Gated driveways?

[Jokarva]

Does anyone have a gate on their private drive?

Retirement house we're moving to has a long gravel drive and we're the only house at the end of it. We'd like to put up a gate but I'd like some input on how others handle theirs.

Electronic lock or keyed lock? Closed/locked all the time? Or only at night? How do UPS, meter reader type people get in if you leave it locked in the daytime? If you have an electronic gate - can I ask about how much it was to install and maintain?

This won't be a gate to keep animals in, our tenants are reporting 4 wheelers coming up the drive on occasion to cut across the property. We want at least a little control over who has access and who knocks on the door.

Thanks for any input!
KC

[ErinP]

Ours is just a standard barbed-wire gate.

When we're gone for any length of time, we padlock around both the gate and fence posts.
UPS opens the gate, meter is read automatically, and FedEx whines and complains.

[WildCub]

My parents have one. They have an electric opener powered by batteries and solar cells. They give the combination to the keypad to the meter reader, fire department and other required to have it. The mail is delivered at the road so it is not an issue.

You could put a secure lockable box at the gate for ups/fed-ex if they will allow delivery without a signature.

[tamsam]

If the drive is blocked where else will they get to the drive? I would put signs up saying NO ATVs allowed. I see gates around here that has paths worn out where they have bee gone around. Good luck. Sam

[danielsumner]

We have dual solar automatic gate openers at our Ga retirement home. Have a clicker in each vehicle. A keypad is mounted on the post. Ga power has the code. Keeps people from just coming in, the ones up to no good and the relatives you want to keep away.

[Conhntr]

Agreed with the above. Its like having a dog in this house the intruder will just go to the next one why bother with the extra hassel of a dog or gate when next door doest have one


I am a ups driver and one of the "perks" is i get to see tons of different setups (houses, drives, ponds everything). The best gated drive if possible on your property is one the is out of sight of the road.

If the drive has a turn/twist put the gate beyond it (with a lane cut before it for a turnaround). This way every person driving by wont think "hmm i wonder whats so valuable back there that guy has a gate"

[motdaugrnds]

Jokarva, we put up a 16' red metal gate across our drive 30' from state road (where our mailbox is located). We did it this way for several reasons:

1. Having the entrance 16' wide permits any size auto/trailer/etc. to enter if we want it to.

2. Having it 30' from the state road permits UPS and Fed-X to park off the state road to await our arrival to get whatever they're delivering. The meter-man simply opens the gate and either walks down or drives down (closing gate behind him) to read the meter, which is about 300' from that gate.

We connected it to 10" diameter posts embedded 3 ft in the ground with concrete; and we have a heavy duty chain with both a simple latch as well as a lock (to use if going to be gone over half an hour). These posts are connected to parameter fencing we have installed all around the remaining acreage.

[I have a neighbor up the street who uses heavy duty cable across his drives (entry/exit points) because his acreage is larger than ours and has more places accessable to nosy/playful strangers. He attaches that cable to large trees.]

[Ravenlost]

Metal cattle gate with chain and padlock. Power company has their own padlock on the chain to read the meters. UPS/etc. leaves packages in the delivery box we put up at the gate. They are one reason we have a locked gate!

[radiofish]

I have across my private road a 'cattle gate' also. It is hung off of, and chained shut with a keyed lock to huge old growth redwood timbers (use what you have) that are sunk deep into the ground. I do tend to leave it open most of the time, but close it if I am 'entertaining company'. It is posted "No Tresspassing/ Keep Out" on the gate, signs are also on the posts to either side. I am the last place in down about 1/2 mile off of the blacktop on a private road. There are a total of at least 6 "No Tresspassing" signs from the blacktop up to my gate. The forest is soooo thick here, you could get around the gate on foot, but no vehicle or ATV would ever make it around the gate of onto the property off of the old logging roads.

I know when the electric meter reader comes around each month, so no problem there. UPS and Fed Ex snivel on my cell phone about coming all the way up here, so sometimes they drop off my packages at a business a friend of mine owns in town.

[TnAndy]

Similar situation....end of county road, house long way back from gate entry point.

Mail box is at the gate. UPS/FedEx, I always try to get tracking numbers, then look up and see what day they will be coming so I leave the gate open that day....if I miss it, UPS will carefully wrap item in plastic ( if it looks like rain ) and set behind the rock wall, FedEx will set it in the driveway....they are the worse delivery company out there. Electric meter is radio transmitter type they can read w/o entry, but there is a keypad ( cheap Genie wireless type ) on the back side of the mailbox post and they have the entry code if they really need in...also give it to certain other folks with standing invite. No intercom ( wish I had when I ran the power wire down there, but didn't ), so anyone else has to phone. Keep gate shut all the time....keeps out "tourists", tax appraisers, hunters, thieves, etc.....especially the last category....they might wonder what is up there, but if they can't drive up easy to find out, they will move on to easier pickings.

I built my gates out of square tubing, then used a set of 3 farm gate hinges welded to the gate, and to an 8" I beam sunk in concrete footer, then added the rock around the I beam, and the extension 'wall' you see in the pic.



First opener I used was a set of Genie openers, (they no longer make them) similar to the "Mighty Mule" brand ones you see in the farm stores. These are a linear actuator type....that is, they have a screw thread deal that extends from the unit via a small motor and gear box. I would NOT recommend them for a 'main gate'.....they would be fine for a farm gate used on an occasional basis, but they simply aren't built heavy enough to open main gates of any size on an everyday basis. YMMV ( your mileage may vary ).

The opener I went with next ( and has been in place for 12-13 years now ) was an OSCO ( Operator Specialty Co ) brand I bought online from a fence dealer in Ohio. One way you could save $$$ is have only ONE gate, as which ever type opener you go with, two gates ( like I did ) = two openers ! Mine ran about 1800 bucks when I bought them, but they are built like a TANK....1/2 hp motor on each ( master/slave )with heavy duty gear reduction/belt drive, arm type attachment ( picture your hand on the gate, and the motor at your shoulder, with your elbow the pivot point of the linkage )....AND all mechanical switching/relays....not a single circuit board in the box ( except the radio receiver unit....which is a universal...I got Genie brand so it matches my remote for other doors ).

[Spinner]

Dogs and signs. I have cattle guards, no gate.

It's a good idea to post the property even if you have gates and fences. IF some trespasser gets hurt on your property, they might sue and end up owning your home when it's all said and done.

[Callieslamb]

You might want to check with emergency people - sometimes they can't enter a property with a electronic gate that isn't open. They are supposed to have the 'code' to get in, but it doesn't always happen that way. If emergency folks aren't an issue - disregard, please.

[Cabin Fever]

As long as you keep the gate closed all the time....whether you're home or not.....go for it.

If you think you're gonna be one of those who only closes the gate when you're gone....don't do it. It's like telling all the criminals and perps in the area, "Hey, we're not home!"

[Ramblin Wreck]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

As long as you keep the gate closed all the time....whether you're home or not.....go for it.

If you think you're gonna be one of those who only closes the gate when you're gone....don't do it. It's like telling all the criminals and perps in the area, "Hey, we're not home!"

Yes, and bolt cutters can go through a pad lock and/or chain in about 2 seconds.

[ronbre]

in our area, gates locked on drives indicate vacation homes ..and give serious theifs excuses to "check them out"..

better to not have a gate..and have a neighbor mow if you are gone..so that people think it isn't a vacation home..but if you are there all the time i imagine a gate might work out for you..no one here ever puts a gate on their drive if they are here regularly..so that is why people think it is a good place to sneak into and rob

[LisaInN.Idaho]

Originally Posted by Cabin Fever

As long as you keep the gate closed all the time....whether you're home or not.....go for it.

If you think you're gonna be are of those who only closes the gate when you're gone....don't do it. It's like telling all the criminals and perps in the area, "Hey, we're not home!"

Exactly.
We have a ranch gate with solar panels, batteries and a Mighty Mule opener with remotes but we almost never leave it closed. Especially when we leave.

[Tarheel]

Originally Posted by Wind in Her Hair

thats precisely my way of thinking - we don't have a gate for that very reason. In our area, 60% of the home owners are seasonal -put up a gate, close it, and you are saying "Nobody's home!!!"

a fancy $30,000 bricked, stone and iron entry (while lovely) just screams "Stuff!" and begs somenogoodstickyfingers to come and have a looksee. personally, I'd prefer them to think we're penniless.

WIHH, I'm at the right place, I am penniless!

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by Wind in Her Hair

a fancy $30,000 bricked, stone and iron entry (while lovely) just screams "Stuff!" and begs somenogoodstickyfingers to come and have a looksee.

That's my hope....Like honey to flies......I'm Soooooo tired of punching holes in paper targets.....

Seriously, along with my gate, I have the local reputation of being "that crazy guy up the mountain who will shoot at the drop of a hat" that I've carefully cultivated...because 99% of your theft problems originate within a few miles of your house. My objective is to convince them this is NOT a soft target.

[rambler]

As some others say, I donno about the gate. Seems it doesn't control the really pushy people; can actually signal the criminals as to when you are or are not there; and is just a pain for yourself & any medical or fire folk to deal with every day.

If the place you ar elooking at has been empty or for sale for a while, the local kids mighta got used to over-running it as it's abandoned & just a fun ride, no harm.... (In their narrow vision).

Making the place look occupided, a mower width mowed along the driveway, a 'private drive' taseful sign on the drive, might let everyone know the place is being cared for & watched & casual or criminal folk might not wish to test things.....

Wave to the neighbors, get the mail every day, mow that swath along the driveway even if it hardly needs mowing, keep the place busy, wave to the neighbor's kids... Most trouble comes from folks within a mile or 3, and the more freindly you start out, the more occupied the place looks, the less anyone will want to bother you. The alternative of waving guns over your head all the time & being known as the neighborhood freak might also work, but perhaps not the image you want?

A gate says I have something to hide/ protect & might not be around much so I'll put this up to watch it for me.... (Easy target worth investigating????)

Then get out of the car 4 times if I want to go somewhere (open/close leaving, open/close returning) or maintenence & expense on a wireless setup....

Always been my view of it, but many opinions can fit many different situations.

--->Paul

[starjj]

I had a gate and 4X4 field fencing put up across the front of my property strickly because a neighbor refuses to keep his dogs home. I have small dogs so that is the reason for the 4X4 sizing. The gate they can just walk through as I have yet to put up wire across it. They are trained not to go through it though. The neighbors dogs are large so they can't get through. It is a PAIN to have to open and close the gate each time I leave but you got to do what other people won't. It was either fence them out or put up with them coming in my place.

The only added benefit it has is if the cows got out through the front of the pasture it would serve to stop them.