History


Gates & Sons' History goes back to the late 1920's, when Lee Gates, Sr. invented his first twisted-wire form tie with a built in spreader.

Until that time, most forms for concrete wall foundations were built with 1 x 8" sheating boards, vertical 2 x 4 studs on 24" centers and held together with No. 9 black annealed soft wire to receive the wet concrete. 100lb coils of wire were delivered to the job site along with the 1 x 8" and 2 x 4 lumber. The No. 9 wire was job-cut to the proper length, bent 'U' shape to go around the two opposite vertical 2 x 4 studs and placed between every other joint of the 1 x 8" sheating boards. As boards were added, the two strands of wire were center-twisted with a large screwdriver, or pin, against a 1 x 2" wood spreader cut to the desired wall thickness ...one tie at a time...a very slow process!

While working on a new all-concrete mausoleum at Crown Hill Cemetery in northwest Denver, Lee Gates conceived the idea that a pre-twisted form tie could speed up the formwork. In the early development of his idea, he found that by using 5/8's smooth carbon-steel rods to replace the vertical 2 x 4's, additional speed in building the form was possible with his new tie. He started at once to design and build machines to manufacture his new 'twisted-wire' form tie. His new tie gained wide acceptance in and around Denver and the Colorado area.

Following World War II, 3/4" form plywood became readily available at an affordable price. Lee Gates' 4-strand, center-twisted tie made from black wire (that rusted) was then re-designed into a stronger, 3-strand, 11 gauge galvanized tie (no rust) and twisted from one end on automatic machines. Tie slots were routed in 2'-0" x 8'-0' plywood panels and the 5/8" carbon-steel rods were run horizontally, creating a very fast, lightweight, inexpensive forming system!

To meet the greatly expanding home-building market that followed World War II, a national sales sales program was put into place. Later, other Gates forming systems were developed and patented for the commercial construction trade, making Gates & Sons a leader, nationwide, in forming systems today!

Lee Gates, Sr. lived to see his twisted-wire tie invention transform concrete construction. He died on April 7, 1975 at the age of eighty-one and is buried just a few hundred feet south of the mausoleum where his first form ties were used.

Mr. H. Gordon Gates, the son of Lee Gates, Sr., is now the sole owner of Gates & Sons, Inc. Gordon is the inventor and developer of the many concrete forming systems presented on this website.