Marin County, CA

Several gates were created for the new home of novelist Isabelle Allende

Marin County, CA

The Design objective was to provide privacy from Isabel's adoring readership while in turn linking the aesthetics to the Spanish colonial architecture of the house.

See Recommended Finishes

Marin County, CA

Most civic codes require that double driveway gates swing in toward the property, away from obstructing the sidewalk while also allowing the arriving homeowner to pull into their drive while waiting for the gates to fully open instead of stalling the flow of traffic. It is also why most civic codes require the gates be at least 12' in from the sidewalk easement.

The overall opening requirements differ from county to county. Often, if the gates are more than 300 feet from the residence, the opening must be a minimum 14-16' between columns, which is wide enough to allow a fire truck to enter. If the gates are less than 300 feet from the residence, the gates can be less than 13', as the fire truck hoses can reach the house from the truck parked at the gates.

All civic codes require automated gates have a universal access code for the fire department to gain entry.

Fences, Gates, and Walls---Shiffer Publishers 2007
Click Here to access the PDF of this book featuring Driveway Gate #6
Click Here to access the gallery of articles and features.

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, being San Francisco, requires dealing with sloping grades.
The pedestrian gate slopes down only 1" over the 44" opening. So we leave that alone.
The drive gates, however, drop 7" over 9-1/2-ft. To much to ignore.

San Francisco, CA

For perspective, register the bottom of the photo frame against the bottom of the gate.
To build such a gate, the woodworker must create the radius, taking the center-point vector of that and measuring over to the center of the two gates to ascertain the off-set. The top arching rail is then laid out to that skewed radius.

The bottom rail s cut to an angle where it joins to the two vertical stiles. That angle is determined by the trigonometric Tan-A formula. The angle is crucial; if the cut is made 1/2-degree off, the bottom rail is off by as much as an inch from being parallel with the slope of the grade.

For more on Sloping Grades

San Francisco, CA

The finish stain was applied on site.

Los Altos, CA

A pair of automated Wood Driveway Gates style #6 in Silicone Valley, CA, accompanied by the pedestrian gate style #29.

Los Altos, CA

Showing the property side of the wood driveway gates, with their grade-mounted motors and the exposed surface-mounted steel frame

Los Altos, CA

There is not a lot of detail to the Wood Driveway Gate #6, nor it's favorite partner, the Pedestrian Gate #29. And yet they are two of our more popular products. Partly the privacy offered and partly the link to Spanish Colonial architecture, which is so prominent in California. Our east coast patrons are not nearly so keen on these designs.

Note: The below finish was provided by a third party, involving a sealer top coat that will last only so long--perhaps two years--before requiring maintenance. If not maintained, it will crack and peel and require sanding. Avoid using any finishes that are layered seals. This includes any finish with sheens, such as marine spar varnishes and exterior urethanes. The cedar wants to breath without the restrictions of a sealant finish.

The cedar, moreover, has no real use for any finish whatsoever, beyond your own aesthetic preferences. This is true only if the product is properly designed to consider expansion and contraction for decades; proper self-drainage; proper joinery to provide structural integrity for decades; and the proper species and grade of species and the age of its harvest.

See more at Pre-Finish Options

Los Gatos, CA

Driveway gate #6-1 in a rare wintry scene in the higher elevations of Los Gatos California. Here we have a 16' overall width between columns, with the steel frame embedded, or invisible to the eye. The finish was managed by the homeowners and we're told it is Olympic Maximum Semi-Transparent Stain, Espresso. The Columns, as an interesting aside, are hammered copper & brass that clads a block platform wrapping 6x6 steel post cores.

Los Gatos, CA

Both sides of the Wood Driveway Gate #6 are identical, with the invisible steel frame embedded into the wood frame. Photographed prior to a finish applied on site