Driveway Gate Install

[murphy1244]

You do very nice work there Troutsqueezer.

 

[riptides]

That's a big project, and it looks good. Nice.

The views are sweet too.

 

[troutsqueezer]

Guess I will need to call ahead when I come to visit ;-)

No more riffraff coming up the drive... you sure do have a nice spot there...

My call box will store 32 number codes in memory, each with 5 digits. You can probably guess one of them with just a few tries.

As for riffraff, I used to be way out in the country here in my humble little house. Now, suburbia is sneaking in. Mostly rich people who build mansions and never come outside. Maybe they'll see my gate and think someone with some money lives up there.

Thanks for the comments, guys.

 

[bullbreaker]

Yes enjoying thread also .
Looks real nice , like the surrounding scenery . Thanks for shareing your experience , pics , by takeing time out and posting thread ! :thumbsup:

 

[tractchores]

I remember that post, in fact, I commented in it, a worthless comment but then, most of mine are. I was thinking of used brick for columns but in looking at your pictures, those columns look very nice. Do they have mortar in them or are they just placed together?

They are dry stacked blocks, but I did use adhesive so they are bonded together (at 7' i didn't want to risk someone hitting them and having it fall on them). They're from a kit and surprisingly cheap and easy to diy.

You've got a great view. Any special reason for the gates, or just general privacy? Weirdly I've had a few people walk around mine (saw them on the security camera at night, no idea what they were doing).

 

[thirdroc17]

I see you're in California, a frost free area I hope?

 

[troutsqueezer]

They are dry stacked blocks, but I did use adhesive so they are bonded together (at 7' i didn't want to risk someone hitting them and having it fall on them). They're from a kit and surprisingly cheap and easy to diy.

You've got a great view. Any special reason for the gates, or just general privacy? Weirdly I've had a few people walk around mine (saw them on the security camera at night, no idea what they were doing).

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.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I see you're in California, a frost free area I hope?

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

 

[Looking4new]

Great idea putting grease fittings on the hinges!

 

[franklin2]

Good work so far, but I think I see a problem already. We had a thread a couple of weeks ago where a guy could not keep his gates from hitting the ground. His problem was the surrounding terrain/drive was not level. He ended up having to fudge the hinges out of plumb a little bit to make it work out, not the best situation.

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.