Author: JDR Metal Art

I build custom driveway gates made from steel and aluminum for clients nationwide.

4 Reasons Why Your Home Needs Brand New Driveway Gates

4 Reasons Why Your Home Needs Brand New Driveway Gates

 

1. Adds a Layer of Safety To Your Home & Loved Ones

It’s okay to be exclusive. A driveway gate is one way to close off the outside world, which is especially appealing during these times. A closed driveway gate keeps random strangers from approaching your home in their vehicle, and your loved ones safer. They can also help to contain pets!

Ornamental driveway gates with flag themed dog design.

Other security add-ons include intercoms and camera systems to keep track of who’s coming and going.

2. Convenient

Driveway gates are convenient, especially when automated. They can be operated from the comfort of one’s own vehicle with a remote or from a keypad or even from home or far away with a cell phone app.

Gate opener remotes

Powder coated keypad stand for driveway gate opener.

 

Even if your gates are manually opened and closed, you still have the convenience of controlling who drives up to your home.

3. Adds Beauty

A well-designed driveway gate is truly a beautiful sight to behold. Especially when they hang from native stone columns.

Beautiful tree driveway gate with snow

The stately feeling one gets while driving through an opened set of entrance gates leaves a lasting impression upon all who pass through.

Custom driveway gates with worker at the job site.

A brand new custom driveway gate is the perfect way to make a statement to all who see it.

4. Adds Property Value

An attractive, customized driveway gate can add $50,000 or more to the value of an underlying property due to aesthetics and added peace of mind afforded by increased security measures such as automation. That can give your property an edge in the market if it’s time to sell.

Driveway gates with deer family at Tennesee driveway entrance.

About JDR Metal Art:

We help homeowners, farmers, ranchers and businesses from all across the US to secure and beautify their properties with driveway gate systems. We build custom driveway gates from steel and aluminum, of all different shapes and sizes. We have gates installed in over 30 states since 1999, as well as internationally.

Driveway Gates For Sale

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Ex. 12' wide x 6' tall
Ex.: Farm, Ranch, Residential, Simple, Traditional, Wildlife, Pets, Equine, Trees, , etc.

Custom Ranch Gates – Elegant 12′ Oak Tree with Whitetail Deer

Custom Ranch Gates

​12′ Dual Swing Oak Tree with Whitetails

Designed, Fabricated, Powder Coated & Installed by JDR Metal Art

with liftmaster la 500 commercial grade automatic operator System

These ranch driveway gates were a fun project from start to finish and will look great at their new home for many years to come.  JDR Metal Art designed, built, powder coated & installed this 24v solar powered automatic gate system.

12′ Driveway Gate Design

We began with the 12′ dual swing gate design (a modification of one of our other tree driveway gates). Four whitetail deer and three turkeys are gathered under an oak tree. We also ended up adding to it a 14′ tall overhead arch with our customer’s ranch name plasma cut in a neat and attractive font.

Here’s our initial design concept; each steel driveway gate panel is exactly 6′ wide at the frame. The total opening between the posts is 12′ 10″ which allows for hinge spacing and a center gap of approximately 1″.

Custom Gate fabrication

The frames for our steel gates are typically made from 2 x 2 x 1/8″ & 2 x 2 x 3/16″ tubing. These pickets for the inside of the frame are 1 x 1 x 1/8″. The joints are cut with miters and given a slight gap for maximum weld penetration.

Next we are locating and placing the gate opener bracket for the LA 500 driveway gate opener.

Once the LA 500 bracket has been welded to the backside. In this case it’s a “pull-to-open” gate opener installation setup.

After MIG welding the steel base plate to the posts…

This gate opener system is spec’d for Liftmaster LA 500 Gate openers

Our gate opener/operator of choice for this project is the Liftmaster LA 500 system. It’s a 24 volt DC commercial duty system which offers twice as much voltage (power) as the 12v systems. Liftmaster has become a household name over the years with great brand recognition, unsurpassed quality and excellent customer service.

For automating this ranch entrance we installed the LIFTMASTER LA 500 dual swing gate opener system. The gate opener and photo eye brackets were welded in place on the gates and posts prior to powder coating.

la 500 gate bracket

photo eyes

Building the stands for the photo eyes. The photo eyes play an extremely important safety role in this project. The holes in the stands are drilled and tapped for ease of installation onsite.

keypad stand

Custom built steel keypad stand is much better than the typical paper thin steel ones.

Locating the photo eye so it’s in line with the reflector on the other post.

Plasma cut turkeys hanging out in the grass.

 

Overhead arch for “take a chance ranch”

Lettering is cut from 3/16″ sheet steel, welded to a rolled 2x2x1/8″ square tube. Will be welded to top of the gate posts with fluxcore/gasless welder.

custom plasma cut Ranch brand

One of several signs we cut from 3/16″ steel for our client to put up around the ranch.

posts & small parts racked for powder coat

Here are most of the smaller parts required for this job, hanging from the powder coating cart.

 

powder coated driveway gates

Our favorite black powder coat – 60% gloss – is a “super durable” grade powder coat made especially for high UV outdoor exposure. It looks great for many many years without the typical premature fading and/or peeling of a liquid coating.

Wet vs Dry Painting

Traditional paints are generally known as wet paints. Powder coating is called a dry paint because it is applied in the form of a dry powder and there is no need for industrial solvents to dry and is thus green friendly.

Once the powder is applied to the parts, the parts go into a propane fired powder coat oven where they bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. As the parts heat up a chemical reaction occurs and the powder turns into a gel at first and then fully cures into a tough finish as it cools.

A powder painted finish is much tougher than liquid painted but without the extended cure times which liquid coatings suffer from, generally weeks to a month or more. Whereas a powder coated gate is fully cured upon baking; liquid coated gates are often still far from fully cured during the time of delivery & installation, thus leading to easily scratched and rubbed off paint finishes due to handling parts with a yet uncured finish.

Driveway Gate Installation

Time for driveway gate installation. We begin by laying out the dimensions with a tape measure and marking the areas we’ll be working. We need holes for the gate posts and a trench between the two posts for the electrical and control wiring.

Gate post holes And Trench

Holes have been drilled 40″ deep with a 24″ wide auger. The dummy base plates have been set in place with the threaded rods in their final resting place.

Setting Template for Overhead Posts

The posts for the overhead arch are 14′ tall. It’ll be easier to install a template for threaded rods which will be buried in concrete to support them.

pouring concrete

Before pouring the concrete it is necessary to fasten the rods in place so they can not shift while the hole is being filled.

Once the concrete is sufficiently set the posts will be secured to the threaded rods via galvanized nuts.

 

 

Driveway Gate Installation Costs

Driveway gate installation costs were about $3,500 for this project.

liftmaster la 500 photo eye

The photo eye is a safety device which monitors the entry opening for obstructions in the pathway of the gate during the open/close cycle. Like a garage door, it reverses the course of the opener when an obstruction is sensed in the pathway of the gate. This newest model also has an onboard thermostat and heater.

 

  

          

 

Ex. 12' wide x 6' tall
Ex.: Farm, Ranch, Residential, Simple, Traditional, Wildlife, Pets, Equine, Trees, , etc.

Tree of Life | Plasma Cut Driveway Gate

Tree of Life | Plasma Cut Driveway Gate

Metal driveway gate by JDR Metal Art installed in Lexington, Kentucky.
Metal driveway gate by JDR Metal Art installed in Lexington, Kentucky.

Custom 12′ Single Swing Gate Design for Lexington, KY Client

This gate concept was submitted by a client in Lexington, KY.

Installed by Overhead Door Company of Lexington.

Driveway gate design with tree of life for Lexington, KY.

Plasma Cutting the Silhouette from 1/4″ Plate Steel

Bringing the metal tree concept to life begins with the plasma putting operation. The artwork for the tree silhouette is loaded into the plasma machine and cut out.

Plasma cutting program with tree of life design. shown on the screen.

Plasma cutting the metal art tree of life from steel plate.

Plasma cutting the Lexington, KY driveway gate with tree of life decoration.

 

Plasma cutting the tree design cut from steel 1/4" plate.

 

Plasma cutting a leaf on the metal art tree.

Plasma torch and plasma cut ornamental whimsical design.

Once the plasma cutter has finished its job the unwanted parts are picked out and scrapped. The completed part is sent to the fabrication table for cleanup and preparation for fabrication.

1/4" steel plate after it has been plasma cut into a tree of life iron gate design.

Then a ring is rolled from 2″ x 3/8″ flat bar that is wrapped around the metal tree.

Rolled flat bar and design of tree cut out of 1/4" plate steel.

The flat bar is drawn tight with a clamp against the plasma cut tree and tack welded in place.

Clamping the rolled flat bar to the tree design.

A couple dozen tack welds hold the ring tightly in place before the heat and pressures of the full and final MIG welding process are later applied.

Attaching the rolled 2" x 3/8" flat bar border to the plasma cut plate.

Once the tree has been wrapped in flat bar, the outer frame of the gate is put together.

Assembling the tree of life gate frame.

Framing up the tree of life entrance gate.

The corners of the frame are double checked for squareness. As they are tacked together and welded, the parts have a way of moving due to the heated metal shrinking as it cools.Assembling the components of the tree of life gate.

Once the outer frame is tacked together the wavy pickets are laid into place and marked out for cutting.

Assembling the pickets into the frame and artwork.

Assembling the pickets into the frame and artwork.

Rolled flat bar welded to ornamental tree and wavy pickets.

Once cut, the pickets are tacked into place where the marks were established earlier.

The pickets all get welded solid to the flat bar.Fabrication of tree of life driveway gate on welding table.

Then the outer frame is welded solid.

Rolled tubing pickets welded into the tree of life gate frame.

Wavy pickets being placed into decorative Lexington, KY gate.

Back side of welded steel tree of life gate.

The tree silhouette is welded solid everywhere it touches the flat bar.

The top frame welded solid where the tree/flat bar meets the gate frame.

Whimsical tree design plasma cut from steel.

Plasma cut steel tree of life design.

The gate is stood up & flipped over so the backside can be welded up.

Tree of life custom gate stood up beside the welding table.

1/4″ plate steel tree leaf cut with a Hypertherm 45XP plasma machine. Near laser quality with super clean cuts.

Plasma cut edge of steel art cut from 1/4" plate by JDR Metal Art.

Looking across from the end of the gate, both ends are doubled checked for plumb.

Once flipped, the backside of the gate is welded up; frame, pickets, flat bar and tree.

Now all the welds are completed and this gate is built. The customer will be installing the hinges and painting the gate.

 

 

 

 

 

Aluminum Driveway Gates | Custom Florida Keys Project | Palm Trees & Fence Design by JDR Metal Art

Driveway gate with palm tree design at residence in Marathon, Florida.
Florida Keys Palm Tree Themed Custom Driveway Gate.

Aluminum Driveway Gates – JDR Metal Art

Custom Florida Keys Entry Gate Project

Palm Tree & Fence Design

Driveway gate with palm tree design at residence in Marathon, Florida.
Florida Keys Palm Tree Themed Custom Driveway Gate.

Two driveway gates with palm tree design in front of residence.

These unique dual-swing, marine-grade aluminum driveway gates were custom designed, plasma cut, built and powder coated by JDR Metal Art.

They were then crated and shipped via FedEx Freight to our client in the Florida Keys.

Plasma Cutting The Artwork

Here is the plasma torch.

Plasma cutting palm tree from aluminum sheet metal.

Plasma cutting uses an electrical arc and a stream of air to cut through the aluminum.

Plasma cutting sparks from aluminum sheet.

The CNC table is a computerized machine that the plasma torch is mounted to. The table follows the cut path exactly how the designer created the file. Once the design is programmed into a file, the file with all necessary parameters is loaded into the plasma table.Aluminum being plasma cut on a CNC plasma table.

Plasma cutting a section of fence for Florida entrance design.

Once the plasma cutting program has completed it’s course then the silhouette is removed from the table and cleaned up with a grinder and zirconia flap disc to remove the slight amount of dross that formed on the back of the metal while it was being cut.

Silhouette of palm tree plasma cut from aluminum.

Framing The Gate Panels Up

Laying out the frame on the back side of the plasma cut palm tree/fence silhouettes. The design hides the frame so it won’t be seen from the front by passersby.

Dual swing aluminum driveway gates 16' wide during layout of frame.

Plasma cut metal art palm trees and fence design.

Aluminum gate panel laying on welding table.

Palm tree driveway gate with fence accent design.

Aluminum gate frame prior to welding on fab table.

 

Aluminum metal art palm tree gate panel after welding.

Fabricating The Gate Posts

These dual swing gates will be hanging from aluminum gate posts. We build our own gate hinges. The hinge tabs are welded to the gate posts and the hinges are ready to bolt onto the posts at the time of gate installation.

Aluminum 4x4 gate post with hinge tabs welded on.

The gate posts are 4×4 aluminum with 1/4″ wall thickness. The hinge tabs are plasma cut from 1/4″ plate aluminum and welded to the posts by spray arc with an aluminum spool gun.

4x4 aluminum driveway gate post with hinge tabs.

Powder Coat Finishing

These gates are built from marine grade aluminum which, after fabrication is first de-oxidized  and conversion coated, then given two coats of a super durable grade white powder coat finish. The second coat adds several mils of thickness to the finish, bringing the total finish to between 6 and 8 mils thick which is much thicker than paint. Perfect finish for resisting corrosion in a salty environment.

Aluminum gate panel after it was powder coated white by JDR Metal Art.

 

Palm tree gate panel after white powder coat finish was applied.

Smooth white powder coat after it has been applied and baked at 400 degrees.

White powder coated aluminum plasma cut metal art.

Side shot of the gates and posts after powder coat finishing.

Side view of white powder coated aluminum drive gates and gate posts.

Thanks for reading our blog post. If you need a custom gate JDR Metal Art definitely has your solution, no matter if you’re located in the Florida Keys or anywhere else. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for a quote!

Pensacola Florida Aluminum Driveway Gates – Plasma Cut Logo & Mexican Clavos Design

Custom aluminum driveway gates with black powder coat finish.

Pensacola FL Aluminum Driveway Gates

Custom Designed Plasma Cut Logos & Mexican Clavos

Here’s a 20′ dual swing aluminum driveway gate project recently completed by JDR Metal Art for a Pensacola, Florida property entrance.

Custom aluminum driveway gates with black powder coat finish.

Starting Out: Plasma Cutting The Gate Logos

Hypertherm plasma torch cutting metal design logo from aluminum 3/16" thick.

Logos and signs cut from 3/16″ thick aluminum sheet, marine grade 5083.

Clean aluminum gate logo on background of unclean aluminum sheet.

Cleaned aluminum for custom gate logo.

Aluminum gate medallions plasma cut by JDR Metal Art for Pensacola Florida gate project.

Rolling Gate Logo Frames

Using a bender to roll the frames for the gate logos from 1/4″ thick by 2″ wide flat bar.

Rolling band for gate logo from aluminum flat bar.

Rolling aluminum flat bar.

Rolling 1/4"x2" flat bar into rings for the gate logo.

Aluminum gate design with logo being prepared for welding.

Custom plasma cut gate logo.

Clamping together a sign and ring in preparation for putting into the gate frame.

Polished aluminum sheet metal with plasma cut gate logo.

Sawing The Gate Frames

Using a horizontal band saw to cut 45 degree miters into the ends of the tubes which get mitered and welded together.  2 x 2 x 3/16″ aluminum frame material.

Horizontal saw cutting miters into 2x2 aluminum square tubing for gate frame.

Beveled and mitered aluminum square tubing.

Parts Prepared for Fabrication

All materials are saw and plasma cut, then prepared for fabrication. Saw and plasma cut material for custom aluminum gate and sign order.

Framing Up the Gates

All welded areas are degreased with acetone, mitered with a flap disc and scoured with a stainless steel wire brush prior to preheating and welding.

Square tubing tacked together for gate frame.

Aluminum square tubing frame for fabrication of driveway gate

Frame for building dual swing aluminum gates.

Building a gate frame and checking for squareness of the ends.

2x2 square tubing frame and 3/16" sheet metal design.

Square tubing bent into aluminum arches for custom gate.

Custom aluminum gate frames on top of each other.

Aluminum framing for custom gate.

Assembling aluminum sheet and square tubing.

Preheating the Aluminum Prior to Welding

Preheating aluminum prior to welding evaporates the “sweat” i.e. condensation which forms on the metal from humidity in the air. Moisture can cause the welds to be brittle and weak so preheating is important. The preheat also makes the initial section of weld stick better to the base metal.

Preheating aluminum gate tubing for spool gun welding.

Condensation sweating off the material after preheating the weld zone.

Moisture beading up on heated aluminum while preheating for welding.

Tack Welding Pickets In Place

All the pickets were placed first, then the logos placed on top and the spots traced onto the pickets before cutting them again.

Aluminum pickets for custom aluminum gate in Pensacola.

Layout of the Logos

Building an aluminum gate with logos.

Placing the logo into a custom aluminum picket gate.

Aluminum picket gate frame and plasma cut logo.

Gate frame for Mexican clavos project in Pensacola.

Layout of Top Sheet

Tracing out the area to be plasma cut. The Mexican clavos will be applied to the sheet once it is installed.

Layout of plasma cut top section.

Plasma cutting the top sheet which will hold the Mexican clavos.

Plasma cut top section.

Welded aluminum sheet metal welded to gate frame.

Ornamental aluminum gate panel for Pensacola job.

Locating the Clavos

The Mexican clavos are laid out in position and will be permanently applied after sandblasting the gates down to raw metal.

Mexicon clavos on ornamental aluminum driveway gate panel.

Mexican clavos on aluminum driveway gate.

Hinge Brackets Welded in Place on Back of Gate

Hinge brackets for aluminum gate.

Ready for Sandblast

Dual swing aluminum driveway gates.

Welded aluminum gate logo.

Custom logo for aluminum gate.

Aluminum gate panel with plasma cut design.

Loaded on the sandblast rack with 2 other sets of gates.

Sunrise over aluminum driveway gates racked up to be sandblasted.

Aluminum gate logo after it has been sandblasted prior to powder coat.

Custom aluminum driveway gate that was sandblasted.

Raw aluminum sandblasted clean of all oxidaation

Sandblasted metal logo for custom Pensacola driveway gate made from aluminum.

Sandblasted logo for custom aluminum driveway gate.

Sandblasted metal signs and posts.

Raw aluminum after it was sandblasted.

Aluminum gates and signs that have been sandblasted in preparation for powder coating.

Powder Coating the Gates

Each gate panel and sign is pre-treated with an environmentally friendly corrosion control chemical followed by 2 coats of polyester powder coat. The film thickness of powder coat is around 6-8 mils. This is 4-5 times thicker than a 2-coat paint finish.

Aluminum gate sprayed with powder coat prior to oven bake.

Powder coated aluminum driveway gate in the oven.

Black driveway gate being powder coated.

Black aluminum Mexican clavos that has been powder coated.

A black powder coated Mexican clavos.

Powder coated black sign logo for custom Pensacola gate.

Mexican clavos gate.

Custom plasma cut sign powder coated black.

Custom gate on pallet ready to ship to Pensacola Florida.

Driveway gate being crated up for shipment to Florida.

Custom powder coated sign.

Aluminum entrance gates with black powder coat finish.

Completed and on to the next project! 🙂