What You Need to Know Before You Look at Driveway Gates for Your Mercer Island Home
An automated home driveway gate is a purchase that can add value and beauty to your Mercer Island property. Take the information now and you’ll be properly prepared at every step.
Mercer Island Driveway Gates Permits
Depending on where you live, it may be necessary to get ahold of a gate installation authorization for your gate. Mercer Island City Hall will be able to help you get ahold of any necessary gate installation permits to authorize your driveway gate installation. It is also essential to ensure that your gate installer can easily produce the required electrical permit.
Electricity to Power Your Gate
A power supply is essential when installing an automated driveway gate. Determine if you have a source of power near your gate location. If not, even in cloudy Mercer Island, Washington, solar energy can provide power to your driveway gate and could even be more cost effective in the long run.
Security and Access Control
In Mercer Island, and many other areas, security is often the main reason a household purchases an automated driveway gate. The gate that deters would-be hooligans from entering your property is the same gate that gives easy access to members of your family, friends and delivery truck drivers. Your access control system makes things simple for you to keep track of who comes in and out. Popular driveway gate access systems in Mercer Island include keyless, digital entry pads (like a 4-digit code), card readers, intercoms, and telephone entry systems. The amount and frequency of people entering and exiting through your home driveway gate determines the most effective type of access control system to decide on for your property.
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 pick. If your Bellevue 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 almost definitely 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 best fit. A reputable driveway gate expert will visit your Mercer Island location to see the layout and size of your entry and driveway first-hand. Then he or she can make recommendations that consider both the available area and your ideas for your location.
Driveway Gate Repair and Maintenance
Our rainy Mercer Island weather is tough on automated driveway gates. Frequent maintenance for your driveway gate system supplies benefits similar to routine car maintenance – it helps you extend the life of your driveway gate. A vehicle gate that doesn’t function properly could leave your Mercer Island home at risk for criminal activity or pose a potential safety risk. Getting the correct gate system manuals and having a suitable walk-through when your gate installation is done, is essential to being knowledgeable about your driveway gates’ functionality – helping you to know when to make a 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 think about.
- Gate edges are devices which activate on “contact” and function if touched, using sensors for activation. If an obstacle is encountered, the device commands the automated gate to stop and/or reverse.
- Photo eyes are “non-contact” devices that operate by shooting a light beam 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 underneath the driveway and command the gate to open or prevent it from closing on a vehicle in the path of the gate.
Reach out to us soon to talk to a gate systems expert about a Mercer Island driveway gate for your home.