground too.

On the levelness of the drive - it probably won't matter. My drive slopes pretty good to the side wher the gate is, as long a the gate is level its fine. When open one side is a few inches off the ground and the other is probably a foot or so. The clearance helps with snow (not an issue for you probably).

Should help make theives think twice. I mounted a camera (foscam) to mine, which gives a great picture of anyone approaching the gate.

 

[ultrarunner]

This is the product I used. https://www.techo-bloc.com/product-category/walls-pillars/ It's a Techno bloc pillar kit. I used two kits per side to get 3x3x7' I believe. It's got a nice texture and is colored all the way through, so it looks decent. The tops are just formed concrete and there's a small space in th center of them for conduit for the lights. I put mine on a concrete pad, but they can be on compacted ground too.

On the levelness of the drive - it probably won't matter. My drive slopes pretty good to the side wher the gate is, as long a the gate is level its fine. When open one side is a few inches off the ground and the other is probably a foot or so. The clearance helps with snow (not an issue for you probably).

Should help make theives think twice. I mounted a camera (foscam) to mine, which gives a great picture of anyone approaching the gate.

Look nice... just did a California search of dealers and none found... guess no West Coast presence.

 

[franklin2]

On the levelness of the drive - it probably won't matter. My drive slopes pretty good to the side wher the gate is, as long a the gate is level its fine. When open one side is a few inches off the ground and the other is probably a foot or so. The clearance helps with snow (not an issue for you probably).

Yea, I guess he is not trying to keep livestock in, so it won't matter.

 

[downsizingnow48]

That's a great looking job!

 

[thirdroc17]

Yep, in Nothern California the frost is minimal. Might go down two inches at the most.

Thought so. Around here, those outriggers would be frost heaving all over the place!!! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I should add, looks good! I wouldn't mind having gates. While they don't come often, for those of you with gates, what's the plan for when UPS, or the mail person has a package to deliver to your door?

 

[troutsqueezer]

Thought so. Around here, those outriggers would be frost heaving all over the place!!! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I should add, looks good! I wouldn't mind having gates. While they don't come often, for those of you with gates, what's the plan for when UPS, or the mail person has a package to deliver to your door?

My plan is to have UPS leave the package at the gate. Very few people come up this way. If I am home and expecting a package, I will leave the gate open. If someone steals the package at the gate (or even at my door), they will be caught on game cam.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've seen all weather oversize package holders...

 

[EddieWalker]

Nice looking gates. Where did you get your hinges? I've been looking at McMaster Carr and King Metals, but I'm nowhere near actually starting on mine. Just dreaming and hopefully learning from others.

Way back in the 80's, I used to drive for UPS. When I came to a locked gate, and there wasn't a signature required, I would just leave the package right behind the gate. If it was raining, I would put it in a bag. A lot of places with gates also had boxes to put stuff in. Either one with the front open, or with a lid on the top that I would put the package in.

Eddie

 

[flyerdan]

Eddie, those look to be 5 inch barrel hinges. They are available at King metals, but as noted elsewhere they will roger you on shipping, or at least they used to. About the same with Amazon, from my quick look. Ebay might be the best deal, but a thorough Google search might yield better results.

5" Hinge at King
5" Hinge at Amazon
5" Hinge at Ebay

Probably don't need to mention it, but remember that one pair of hinges does one leaf of a gate, two sets required for double drives.

 

[tractchores]

For ups if you have a regular driver and a keypad you can give them a code. That's what we do, the system logs any entries so we can see if someone came in. Exit is via a free exit loop (detects metal like at a traffic light).

 

[troutsqueezer]

Eddie, those look to be 5 inch barrel hinges. They are available at King metals, but as noted elsewhere they will roger you on shipping, or at least they used to. About the same with Amazon, from my quick look. Ebay might be the best deal, but a thorough Google search might yield better results.

5" Hinge at King
5" Hinge at Amazon
5" Hinge at Ebay

Probably don't need to mention it, but remember that one pair of hinges does one leaf of a gate, two sets required for double drives.

Five inches seems small, I'll measure them tomorrow. They are more like seven inches, I believe.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Nice looking gates. Where did you get your hinges? I've been looking at McMaster Carr and King Metals, but I'm nowhere near actually starting on mine. Just dreaming and hopefully learning from others.

Way back in the 80's, I used to drive for UPS. When I came to a locked gate, and there wasn't a signature required, I would just leave the package right behind the gate. If it was raining, I would put it in a bag. A lot of places with gates also had boxes to put stuff in. Either one with the front open, or with a lid on the top that I would put the package in.

Eddie

Thanks for the UPS info. I've thought about installing a drop box. The hinges were supplied by the guy who made the gate - Irish Iron, out of Carmichael, CA.

 

[flyerdan]

What material is the gate made of? When we did these type we used 1.5" x .095" square tube for the frame and .625" x .065" for the pickets. Pretty rigid but light enough for the 450 pound working load of the 5" hinges.
Also, do your codes there require a fire box or strobe sensor for fire dept. access? I know our commercial codes do, but not sure about residential.

 

[edkemper]

For those of us in snow areas, how do you handle snow? I'm wondering about leaving plenty of space under the gate since I'm not trying to keep animals in just to keep "animals" out. I want to be able to say there was a closed gate when I have intruders. I live out in the country, not in the city.

 

[tractchores]

For those of us in snow areas, how do you handle snow? I'm wondering about leaving plenty of space under the gate since I'm not trying to keep animals in just to keep "animals" out. I want to be able to say there was a closed gate when I have intruders. I live out in the country, not in the city.

Mine is getting quite the test this winter just outside of Boston. My gates have 4" of clearance or so when closed and a lot more when opened (driveway slopes). The key is that you can't plow snow with your gate, so I leave mine open if we're getting a big storm. The plow comes and does his thing and then I clean out the front of the gates, close them and then clean the backs and under them. I use a shovel or small snowblower for the close in work, it's not worth hitting it with the tractor and doing thousands in damage. It is a bit of a pain, but better than having it closed and having to move a bunch of snow just to get access. I have pillars and stones on the side of the gate, so cleanup is a bit more challenging than it would be with just a gate by itself.

Another solution is to use a sliding gate, which can often push through the snow VS a swing gate. I personally liked the look and simplicity of a double swing gate VS a sliding gate, plus if done right there are really no pinch points on it for safety.

One thing I would do differently if I did it again is mount the opener higher on the gate. It's currently on the bottom rail, which is great for strength, but means the opener is burried in the snow and if they sand it gets sprayed with sand. If you put it up a couple of feet it won't get gummed up with snow and ice.

 

[troutsqueezer]

The wife did a good job keeping the gates from falling over as I clamped them into place to gauge the fit. All that measuring while pouring the cement paid off because the gate aligned with very little tweaking. The gap between the gates at the middle is even, something I was concerned about because of my mild OCD about such things.



A little welding here and there and viola! In like Flynt. This is the view from outside looking in. The house is at the top of yonder hill. I will have to get the ol' B21 out and drag the middle of the driveway so the gates are free to move inwards.



The view from inside looking out. Stay out, walking dead!



Next up is to install the automatic gate opener. I went with US Automatic brand. It looks to be pretty well built. Will post some pics as that process moves along. After that, it's on to the columns.

Flyerdan, the gate is made of steel. I gauged the posts and the gate frame to set my welder correctly but dang, the exact thickness escapes me at the moment. They do weigh a lot. I can barely pick them up to slide them here and there.
As far as I know there is no code for a firebox. That is something I should look into on some level, to see what their policy is for going around gates. I've seen them on adjacent property just driving off road all over the place in 4wd.

edkemper, I don't get snow much but when I do, I'll be staying home until it all melts. Ah.... retirement.

 

[tractchores]

Nice! That looks great. I like the gate design, very classy.

 

[edkemper]

Mine is getting quite the test this winter just outside of Boston. My gates have 4" of clearance or so when closed and a lot more when opened (driveway slopes). The key is that you can't plow snow with your gate, so I leave mine open if we're getting a big storm. The plow comes and does his thing and then I clean out the front of the gates, close them and then clean the backs and under them. I use a shovel or small snowblower for the close in work, it's not worth hitting it with the tractor and doing thousands in damage. It is a bit of a pain, but better than having it closed and having to move a bunch of snow just to get access. I have pillars and stones on the side of the gate, so cleanup is a bit more challenging than it would be with just a gate by itself.

Another solution is to use a sliding gate, which can often push through the snow VS a swing gate. I personally liked the look and simplicity of a double swing gate VS a sliding gate, plus if done right there are really no pinch points on it for safety.

Being 45 miles out of town, living 1 mile on a 1.5 mile private road with no public services, snow plows never see us. However, I had forgotten about a sliding gate that would probably be the only answer. My land is about as flat as raw land can be.

However, I do love the look of the double leaf swinging gates.

 

[edkemper]

edkemper, I don't get snow much but when I do, I'll be staying home until it all melts. Ah.... retirement.

We moved from Folsom 2 years ago. Was in the Sacto area since 1983. I hear ya. Pilot Hill is still one of the most beautiful parts of CA.

Now I'm just learning about living in snow country. My best to you and yours Cuz.