Hi all,
So I had wanted driveway gates since moving to my new house 4 years ago. Having two young kids it keeps them safe from the road and having been burgled 2 years ago it adds security. I receieved some crazy expensive quotes from local gate companies so loving a challenge I did my research and decided to go for it myself ...with some help.
(Just to say upfront, I know that electric gates are machinary and clearly bring with them some safety risks. I was very cognisant of this from the outset, I read the legislation, I was careful in the design and then testing that the system is safe, I did a risk assessment that identified the sliding gate risks, we put mitigation in place to manage those risks (3x photocell pairs, 2x safety edges, fencing, appropiate force limits), I did a force test etc.)
In March we went for it, I hired a mini digger and a builder to dig out and pour a strong cement/balast mix in which the track sits and to change the height of one of the brick pillars to match so that the gate is level along the top (there is a two brick hight difference between the pillars due to the slope of the ground). Then a carpenter who is also a mate built the gates for me out of beautiful sapele wood, in two main pieces so they could make it from his workshop to my house, and then with a third piece on the end just to carry on the rack. We gave them 3 coats of wood oil, and over the summer I applied 2 coats of water-based exterior varnish (as I had already had some warping issues in the spring). I dealt with the motor install (Beninca 624 Turbo) and controls, lighting etc. They ran perfectly all summer and autumn, with control from keyfobs, apps and HomeAssistant.
I had some learnings along the way, the spring limit-switch didn't work very well, it would sometimes get pinged twice at the open/close point and consequently the gate kept failing to go into slow-down phase, so I eventually replaced it with magnetic / reed switches sold by Beninca and it fixed that. The wireless safety edge transmitter has had signal range issues on and off so I've had to move the reciever a few times which now seems to work well on the steel post albeit I still occasionally get drop-outs until I squeeze the safety edge which seems to bring it back from some sort of standby mode it can fall into. The Unifi Video Doorbell Pro has had some wifi range issue, but that's not surpring and I didnt want to run ethernet out to it. I moved an access point and that has settled down. One of the keypads got water inside despite being IP66, and kept randomly opening/closing the gate as a consequence through a short, so I just had to replace that under warranty.
But the main issue and the one I have outstanding is that the wood warps when really wet, specifically the main lower frame piece on the far closing side of the gate. What this means is that when it gets really wet then at one end it hits the cog hard and runs against it, and on the other it is driven into one side of the sleeper wall. Yes the sleeper wall is a bit too close on one side,and will also swell in rain, but rather than dig out and move the wall I think I am better off dealing with the underlying issue. Right now with all the rain, I have had to limit the the gate "open" to about 85% of its full run as otherwise it wedges itself against the sleeper wall and then will not close as it then requires more starting torque than the motor is set to provide.
I think only having fixings on the back is part of the problem, but from the front I love that it looks like a traditional swing gate.
So the idea I have had, is to place the gate on a steel box section. I would circular saw the equilivent height of the steel out of the bottom of the gate, ideally visible only from behind, and then use coach bolts to bolt the gate frame into the steel. The wheels would be fitted into the box, I think some reinforcement of the box section where it is cut for the wheels to sit will be needed.. Given the length and to help I guess I need to hire someone who could source the steel and weld it together on-side.
I've attached the original plans with dimensions and lots of photos. I'd really welcome any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, observations, what specification steel to use, thoughts on it rusting, thoughts on how much the wood will fight against being straightened out, whatever really. Thanks for reading.
So I had wanted driveway gates since moving to my new house 4 years ago. Having two young kids it keeps them safe from the road and having been burgled 2 years ago it adds security. I receieved some crazy expensive quotes from local gate companies so loving a challenge I did my research and decided to go for it myself ...with some help.
(Just to say upfront, I know that electric gates are machinary and clearly bring with them some safety risks. I was very cognisant of this from the outset, I read the legislation, I was careful in the design and then testing that the system is safe, I did a risk assessment that identified the sliding gate risks, we put mitigation in place to manage those risks (3x photocell pairs, 2x safety edges, fencing, appropiate force limits), I did a force test etc.)
In March we went for it, I hired a mini digger and a builder to dig out and pour a strong cement/balast mix in which the track sits and to change the height of one of the brick pillars to match so that the gate is level along the top (there is a two brick hight difference between the pillars due to the slope of the ground). Then a carpenter who is also a mate built the gates for me out of beautiful sapele wood, in two main pieces so they could make it from his workshop to my house, and then with a third piece on the end just to carry on the rack. We gave them 3 coats of wood oil, and over the summer I applied 2 coats of water-based exterior varnish (as I had already had some warping issues in the spring). I dealt with the motor install (Beninca 624 Turbo) and controls, lighting etc. They ran perfectly all summer and autumn, with control from keyfobs, apps and HomeAssistant.
I had some learnings along the way, the spring limit-switch didn't work very well, it would sometimes get pinged twice at the open/close point and consequently the gate kept failing to go into slow-down phase, so I eventually replaced it with magnetic / reed switches sold by Beninca and it fixed that. The wireless safety edge transmitter has had signal range issues on and off so I've had to move the reciever a few times which now seems to work well on the steel post albeit I still occasionally get drop-outs until I squeeze the safety edge which seems to bring it back from some sort of standby mode it can fall into. The Unifi Video Doorbell Pro has had some wifi range issue, but that's not surpring and I didnt want to run ethernet out to it. I moved an access point and that has settled down. One of the keypads got water inside despite being IP66, and kept randomly opening/closing the gate as a consequence through a short, so I just had to replace that under warranty.
But the main issue and the one I have outstanding is that the wood warps when really wet, specifically the main lower frame piece on the far closing side of the gate. What this means is that when it gets really wet then at one end it hits the cog hard and runs against it, and on the other it is driven into one side of the sleeper wall. Yes the sleeper wall is a bit too close on one side,and will also swell in rain, but rather than dig out and move the wall I think I am better off dealing with the underlying issue. Right now with all the rain, I have had to limit the the gate "open" to about 85% of its full run as otherwise it wedges itself against the sleeper wall and then will not close as it then requires more starting torque than the motor is set to provide.
I think only having fixings on the back is part of the problem, but from the front I love that it looks like a traditional swing gate.
So the idea I have had, is to place the gate on a steel box section. I would circular saw the equilivent height of the steel out of the bottom of the gate, ideally visible only from behind, and then use coach bolts to bolt the gate frame into the steel. The wheels would be fitted into the box, I think some reinforcement of the box section where it is cut for the wheels to sit will be needed.. Given the length and to help I guess I need to hire someone who could source the steel and weld it together on-side.
I've attached the original plans with dimensions and lots of photos. I'd really welcome any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, observations, what specification steel to use, thoughts on it rusting, thoughts on how much the wood will fight against being straightened out, whatever really. Thanks for reading.
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