That is something we did not cover in this video as it varies from city to city and isn't as universal. However, it is a good point to bring up! It is always smart to check with the city before doing anything like this as there could be a special requirement like that. A quick call to your building/ engineering department to ask about restrictions is always a good idea on any outdoor project.
@@Ironfenceshop Absolutely a call is in order. I don’t generally do less than a 12ft gate. There’s always exceptions but less than 12ft is getting hit.
@@philipwilkins3812 Its for sure never a bad idea to make a call to check those kind of things. We cover the entire US, so we see things run the gamut of lots of very specific and detailed code to zero code restrictions at all. However, better to take a few minutes to call to the city and make sure than run into an enforcement issue after installing the gate.
Question: What about Porte Cochere entrances? The opening across our driveway (porte cochere entrance) is 15' 6" wall to wall (Side of house to side of 3rd car garage) So could we anchor the actual gate post to each of the walls of our House/Garage? If so what size gate would we need? Thanks..
Port cochere entrances are always a case-by-case basis since there is no common size and you are working with a a fixed opening. You are usually looking at a custom built gate or a standard gate mounted behind the opening. Give us a call at 800-261-2729 to discuss options and go over any other questions. 800-261-2729
Cool video but I'm curious about how wide a gate should be for the fire department because according to the internet it says that your gate needs to be at least 20 ft wide which obviously is really wide and that concerns me because I just installed a 14ft wide gate on the back of my property so does that mean it would be illegal or not safe since the internet says that all gates need to be 20 ft wide to accommodate the fire department? and if that's true then why would you or anyone sell, promote or install Gates that are more narrow than 20 feet if and when there's ever a fire and the fire department needs to come and put the fire out? I wish you would have really covered minimum widths to accommodate the fire department honestly!
We didn't cover it since it varies immensely across the country and may not apply to everyone. Some areas have zero gate width restrictions while others will have fire department regulations. 20ft seems REALLY wide, but its your individual city's call for what code they enforce. Code like that is NOT universal. A semi truck can fit through a 12ft gate if its going straight through, so a fire truck doesn't need 20ft to get in. However, what the city code says it what you have to follow. Valid point we could have touched on it more in the video, but in 14yrs of being here, its only come up handful of times with local fire departments wanting access from the homeowner for automated gates. Even then it only came up maybe 2 times out of a 100 gate calls. I've never had someone buy a gate and then have to try and return it due to fire department code. As for your 14ft gate, call your city's Building/ Engineering department. Again, some areas may require 20ft like the internet says, but others may have zero gate width restrictions. Only the person at your city's Building/ Engineering Department is going to have the true answer.
If I were looking for an iron gate this is the company I'd go with. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for this very useful video. It was very clear in getting my head around different options for gate widths.
Glad it helped! If you have any other questions, feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email.
Fire code in Atlanta is 14ft!
That is something we did not cover in this video as it varies from city to city and isn't as universal. However, it is a good point to bring up! It is always smart to check with the city before doing anything like this as there could be a special requirement like that. A quick call to your building/ engineering department to ask about restrictions is always a good idea on any outdoor project.
@@Ironfenceshop
Absolutely a call is in order.
I don’t generally do less than a 12ft gate. There’s always exceptions but less than 12ft is getting hit.
@@philipwilkins3812 Its for sure never a bad idea to make a call to check those kind of things. We cover the entire US, so we see things run the gamut of lots of very specific and detailed code to zero code restrictions at all. However, better to take a few minutes to call to the city and make sure than run into an enforcement issue after installing the gate.
Question: What about Porte Cochere entrances? The opening across our driveway (porte cochere entrance) is 15' 6" wall to wall (Side of house to side of 3rd car garage) So could we anchor the actual gate post to each of the walls of our House/Garage? If so what size gate would we need? Thanks..
Port cochere entrances are always a case-by-case basis since there is no common size and you are working with a a fixed opening. You are usually looking at a custom built gate or a standard gate mounted behind the opening. Give us a call at 800-261-2729 to discuss options and go over any other questions. 800-261-2729
Cool video but I'm curious about how wide a gate should be for the fire department because according to the internet it says that your gate needs to be at least 20 ft wide which obviously is really wide and that concerns me because I just installed a 14ft wide gate on the back of my property so does that mean it would be illegal or not safe since the internet says that all gates need to be 20 ft wide to accommodate the fire department? and if that's true then why would you or anyone sell, promote or install Gates that are more narrow than 20 feet if and when there's ever a fire and the fire department needs to come and put the fire out? I wish you would have really covered minimum widths to accommodate the fire department honestly!
We didn't cover it since it varies immensely across the country and may not apply to everyone. Some areas have zero gate width restrictions while others will have fire department regulations. 20ft seems REALLY wide, but its your individual city's call for what code they enforce. Code like that is NOT universal. A semi truck can fit through a 12ft gate if its going straight through, so a fire truck doesn't need 20ft to get in. However, what the city code says it what you have to follow.
Valid point we could have touched on it more in the video, but in 14yrs of being here, its only come up handful of times with local fire departments wanting access from the homeowner for automated gates. Even then it only came up maybe 2 times out of a 100 gate calls. I've never had someone buy a gate and then have to try and return it due to fire department code.
As for your 14ft gate, call your city's Building/ Engineering department. Again, some areas may require 20ft like the internet says, but others may have zero gate width restrictions. Only the person at your city's Building/ Engineering Department is going to have the true answer.