Entry Gate advice appreciated.

[kirkawilson]

A 'pretty' version of this mechanical-only entrance gate would be interesting. No power...no problem.
Wooden Fence Lifts Upon Entrance - YouTube

 

[Ford850]

I chose double swing gates. I didn't want my approach to look like a factory entrance. I leave one open and the other closed They are 8' apiece. I can drive thru at 30 mph without hitting mirrors, but you'd be surprised at how many folks don't think they can make it. When necessary, I close both and the coyotes, deer, beggars, lost souls and other annoyances can be convinced to go elsewhere. When I need to get hay equipment through, just open both gates.

Because of the landscaping (tall pines on both sides and hay fields on each after that) The swing gates fit into the 'look' I wanted. Mine are just cheap aluminum square tube. Light, no rust, and cheap to replace. If someone REALLY has to come up to the house, they will see signs of other 'welcoming' possibilities. Even my UPS guy would rather walk thru the single open gate than open both drive in to deliver and close both when they leave. Signage reminds visitors of their obstacles, observations and obligations. Miltronic sensors fire alerts in the house and trigger my railroad crossbuck if and when 'something' passes through.

July 21, 211.wmv - YouTube

That RR crossbuck is awesome!

 

[aczlan]

One of the problems with a slide gate is that it needs to be on a ground track if an automatic opener is used. Every roll gate on tires I've ever seen has been manual open / close because they tend to drift. The most durable track systems are the steel V groove roller that runs on an angle iron on flatbar track. That does a pretty good job at shoving ice, gravel, etc. aside and keep running, but driving over that 1.5" angle iron gets old after awhile.

No, it is possible to have them free floating without an angle iron track. We have a chainlink gate at work that is setup that way as does the local scrapyard.
Here is a picture of one (they say that it is "easily automated for remote operation"):

Source: Gates

Aaron Z

 

[oosik]

I have two gates on my mile long driveway - an outer gate and an inner gate. Both are manual swingers - so we all know what that means when I drive to town. I've always wanted some kind of gate openers but foresee a problem. Both gates are far enough away from the house that they are not visible.

How do you handle visitors(friends) that do not know your phone # to call you and get the gate code and/or do not know the gate code and will show up unannounced.

BTW - I really like the way TxDon finished his gate. That's a great example of rural art.

 

[flyerdan]

Aaron, that's what I refer to as a cantilever gate. I've built dozens of them. They are the way to go if you have enough room for the tail. Most roll gates are just a tad longer than the opening and only have support rollers on the side near the opening.
The gate pictured really should have a strongback on it, looks like about a 24' opening. One bit of advice for anyone setting posts for a cantilever; when closed they exert quite a moment arm on the furthest support post, and can claw hammer them out of their set, especially the powder coated ones. When I'd cut posts for a cantilever set, I'd grab a couple handfuls of slugs from the ironworker drop bucket and weld them around the buried ends of the posts to make them stickier for the concrete.

 

[aczlan]

Aaron, that's what I refer to as a cantilever gate. I've built dozens of them. They are the way to go if you have enough room for the tail. Most roll gates are just a tad longer than the opening and only have support rollers on the side near the opening.
The gate pictured really should have a strongback on it, looks like about a 24' opening. One bit of advice for anyone setting posts for a cantilever; when closed they exert quite a moment arm on the furthest support post, and can claw hammer them out of their set, especially the powder coated ones. When I'd cut posts for a cantilever set, I'd grab a couple handfuls of slugs from the ironworker drop bucket and weld them around the buried ends of the posts to make them stickier for the concrete.

Ah, I thought you were calling both the same.
Good idea on the slugs for the far post.

Aaron Z

 

[txdon]

A 'pretty' version of this mechanical-only entrance gate would be interesting. No power...no problem.
Wooden Fence Lifts Upon Entrance - YouTube

I hope they have another access for the fire trucks.

 

[txdon]

How do you handle visitors(friends) that do not know your phone # to call you and get the gate code and/or do not know the gate code and will show up unannounced.

They have to:
1.Honk at the gate and hope we hear them 1/2 mile away and come down to the gate to greet them.
2.Walk up to the house.
3.Put a phone number to call on the access code box.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

How do people with gates handle emergency access?

 

[flyerdan]

How do people with gates handle emergency access?

Two things come to mind; you can install a fire box, it's like the fire alarm boxes on walls in buildings, that will open the gate and keep it open. Problem with them is that anyone can come along and break it to get in. Another more secure device is a strobe detector. It utilizes the same strobe sequence that firetrucks and ambulances use to trigger traffic lights. It's more secure than the pull for fire box, because you have to be pretty close to the strobe frequency to trigger it.

 

[tractchores]

I have two gates on my mile long driveway - an outer gate and an inner gate. Both are manual swingers - so we all know what that means when I drive to town. I've always wanted some kind of gate openers but foresee a problem. Both gates are far enough away from the house that they are not visible.

How do you handle visitors(friends) that do not know your phone # to call you and get the gate code and/or do not know the gate code and will show up unannounced.

BTW - I really like the way TxDon finished his gate. That's a great example of rural art.

You can get a telephone entry system. My gate is out of site of the house as well, so folks who don't have a code have to hit the 'call' button on the box. It rings the house phone with a special ring or calls my cell phone if I'm out. I can talk to them and open the gate with a key.

For emergency access many gates can be pushed open, manually opened with a key or a special opener can be installed to react to emergency vehicles. Practically speaking in a real emergency they're just going to push through it...

 

[ultrarunner]

We have a KNOX box that police and fire have the area master... it works pretty well but just last week a gate was forced... the fire department left the key ring at the station

 

[aczlan]

How do people with gates handle emergency access?

Often, you give the fire department their own code and dispatch will pass it on to the responding crew.

Aaron Z

 

[bcp]

If your house is on fire, you may not have power to a "wired to the house" gate.

Bruce

 

[Cat_Driver]

Thank you. My original plan was for a swinging gate. Because this is going to be a heavy gate, I was going to put a lot of effort into bracing the post to support the weight. Then I was at a house with a rather heavy, long, sliding gate that made me rethink things. I have plenty of room for either swing or slider. The driveway is fairly flat wide, shallow drainage ditches on either side. I was surprised when I measured it and found out my driveway is only ten feet wide. I'm planning on adding 2 feet to either side to bring it out to 14 feet. Maybe even 15 feet. If I go with a slider, I wont need to worry about sag, or bracing the posts to handle all the weight since the weight of the gate will be on the track.

I'm a little over 25 years with a HEAVY steel gate. I used perforated steel sheets to close off visibility into my property, high hedges on both sides. I've never had a problem with it. The chain gets worn out every five years or do, but that's it.
I laid a 3' wide cement pad that I put the steel track on for the steel wheels to roll on. I'm in a windy sandy area and never a problem with sand build up on the track. The cement keeps the track solid and level. I put in a asphalt apron before the gate.

I can open the gate with a remote and I also have a keypad to give out the code to delivery people if I'm not around.

With the keypad visitors / delivery people call from the box, I answer and hit a phone code to allow entry. I added a magnetic option on the inside so as a vehicle approached the gate from the inside it automatically opens.

 

[oosik]

Thanks fellows. This gives new hope to a gate opener for me. My gate openers would have to be solar - inner gate is 1/4 mile from house, outer gate is one mile from house. BTW - I still like the design on txdon's gate.

 

[RLWATSO1]

Tons of really good info here guys!

 

[EddieWalker]

I didn't think about firetrucks or ambulances. The strobe detector sounds like a great idea, but I also like the simplicity of either giving out the code, or the emergency button. I need to figure out how to keep animals in if the gate is open during an emergency.

The cantilever looks interesting, but my gate is going to be 8 feet tall and 20 feet long, so doing that would require twice the length, which doesn't appeal to me at all.

I'm planning on pouring concrete for the track. The angle iron rail type track seems to be the most common and the least obtrusive.

 

[tractchores]

I didn't think about firetrucks or ambulances. The strobe detector sounds like a great idea, but I also like the simplicity of either giving out the code, or the emergency button. I need to figure out how to keep animals in if the gate is open during an emergency.

The cantilever looks interesting, but my gate is going to be 8 feet tall and 20 feet long, so doing that would require twice the length, which doesn't appeal to me at all.

I'm planning on pouring concrete for the track. The angle iron rail type track seems to be the most common and the least obtrusive.

To keep animals in (depending what type) you could install a cattle grid Cattle grid - Wikipedia. My neighbor has one that has rollers on it and it seems to work well. With that they can leave the gate open much of the time without animals coming in or out. It's hard to walk on so you would need a person gate off to the side.

 

[Xfaxman]

We used a concrete cattle guard: Farm Products - SI Precast Concrete