Automated Gates and Equipment - Residential Gate Resources

Kirkland Automated Wood Driveway Gates

Important Facts You Need to Know Before You Purchase a Driveway Gate for Your Kirkland Home

An automated wood driveway gate is an investment that can add value and appeal to your Kirkland home. Get the details now and you’ll be ready at every step.

Permits for Kirkland Wood Driveway Gates

Depending upon where you live in Kirkland, it may be necessary to obtain a gate installation authorization for your driveway gate. Kirkland City Hall will certainly help you obtain any necessary gate installation permits to get your driveway gate job moving. It is also essential to ensure that your installation technician can show the required electrical permit before starting the work.

Electricity to Power Your Gate

Electrical power is essential for an automated driveway gate. Find out if you have a source of electricity close to your gate location. If not, even in cloudy Bellevue, Washington, solar energy can provide enough power to your driveway gate and could be more economical in the long run.

Security and Access Control

In Kirkland and many other areas, safety is often the primary reason that homeowners invest in automated driveway gate. The gate that deters would-be lawbreakers from entering your property is the same gate that gives easy access to family members, friends and delivery truck drivers. Your access control system makes it simple for you to monitor who comes in and out.

Popular driveway gate access systems in Kirkland include

keyless
digital entry pads (like a 4-digit code)
card readers
intercoms
telephone entry systems

The amount and frequency of people entering and exiting through your home driveway gate determines the best type of access control system to select for your home.

Types of Driveway Gates

When it comes to driveway gates, there are two basic types: slide and swing. Space is often the determining factor for the type you choose. If your Kirkland home has plenty of space on either side of your entrance or a very short driveway, a sliding gate (which slides across the driveway), will probably be the most suitable fit. However, if you are limited in space on either side of the entrance and you have extra driveway space, a swinging gate (that opens parallel to the driveway), is often the optimum fit. A reputable driveway gate specialist will visit your Kirkland property to see the size and layout of your entry and driveway first-hand. Then they can make recommendations that consider both the available area and your vision for your home’s entrance.

Driveway Gate Maintenance and Repair

Our damp Kirkland weather is tough on automated driveway gates. Regular maintenance for your driveway gate system provides benefits akin to routine car maintenance – it helps extend the life of your driveway gate as long as possible. A vehicle gate that doesn’t function properly could leave your Kirkland home at risk for criminal activity or pose a potential safety risk. Getting the correct manuals and having a suitable walk-through when your gate installation is completed, is essential to being aware of your driveway gates functionality – helping you to know under what circumstances you should call for automated gate maintenance or repair.

Safety Features

Without safety features, an automated driveway gate can pose significant safety risks. Safety devises can prevent physical entrapment and protect vehicles. These are some standard safety features to be aware of.

Gate edges are contact sensitive devices that function when touched, using sensors designed to be sensitive to pressure. If something blocking is encountered, the device commands the automated gate to stop and/or reverse.
Photo eyes are “non-contact” devices that operate by shooting a beam of light across the gate opening. Interrupting the beam will prevent the electric gate from closing, or will stop the gate and reverse its direction.
Loop detectors, primarily meant for vehicle safety, are installed beneath the driveway and instruct the gate to open or prevent it from closing on a vehicle in the path of the gate.