Question 1

Which operator class does my Rosamond gate fall under?

Accepted Answer

The class follows who uses the property, not how wide the gate is. A home for one to four families is Class I. Commercial property, or five or more units, is Class II. An industrial yard closed to the public is Class III. Class IV is guarded restricted access, supervised by security personnel. If the use is mixed, tell us both uses at the measure.

Question 2

My gate has spear tops. Can it still take a motor?

Accepted Answer

Not with the points left on. ASTM F2200 does not permit protrusions on an automated gate beyond the exceptions it lists, and we do not treat pointed tops as one of them. In the estate and residential districts, Kern County Code 19.08.210 also bars sharp points on a fence under 6 feet. We cut the points and weld a cap rail across the pickets.

Question 3

Do you supply and wire the operator?

Accepted Answer

No. Our part is the steel: frame, hinges, bracing, track, rollers, roller guards, the mounting plate and the wiring sleeves. The operator, its electronics and its wiring come from a gate operator trade. We hand that trade a gate that moves freely by hand, so the motor is not fighting the steel from its first cycle.

Question 4

How do sensor wires reach a gate on a big open Rosamond lot?

Accepted Answer

Through the steel wherever we can manage it. We weld sleeves through the frame and the post so wiring runs inside the tube instead of strapped to the outside. An exposed cable can be crushed or chafed, and a damaged cable to a monitored device faults the whole gate. Bringing power out to the gate is work for the electrical trade.

Question 5

Does a 4 foot front gate still need entrapment protection?

Accepted Answer

Yes, height does not remove it. Under UL 325, most installations need two independent means of entrapment protection in each direction of travel, and every external device is monitored. A gap under 16 inches between a moving slide gate and a fixed edge, up to 6 feet above grade, counts as an entrapment zone, and a 4 foot gate sits wholly inside that band.

Question 6

What happens to my picket slide gate once it is automated?

Accepted Answer

The screening rule comes in. ASTM F2200 wants the gate, plus the stretch of fence it covers when open, screened so a 2.25 inch sphere cannot pass, up to 72 inches above grade or the top of a shorter gate. Ordinary picket spacing leaves gaps wider than that, so we weld mesh or extra infill across that height and check that the rollers can carry the added weight.

Question 7

What do you need to price the steel work for an operator?

Accepted Answer

The opening width and the slope across it, whether the gate swings or slides, the fence on either side, and what the property is used for. Photos of the hinges, track and latch show us what needs rebuilding. Whoever picks the operator will want the gate weight, and we can give that once the steel is sorted.

Question 8

How many warning signs does an automated gate need?

Accepted Answer

UL 325 calls for at least two, displayed in the area of the gate and visible from both sides of the opening. They go up with the operator. We can weld tabs or a small plate onto the frame so the signs have a solid place to mount.

Automatic Gate Installation in Rosamond, CA

Questions about automatic gate installation in Rosamond