The gate was built completely out of solid aluminum for a few reasons: #1 Aluminum doesn't rust (and is cheaper than stainless steel) #2 We use solid instead of tubing for durability and strength (higher quality since aluminum flexes more than steel) #3 Aluminum is much lighter, making installation and operation of the gate much less work.
This gate has a lot of attention to detail on it, making it a beauty to behold. We agreed to do this project as a rush order, and we only had 3 days to build it. The main fabricator has put 18 hours in on this gate in one day. (There were a 3 or 4 people helping off and on as needed) It is surprising how many man-hours a custom gate takes. But then again, with how much attention we give to detail it shouldn't be surprising. There are many companies out there that mass produce low quality gates with little or no unique character to them, but then again, they might be able to cheaply assemble them about 60 or more times faster than we do when we put our heart and soul into a gate. Does that mean we should really charge more for our gates than we do? Absolutely. On some jobs we don't get what the job is really worth. Welcome to the life of a custom iron worker. We really put a strong emphasis on design and manufacturing quality. The customer sees the results but not the extra time, effort, and sometimes even stress that takes place to produce an exceptional piece of art.
Here is a sneak peek at half of the unfinished gate still on the table. It looks better now that it's finished, and will look even better when it gets blasted and powder coated today.
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