Design Services
| In planning customization and installation of your project, you may consider:
I have been directly & exclusively involved in the design and installation of automatic entry systems since 1984. I use the best components and the best methods of construction & installation available. I spend a lot of time evaluating new products that come to market. I maintain excellent relationships with the manufacturers whose components I choose to represent. We maintain a substantial inventory of replacement parts so that when service is needed, downtime is minimal.
I have never failed to complete a project, always met my budget, and always considered the customer’s present & future needs concerning the project. Properly designed entry gates can be built in a variety of materials to suit any project, as long certain fundamentals are applied. In over 16 years, we have built gates that swing, slide, lift overhead, that are made of steel, aluminum, wood, copper, or any combination of these. We make no claim as to the virtue of one material over the other, because at AutoGate Systems, we believe we can properly match the materials used to meet the customer’s design objectives. In my view, there are essentially two types of entry gates, custom made & prefabricated. Most of the work we do at AutoGate Systems involves custom gates, made to order by us for each project, and the way these gates are built, is what shall be outlined now. Prefabricated gates do have some merit, for some projects, and this can be discussed later on. If you were to take any of the custom gates in the company portfolio and peel away the wood, the masonry columns, wood columns, and lead-coated copper, you would find they are nearly all identical. The varied styles & sizes are merely veneers, over an integrated structural framework whereas all components are purposefully incorporated by design.
 A steel post of square tube, sized to meet the load of the gate panel. This is usually 4” x 4” up to 6” x 6” heavy -wall tube. The post is fabricated in the shop to proper length, placement of hinge pintels, adjustable closed limit stops for the gates, the gate operator base plates or rear brackets, this determined by the gate operator chosen for the project. Usually, this post is welded to a 14” square 3/4” thick base plate, with holes to accommodate the footing anchors. These anchors (the threaded rod cage) are cast into the concrete footing that supports each gate and column. The entire column is adjustable to correctly align the gates at the center. If the finished gate columns are to be masonry, this post may be sized long enough and directly buried in the concrete footing. The top pintel is then made adjustable to achieve the same result. The placing of this post or threaded rod cage is critical to the finished project, and shall be within 1/8”.Gate Frame Work:  Usually 2” square tubing, minimum 1/8” wall, welded into a rectangular frame, the height and width of its members to accommodate the finished gate panel. The purpose of the frame is providing a rigid structure to build a facade upon. Steel tubing allows no deflection (whip) compared to flat bar stock, allows the welding of hinge receivers, gate operator attachment points, etc. Steel tubing can also be formed to take up the shape of the top of a curved gate. Even in ornamental iron gates, where bar shapes are used for pickets, horizontals, etc., we prefer to use square tubing for the hinge-side upright and bottom horizontal members. |