Driveway Gate Install

[EddieWalker]

Will there be a cavity in the middle of the blocks that you can fill with concrete? Just pouring it in dry and adding a little water will lock them all together if there is space for it. My thinking is that if you don't do something to hold them together, it's just a matter of time until something happens to them that will make you wish you had.


Eddie

 

[troutsqueezer]

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

Nope. Big rocks and a fence on that side.

 

[troutsqueezer]

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.

I think that might be a good suggestion. I'll buy an extra eight stones to raise it four inches.

 

[troutsqueezer]

As for the stones moving, you guys are right. If I bang into them with my tractor or such it would be a simple matter to re-stack them though. Since these things are put into a tumbler (I think) to round the edges, they could probably take a fall and be ok. If they were glued, I wonder if they would break as I slam my bucket into them. The reality is though, I'm pretty sure I won't run into them (famous last words).

 

[s219]

Really, it may be an advantage to dry stack the columns, knowing they would be easy to re-stack if they got bumped. The only other downside I could think of is theft, mostly by someone joking around. Better not tell your old buddies how they are constructed.... I can think of a few neighbors who would love to mess with me by changing column heights every couple days to mess with my engineer's sense of perfection.

I guess one factor I would check on is how flat/straight the stones are, and how well they lock together when stacked. If there is any wobble, it could get problematic towards the top of the stack. If that were the case, using construction adhesive between layers should help stabilize things as it creates a small bed between the layers to counteract any looseness or wobbles.

I will be watching, as this looks like a nice simple way to make gate columns. The approach I was going to take was to duplicate our porch columns, which means building up a concrete block structure, skinning it with mortar, and then gluing/mortaring on stone facing. Looks good in the end and simple enough, but still a lot more work than stacking pre-cast landscape blocks with similar net result. Here's a shot of the masons doing our porch 2 years ago -- I learned a lot watching these guys, enough to know I could do it but it would take time and patience:

 

[EddieWalker]

I wasn't thinking about them being bumped. I have my doubts that will ever happen given their location. My thinking is that with time, weather and the earth move, and they will move too. If it's not a big deal stacking and fixing them, then it doesn't matter. I like to make things as strong as I can and never have to mess with it again.

Eddie

 

[TomSeller]

You might want to leave them loose if you are at all OCD. That way you can rearrange the blocks, get them straighter and more uniform in color On the other hand you are in CA, you might want to set them permanently so you don't have to restack them after an earthquake

Nice work, looking forward to more pictures.

 

[blin]

Entrance features look great.
I would recommend some well placed reflective tape on the side of the keypad and the gate uprights. The black gates will not be seen well at night if driving in at speed. We have them on ours, and have been told several times it saved the gates from needing replacement.

 

[tractchores]

I can vouch that if you bump them with the tractor they probably won't break (of course mine are a different brand). I hit mine pretty hard right on the top when trying to get the lift height I needed to put the stone caps on (160 lbs going up over 7' high!). I would also put a peice of conduit in the middle and through the base so you can add LED lights in the future. I also mounted my controll box to the pillar, which gives a cleaner look. If I did it again I may have recessed it into the pillar so conduit wasn't visible at all.

I would also recommend reflectors. I used small stick on ones meant for a boat trailer and just put two on the center of the front edge of each side of the gate, it doesn't mess up the looks, but makes it clear its closed at night.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I guess one factor I would check on is how flat/straight the stones are, and how well they lock together when stacked. If there is any wobble, it could get problematic towards the top of the stack. If that were the case, using construction adhesive between layers should help stabilize things as it creates a small bed between the layers to counteract any looseness or wobbles.

I will be watching, as this looks like a nice simple way to make gate columns. The approach I was going to take was to duplicate our porch columns, which means building up a concrete block structure, skinning it with mortar, and then gluing/mortaring on stone facing. Looks good in the end and simple enough, but still a lot more work than stacking pre-cast landscape blocks with similar net result. Here's a shot of the masons doing our porch 2 years ago -- I learned a lot watching these guys, enough to know I could do it but it would take time and patience:

View attachment 414446

The Rumblestones are pretty flat. I'm ok there. Yep, I looked into making pillars like the one in your picture. I'm inherently lazy and getting more so every year. They do look nice though.