Driveway Gate Install

[troutsqueezer]

I have a metal one (linear RE-1). The physical unit is nice, but I have been really dissapointed in the software itself. For tht kind o money they could have done a LOT better. I think the cheaper ones are likely just as good.

Are you putting up any safety devices? They don't regulate gates where I am, but there are young kids (including mine) in the area, so we did a photo eye (only operates on closing), set the close pressure to be minimal (I can stop it with one hand easily) and put a metal detecting safety loop. The downside to these are that the photo eye has been troublesome and often gives false readings if its foggy, raining, etc.

There is an adjustment for gate sensitivity. When the gates close and run into something, they will open back up again. If they run into something again while opening they will stop and an alarm will sound for 5 minutes, then the system shuts off.

 

[300UGUY]

Nice job. I have to repair 1 gate come spring, I hit it with the toothbar on the bucket. I need to buy a new gate section, they are 10 ft each. I thought about a gate opener, but with 2 feet of snow on top of a couple inches of ice, getting the gate open means using a shovel. If I'd only opened it 6 inches wider, I wouldn't be replacing anything!

 

[edkemper]

"Sacramento" and "opulence" in the same sentence, hmm... never would'a put those two together.

I totally understand your surprise. However, my office of over a decade was 1/2 block from the Capitol building. In fact, the office building I was in entertained many political operatives including governors on a daily basis. I was in the Capitol building itself many, many times while I worked downtown. As a doctor, I cared for many Capitol employees and operatives. I've seen a lot of what I speak of in just a few square blocks of the capitol of CA.

By the way, born in So. CA in 1951. I've seen it from rural with no freeways to what it is today. Also, moved to Sacramento June of 1980 when it was comparatively a very large small town. So my opinion might differ from some.

 

[troutsqueezer]

A little progress has been made. Got one column foundation poured and ready to pour the second. A couple of hours a day in the morning is all it takes. After that, it's the massage chair, then lunch. Life is good.



I'm almost ready to build the columns. I'm taking the easy way out, using large Rumblestone from PaveStone. All I have to do is stack'em up, put on a cap and an address sign then I'm home free. The wife wasn't convinced that Rumblestone would look good enough. So while we were down at the seller's, I told her to take a picture of three layers of them that I stacked up there in the yard. I took the picture and Photoshopped it into a picture of the gate. I also Photoshopped the address sign and some lions I captured from Google. It's pretty lame but gave her an idea of what it would look like. I'm certain that in real life, it will look much better than this lousy pic because the stacking will be neater and with better coloration and it will have a nice looking cap on the top, etc. Probably won't put lions on it though... :thumbsup:

 

[oosik]

I think the stone columns w/lion tops looks good. Very nice job.

 

[s219]

How do you plan to set the stone -- mortar, construction adhesive, something else ??? It should look pretty good.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Thanks guys. The stones are 41lbs each so a stack of 56 probably wouldn't move around much. I considered construction adhesive but decided against. Now if it was a wall or BBQ or something like that, I would definitely stick them together.

 

[MFWD]

Hello,
I can't quite get a good look at the left side of the gate from the pictures, but it kind of looks like someone in a Jeep or 4-wheel drive could get around it on the left. Would that be possible ????


Henry and Wanda

 

[tractchores]

Looking good! On the columns I would recommend making it so the base of the cap is just at the top of your gate post decoration. That will make the columns look bigger and gives a more estate like look. I made that change on mine on the advice of a friend who did a lot of these and it made a big difference.

I think the only reason to glue the stones is if a car bumps it or something it's less likely to move.

 

[s219]

Thanks guys. The stones are 41lbs each so a stack of 56 probably wouldn't move around much. I considered construction adhesive but decided against. Now if it was a wall or BBQ or something like that, I would definitely stick them together.

My luck, I'd brush against the column with the front bucket or something, and it would fold over like dominos....