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Gates Explained

GATES GALLERY BELOW

Gates can come in a variety of sizes and styles but would break these down into 2 major categories: Pedestrian Gates & Vehicle Gates.

Pedestrian gates can be made from just about anything from a wood and welded wire to custom powder coated aluminum or your basic chain link gate. Some things that they all have in common is how they function.

Hinges

We can install these with basic hinges like a door, spring hinges or with a hydraulic closer. While spring hinges are less expensive than a closer, they commonly make the gate slam closed. The hydraulic closers we use are adjustable through different sections of its swing independently. Meaning it has the power to engage the latch if tried to be left unlatched against the latch post but will not slam closed if released while fully opened.

Latches / Levers / Code locks

We offer a variety of latching options from your basic bar latch on most side yard wood gates to a card reader or keypad with an electric strike. There are a few different basic latches out there, some operable from both sides of the gate, some are made for a padlock or some have their own internal lock. We commonly use industrial door levers or single or dual sided mechanical code locks. Something to think about for functionality is if you want it to be a passage lever on the inside, meaning you do not need a key or code to exit. We usually add some sort of expanded or perforated metal to an ornamental gate so you cannot reach between the pickets to use the lever on the inside of the property. We can also install exit bars or make a gate to meet ADA code or pool enclosure code.

Vehicle gates

There are different kinds of vehicle gates we can make but usually the location of the gate determines which kind is best. We can make the gate from just about any material but almost always want at least a metal frame. The basic kinds of gates are

Swing

  • Single swing – best for cost efficiency, only NEED (1) structural post, if it’s going to be an automatic gate, we might not need a wire going across the driveway. A down side is that it uses a lot of space for its swing (you need the room for it to open).
  • Dual swing – some people like the elegance of both gates opening at the same time and it does reduce the space needed for the gates in the open position but it does need (2) operators for automation and (2) structural posts
  • Bifold – we don’t recommend these unless you absolutely need the space. There are some extra hardware pieces that will wear out over time and they are more expensive but if you need to secure a property and there isn’t a better option these can be valuable.

Slide

  • Single slide – slide gates will usually be a little more expensive than a swing gate because the cost of the ground track and a slide gate operator will always require a structural footing. If you don’t have the room for a swing gate to open or because of certain grade changes, these can be the best option.
  • Dual slide – don’t have enough room for a single slide gate to open but have half the room on each side? This may be the right gate setup for you.
  • Telescoping – these setups do have some extra hardware than your standard slide gate but can allow an installation of a gate where otherwise impossible.
  • Cantilever – these are typically a little more expensive than a normal slide gate but if you don’t want or can’t have a ground track because of grade a cantilever gate could be the best option. these gates must be engineered to be reliable so there are limits to the style of these ones. Usually these will be aluminum ornamental style or chain link.

Custom Driveway Gates

Custom Pedestrian Gates

Ornamental Gates