Driveway Gate - 'how to' questions and a challenge

[Fred Barbour]

I'm starting work on a new project shortly and wanted to tap into the expertise of TBN.

The project
I am planning on installing a driveway gate, which will be between two stone pillars (3'x3'x6'). I'm hoping to do a swing open gate that's 12' wide. I haven't yet decided on a control system, but am thinking of either a remote + keypad type of system - though I'm nervous the keypad will be destroyed in the winter with plowing. The 12' width is a good match for the location as it is at the end of a .5 mi long private road, which is about 10' wide, so if something can't fit in the gate it's not going to fit down the road either (heavily forested). I'll use my B2920 BH to dig down 4' for a proper frost footing on the columns and run wrought iron fence off to either side of the columns for a finished look. The gate will likely be aluminum or iron and the goal is more privacy than hard core security (I get a lot of 'turn arounds' and people checking out my property looking for access to the pond / lake it's on).

The Challenges
The gate is to be located about 500' from the house. This presents two major challenges:
1) - How do I get power to the gate? The power service comes in on poles next to the driveway and then the last few hundred feet are buried. The meter is on the house, so to get power from my existing drop I believe that I need to trench 500' from the house or a slightly shorter distance from the garage in rocky wooded soil (a pain). Code is 18" deep. My other option is to get the power company to put an additional service drop on one of the poles and trench from the pole (< 100'), but the service will have some cost associated with it. I haven't found out if you can have two meters on one account and 'merge' the services to cut down on the minimum monthly costs of a service. Anyone ever done this? Any advice on the trenching? I'm thinking of buying an 8" bucket VS using my 16" installed now for the project.

2) The second challenge is directly related to the first. For a swing gate I believe I need electric power to both columns, which are on opposite sides of a paved driveway. The driveway was installed a year ago, so I REALLY don't want to dig it up. I can either trench back to the house on both sides of it (500+' on each side) or find a way to feed the wire under the driveway without disturbing the pavement. Anyone ever done anything like this? Pavement is about 10' wide at this point. In this scenario the power poles are only on one side of the drive.

Sorry for the long post!

Have you considered getting a backhoe digging down to the appropriate depth and getting a couple of scrap "I" Beams. Use concrete bags at the base. Your beams now installed enable you to weld to it for the hinges. Your can then build around the "I" Beam with whatever you decide to do for the finished product (bricks).

I'm doing the same project in the spring. I will however dig across the entires width and bury a u shaped beam welded up to ensure no tilting over the years. At the base (ground level) I will weld some rebar and pour a small pad to whatever size I decided upon and build up with bricks leaving the inside steel exposed for the hinge welds. Does this make sense?

My guess is the biggest expense you will have will be the electrical cable, probably teck cable #10 size for the distance required.

Fred

 

[tractchores]

Have you considered getting a backhoe digging down to the appropriate depth and getting a couple of scrap "I" Beams. Use concrete bags at the base. Your beams now installed enable you to weld to it for the hinges. Your can then build around the "I" Beam with whatever you decide to do for the finished product (bricks).

I'm doing the same project in the spring. I will however dig across the entires width and bury a u shaped beam welded up to ensure no tilting over the years. At the base (ground level) I will weld some rebar and pour a small pad to whatever size I decided upon and build up with bricks leaving the inside steel exposed for the hinge welds. Does this make sense?

My guess is the biggest expense you will have will be the electrical cable, probably teck cable #10 size for the distance required.

Fred

As you read further in the thread you'll see a quite a bit has been done. That's a good idea with the I-beam for the pillars and the beam running under. In my case I ended up going with a double swing gate (less weight per side) and 4"x4" posts, which will be sunk at least 4' down and concreted in place. The columns will now be decorative VS load bearing (lot cheaper). The columns will be built so they hide the gate control box and protect the gate posts if a car were to slide into them.

We are going with #10, mostly because the cost isn't much different and it gives me future options. We would have just made it within the opener's tolerance (low draw and high tolerance), but this way it'll be ok if I put something else out there.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I've looked at installing gates several times over the years. Each time I've had to ask myself if it was worth the price compared to the two treated 4x4's and the small chain I use now. In thirty years, no one has ever taken the chain down and come in so I guess it's been doing its job. I'll probably save the money. If the chain breaks I'll save up and buy another one.

I hope this post has contributed to the value of this thread, something tells me it didn't...

 

[tractchores]

I've looked at installing gates several times over the years. Each time I've had to ask myself if it was worth the price compared to the two treated 4x4's and the small chain I use now. In thirty years, no one has ever taken the chain down and come in so I guess it's been doing its job. I'll probably save the money. If the chain breaks I'll save up and buy another one.

I hope this post has contributed to the value of this thread, something tells me it didn't...

I'm a big fan of your method or the orange cone method. Unfortunately my wife isn't

 

[Soundguy]

nope.. openers aren't cheap.. that's for sure..

even cheap ones aren't cheap..

 

[tractchores]

Thought I'd provide a picture of the 'almost' finished product. Just waiting for some good weather to test out and calibrate everything, but everything is in place, has power and the gates are working. The last bit of wiring is inside the keypad for phone and a camera and then everything gets tested. Since the pictures the openers have been installed (at the base of each gate) as has the keypad and the temporary wooden posts to hold the gate have been removed.


Picture looking outside into the driveway. For scale the columns are about 6' high to the caps and probably 8' at the top of the lights. The gate is 7' high in the center, so this is a good sized structure.


View looking out. The gate control box is mounted on the back of one of the columns. The conduit coming in could be neater, but the gate isn't in sight of the house when closed and when exiting the gates swing open so the backside of the columns are obscured anyway. I may either plant a bush or paint the conduit / box to resemble the column.

 

[RalphVa]

Good job. Looks similar to ours except ours is just a single gate. The metal poles and all inside your rock columns look the same as ours.

Ralph

 

[tractchores]

Good job. Looks similar to ours except ours is just a single gate. The metal poles and all inside your rock columns look the same as ours.

Ralph

Cool it does look similar. What brand is your gate? Ours is an ameristar gate, though I guess most of the styes are relatively similar. The stone columns were really easy and cheap and for us since the gate is kind of in the middle of nowhere really added something to it as a stand alone structure.

 

[RalphVa]

It's a Gatecrafters, aluminum. The opener is Appollo. The keypad is GTO; it also includes a wireless communication to the house. The Appollo is solar powered.

The guy (Joe Phillips Co.) normally used Amazing Gate, but they quit using aluminum. My wife liked the Gatecrafters aluminum one. It's a one piece gate. Didn't have to gouge the asphalt to get power to the other side (normally what they do, rather than dig underneath).

Ralph

 

[MacLawn]

Oh no, now there's something else I want to do! Heheheheheeee, great job there boys!