Suggestions? Build or order metal entry gate...

Our gates were made locally using a stick welder. If the metal is thick enough and the welder is skilled enough that is all you need. You should look around for a welding shop that has the capability of bending pipe and adding some ornamental doodads to the job. Involve them in designing the gate post also if you're going with swing gates so there is something to weld the hinges to.

I have a remote controlled gate opening system that I have yet to install.

He did a fair to middlin' job on the hinges stick welding. I added the grease fittings. The gates swing in or out.

Good topic Larry.

Firstly and each to their own, I had mig and arc welders in Oz and foolishly sold them in Australia before we moved here 4 years ago. 6 odd months ago I purchased a 450A stick welder (doubt it's 450 as I can pick it up with 2 fingers)

Aside, My welder here always uses my little skimpy welder opposed to his lumpy beast and says it's great, I used it to weld up a couple of tables and was better than my old arc welder, cost online was a tad over a hundred bucks Aussie.

To gates: We had a 304 S/S sliding gate and the matching hinged door to the pump house, Gate 2.4 high and 5 meters wide, pump house door 2M high and .9 wide, we installed the concrete slab with 12mm rebar protruding for them to weld the track for the gate, they installed. We supplied the track gears, they installed on the gate. We from the same company as the track came from purchased the motor and remotes to operate the gate, we installed with our electrician.

Gate and door P 70K installed, motor and gear tracks P 8K from memory, electrician and material P 3K so P 81K: Ten times cheaper than Australia. BTW and you have to look closely at the pic in the main gate is a lockable access door matching, all in the price.

Larry, go talk to your local fabricators, We went S/S because we are on the beach, I'm sure gal or mild sell will be a lot cheaper.

1/ is the garage, that's another story.

2/ is the gate we created and the worker is only 5'2"

3/ is the inside with the pump house.

Local is best as they can build what you want with the occasional slap.

Kudos to my better half for the pics and loading.

Cheers, Steve

@Larry Fisher…. Why the hell do you need barbed wire??!! What kind of area are you living in? Is it a prison camp or a home?

@arty5987 We also have a piggery. Livestock stealing, is a thing. A lot harder to lift and toss a 5 kilo piglet over barb wire. Makes the effort less valuable also.

@Moon Dog I always want to call you Moon Beam. I think it's from my days in San Francisco. We had a friend we called Moon Beam because his brain was gone. Fried, outer space gone. I mean he had his own generals in space watching us gone! But anyways, it's just a resemblance. Not you actually. (dry humor intended)

Your gate looks awesome. I'm not going high end, and it looks kinda high endish? What happens with a power outage? Does it manually slide/swing ok? Great idea on the zirk fittings. I'll keep that in mind.

@bigpearl looks good. Thanks for mentioning the stainless. We have two different welder/fabricators coming by today. One does have TIG and stick and does stainless. The other is stick only and we'll see. 

I could make a good living here doing custom welding/fab with a good MIG and TIG. Well, I wouldn't work, I'd have a few workers I'd teach how to weld. I'm done working.

@Larry Fisher…. Why the hell do you need barbed wire??!! What kind of area are you living in? Is it a prison camp or a home?
-@arty5987

I find that interesting what you say, you perhaps don't live here? Here is not Kansas Dorothy and while we live in a good area are always conscious when it comes to security, no different to western countries.

Cheers, Steve.

@Larry Fisher I loved to be in woods hunting racoons with dogs by the light of the moon. The note of a bugle mouthed long eared black and tan or a treeing walker when they are in full cry is the best music in the world to me.

Gate openers are typically low voltage so it can be operated by batteries. The batteries can be charged by house current or solar. There is also a key that allows it to free wheel. I have the wheel type. It can be programmed to partially open one gate for walk through guests or both gates for vehicles. It also has a delay closing feature but I think I will not use that and just close it manually with the remote so as not to shut the gate on a person or vehicle.

Did you have a contractor build your wall?... Or just some workers?  Thanks!

Are you asking me Daniel and welcome to the forum.

Cheers, Steve.

@Daniel Reed54

Welcome to the forum. In my case the walls (fence) was built by local masons and laborers. The front fence first, then the sides and a year or so later the back fence. Our main house was built by a contractor, everything else was done by a local masons and laborers.

Ok thank you!  My wife and I just purchased land and will build in the future but we need walls constructed in order to prevent encroachment from neighboring properties. 

Daniel, perhaps introduce yourself, your lovely wife and your situation to the members here..... I wonder why you say encroachment from neighbours, sounds like an untitled lot?

As for architects, contractors they will cost you 20% upwards of the real cost, boots on the ground and find local masons, labourers etc.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl … I live in Cebu. No problems here. Need to pass two security guard stations before you reach my home. Choose your area of living wisely! What is it that real estate agents always say about the three most important factors when moving are?…

          1-location  2-location.  3 location

i also have a gate but the idea of barbed wire along the area of your house just takes away the complexion of a home!. To each their own.

Location, location, location? You my friend have to pass through 2 security guard stations to get to your house that says it all.

As you say each to their own.

Cheers, Steve.

Larry Fisher said . . . topped with 3 strings barbed wire. This would match what I had done to the rear of the property.

************************************

Be sure to use Razor wire and while your at it, how about a moat with Piranha's?

I'm with you on that one Steve. My location would be back in Georgia if my safety depended on armed guards. I posted in an earlier thread that our local M Lhuillier remittance center doesn't have an armed guard or bullet proof glass. The local PNP have little to do except set up a check point to bust unregistered vehicles but they know me and wave through with a smile and a "good morning sir". I did set the chief's office up with a nice desktop computer system.

Ok thank you! My wife and I just purchased land and will build in the future but we need walls constructed in order to prevent encroachment from neighboring properties.
-@Daniel Reed54

That is a good reason to build a permanent fence. The cow pasture behind us was owned by an ex-mayor who was famous for encroachment. He passed away shortly before we built our back fence and when we verified the property line we gained back about a meter of land in one corner. He had planted a row of trees and created a hedgerow on what he considered to be the property line.

Where you live is a choice, we all have our own reasons whether a partner, financial or I want to live on the beach or behind guarded walls.

To criticize another members choice without knowing their situation is not what a forum is about, info and help rings a bell.

To Larry, put your barbed wire fence up or razor wire as Bob suggested, at least you can see through it unlike my rendered block walls 8 to 9 feet high on 3 sides. Our choice was aesthetical and not to keep crooks out,,, that's why God made ladders. Our fence to the beach is Glass and only 4 feet high and 90 feet long, not to stop crooks but to have a great view as well as keep the dogs in, other dogs and goats out.

Our choice.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl … The security guards open the arm to let us in as we approach their station. What the hell are you referring to? They know us by name. They actually smile (and salute which I don't find necessary) and let us right in. And you actually find a problem with that!? Buddy, you need your head examined.

And yes!! to each their own. But I find that security guards at two separate stations who automatically open the entrance for us and recognize us right away much more appealing and secure than barbed wire…. Just sayin. Oh… rings a bell?? Ding Ding

A few years back I used to stay at the Joya Lofts & Towers, an upmarket condo unit in the Rockwell area of Makati opposite the Power Plant Mall. Great location. After midnight the barriers to the area were activated. I usually (depending on the taxi driver) would come in from the Makati Avenue end via Kalayaan Avenue which then joined Rockwell Drive where the security guard hut was positioned. I always drive in the passenger seat in Manila taxis as the seatbelts in the rear often don't work. As we drove up to the gate I would salute the guard (no I'm not ex military lol) with a big smile and he would run to the barrier to open it. Never asked for credentials.

"Be sure to use Razor wire and while your at it, how about a moat with Piranha's?" Great idea Bob but being a Manilian now did you not read about the 'Termite tunnel gang' in Quezon city ?

@bigpearl … The security guards open the arm to let us in as we approach their station. What the hell are you referring to? They know us by name. They actually smile (and salute which I don't find necessary) and let us right in. And you actually find a problem with that!? Buddy, you need your head examined.
And yes!! to each their own. But I find that security guards at two separate stations who automatically open the entrance for us and recognize us right away much more appealing and secure than barbed wire…. Just sayin. Oh… rings a bell?? Ding Ding
-@arty5987

Yep, rings alarm bells if you have security to let you in and out, obviously a great and safe location, location etc.

Cheers, Steve.

@Larry Fisher…. Why the hell do you need barbed wire??!! What kind of area are you living in? Is it a prison camp or a home?
-@arty5987

mf'er I have read every one of your comments. Bring that ego down here to Argao, Cebu and some people will slap it the eff off the chip on your shoulder. You CRITICIZE me for a couple strings of barbed wire at the top of a interlink fence as if I'm living in the effing ghetto. Which even if I was, MAYBE that was MY choice, not yours. But you do it all the while talking about what great SECURITY GUARDS you need to have in your area and the need for GATED ENTRY. And you say I'm the one in prison here in the Philippines?

To those that just HAVETO KNOW, Interlink, which is what will be used above the three rows of brick on the sides of our property is so thin and weak strong shears could cut it. So the strands above are not to prevent entry. It's to protect cheaply, the easiest way to steal piglets, by tossing them over the fence. It's cheap deterrent.

Do what you want Larry, it's your home and environment and I'm sure you are a lot happier doing your thing as we all do.

As for your gates go onto FB and search there for steel fabrication or ask your neighbours who they used and if they were ok.

Cheers, Steve.

Good topic Larry.
Firstly and each to their own, I had mig and arc welders in Oz and foolishly sold them in Australia before we moved here 4 years ago. 6 odd months ago I purchased a 450A stick welder (doubt it's 450 as I can pick it up with 2 fingers)
Aside, My welder here always uses my little skimpy welder opposed to his lumpy beast and says it's great, I used it to weld up a couple of tables and was better than my old arc welder, cost online was a tad over a hundred bucks Aussie.

To gates: We had a 304 S/S sliding gate and the matching hinged door to the pump house, Gate 2.4 high and 5 meters wide, pump house door 2M high and .9 wide, we installed the concrete slab with 12mm rebar protruding for them to weld the track for the gate, they installed. We supplied the track gears, they installed on the gate. We from the same company as the track came from purchased the motor and remotes to operate the gate, we installed with our electrician.

Gate and door P 70K installed, motor and gear tracks P 8K from memory, electrician and material P 3K so P 81K: Ten times cheaper than Australia. BTW and you have to look closely at the pic in the main gate is a lockable access door matching, all in the price.
Larry, go talk to your local fabricators, We went S/S because we are on the beach, I'm sure gal or mild sell will be a lot cheaper.
1/ is the garage, that's another story.
2/ is the gate we created and the worker is only 5'2"
3/ is the inside with the pump house.

Local is best as they can build what you want with the occasional slap.
Kudos to my better half for the pics and loading.

Cheers, Steve



-@bigpearl

I suspect yours was a few years ago? I say that because I found the guy with a TIG welder and the experience. We are less than a kilometer from the ocean so we too decided on stainless steel. As you, 304 for the thickness and sturdy construction. The gate alone, with a man door, installed, as a side rolling on track will cost us 80k php. No motor, strictly manual. We then decided on the front fencing being 1 meter solid wall, and 1 meter stainless steel with cement pillar sectioning. This will keep our dogs in, other dogs out, yet we can still see out and be aesthetically pleasing. That section will be another 40k php. All prices final, done in two weeks maybe three.

Larry, I wanted to go with 316 as that's what most sea faring boats use but the contractor we used could only supply/build with 304.

The gate and door are over 100 meters to the ocean and after 4/5 months are showing a few rust marks/stains, trying to get the guy back to do some other jobs here for 3 months (busy man at those prices we paid) and I'll ask him the best way to protect his work, I was thinking car wax? Keep a couple of the workers busy for a couple of days.

Cheers, Steve.

@bigpearl Having spent a lot of time polishing aluminum, chrome, stainless, in the Harley business, car wax will most certainly help. One of my favorite things to use on oxidation before is a product called Never Dull. It's basically a can of treated cotton you pull out as small (really small) swabs and polish to create a black almost liquidy residue. Wipe clean and it's a mirror finish. Then apply your wax. Though Never Dull does also provide a bit of coating. If you find some, or order it through Amazon, have the workers polish very small areas at a time. You'll need a few cans and even more elbow grease. Depending on how the finished gate looks, I may have it waxed up right away after ours is installed. Or Never Dull'd and waxed.

Salt water and chlorine will cause rust to develop on 304 stainless. The rust is easily removed with phosphoric acid and there are coatings that will keep it off. My problem is the rust spot on my 304 pool hand rail is under water. You can see the 2 dark spots below the surface. I will either not worry about it or wait until the next time the pool is drained. The same guy who made our gates stick welded the hand rail and it looks good.

@Moon Dog It's hard to tell in that pic, but if those two lines are welds at the elbow, your stick welder did good. And finished it off with a good grind-sand-polish. My guy doing general construction work just bought his little welder and he isn't that good with it honestly. Maybe in time he could. And he wants to build the gate. But I don't want to constantly be treating and painting because of rust. So stainless steel is the long term solution.

Funny thing yesterday. On Friday we had two welder-fabricators come over at separate times. The first one I knew didn't have a TIG welder but claimed he could do it. I told them both I would decide the following day. Following day comes along and the second guy comes over. Seems guy number one, came to him to sub-contract the job then sell it to us. All for about a 50% mark-up. yea, that ain't gonna happen. I knew he couldn't do it! lol

Moon Dog I had that once with my salt water pool on Australia, all 6 of the Supposed 316 escutcheon plates on the pool lights started to rust in under 6 months, complained to the supplier, they sent new ones and they never rusted or stained in near 20 years. I gather the first ones they supplied were inferior quality S/S.

Thanks for the polishing tips Larry, will seek out once the fabricator comes and I will hear his advice as well.

Cheers, Steve.

@Larry Fisher The prefabbed hand rails were paper thin and mostly coming out of China. The local guy Jojo, who made the fence around the pool' said he could make a hand rail out of schedule 40 pipe. It originally was bolted to the concrete but when we did the pebble finish I had them chip the concrete down to the rebar and weld it in so it is good to go now.

My only experience with MIG and TIG was in the US Army welding school. Back then the MIG welder looked like a movie camera because the wire spool was in the hand held device. After the Army I was a union boilermaker for a time. We were plate welders but  some refineries required passing a pipe test before certifying. The toughest one was the "Arkansas Bell" which was 5" schedule 80 316 stainless on a 45 degree angle. The last refinery I worked at as a boilermaker was near where I lived. I put in an application as was hired. Worked there 23 years in the reliability department. I was happy to say goodbye to replacing bottoms in tanks.

I had a flux core welder in the US which was OK but hard to make a pretty weld. I was amazed that the huge modules at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea were put together with flux core welders. My last 11 working years was with Dresser-Rand and on my last job I was tasked with assembling two 10,000 hp compressors on a 3 story module. The machines were sitting on 60" I-beams, all welded with flux core. I have a little Daiden 300 amp inverter welder now that serves all my purposes.

@bigpearl You can order a jug of 85% phosphoric acid on Shopee for P499. You may want to dilute it. All you have to do is brush it on with a paint brush or tooth brush, wait a couple minutes and wipe it off. It will only dissolve the rust and not affect the base metal. You can make a rusty old brake drum look like new in a matter of minutes. Coca Cola contains phosphoric acid but probably not enough for your purpose.

I had one of my guys wire brush the angle brackets on the 2 A/C units facing the ocean then treat with a rust convertor that we shipped over from Oz over 4 years ago, then red oxide primer, then 3 coats of oil based enamel, 4 months on the rust is coming through again.

Will get the stainless guy to make new brackets and we will swap them over,,,,,, if he ever comes.

Funny but logical I suppose, the 2 A/C's on the back of the house no rust, one has been there over 4 years.

I'm also wondering what the insides of the A/C units are looking like.

Cheers, Steve.

If the A/C units were installed by Filipinos you may have cause to worry about the internals of the system. All the installers I've spoken to do not evacuate the system before releasing the refrigerant. They told me if I installed the units myself it would void the warranty. I replied that if they installed the units I would need the warranty. I pulled all 4 units down to 200 microns (0.004 psia) before releasing the charge. At that pressure water boils at -38 C so I'm confident I have a dry system.

Yes I hear you Moon Dog, same as Australia but not here, they don't even test for leaks once the system is charged, I have installed many but always got my refrigeration guy to vac, charge and test, he had all the gear and wasn't expensive.

All I can say is that the 4 A/C units I've had installed (only 3 or 4 to go lol) seem to be working properly, my concern with the 2 units facing the ocean, I'm sure they will only last 5 or 6 years due to corrosion.

They are mounted under the eaves and we have since extended the roof another 6 meters for the outdoor living area, I have read that putting a baffle twice the size of the unit say a foot away is recommended if facing the ocean but that will look uglier than the units 8 feet off the concrete.

I'm probably going to have similar problems with a 2Hp and 2 x 1Hp units as they will also face the ocean but sideways in a walkway so I will try the shielding methods as no one will see them except Ben or myself and I will get S/S mounting brackets fabricated.

Cheers, Steve.

@Moon Dog I taught myself MIG. I designed some aftermarket saddlebag rails/supports for leather throwover saddlebags for Harleys back in the 90's. Easy stuff really. Made up my own jigs and hand cold bender. Was only using 3/8 cold rolled steel with 3/8 i.d. tubing for mounting hardware. But the welds had to be safe, and pretty. My biggest issue was getting fine enough cold roll that would look good after triple plate chroming. They couldn't be polished because of the shape. If one got loose it would snap arms in two on a polisher. I bought a Miller MP250 microprocessor MIG and ran 75/25 argon CO2. Got to wear my MIG looked damn near as good as any TIG welds. I miss those days. But it was hot, hard work punching them out at quantity for the wholesale market. But they weren't made in China!

@bigpearl … maybe it's just the fact that the area is a golf and country club development,  not a crime ridden area like you're suggesting.    Location, location etc.

ring those bells… ding ding.

BUILD THAT BARBED WIRE!!

@arty5987

Sure you are not an alias from another site I visit? Used to call himself shadowman, name said it all. He has been booted 2 or 3 times under different names. I see the same writing style as well as the innuendos and blatant disregard to where other members chose to call their home and how they live their lives with what they are allotted.

Regardless your golf club has security and boom gates for a reason, potentially an unsafe area. Where I live has no security, closed gates or barbed wire, no grills on windows etc.

Ring your bells as much as you like but give credibility to members that chose to live where they do for their particular reasons and not your projected ideologies, one shoe doesn't fit all.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve.