Building & Hanging Wooden Gates!

        Gates sag, betcha knew that. All Gates that are made out of wood and not braced with metal brackets or wires will eventually sag. It may take a year, 5 years, 10 years or more, but they eventually sag. I grew up on a farm and we were always fixing, patching, and making new gates, and we were expert at it, and eventually they would sag. We also fixed a lot of fences, as cows, pigs, or horse's inherent job is to find the weak spot in them and exploit it for the whole herd. At least thats my theory. Fences are stationary objects and their biggest adversary is the weather in their outdoor environment. Wood gates are different, they have movable, operating parts, and are only supported on one side when being used. All of you  conduct maintenance on your car, but when people have a fence built they think the gate should last forever and never have to be maintained. It don't work that way. 

         

      GATE STRUCTURE

      Gate designs are only limited by your imagination, but the components remain the same: 

      1.   A braced frame, to which the fencing is attached. (Gate Frames are usually made of the same

               material as the Fence Frame although not always). 

      2.   Hinges, and other hardware of the correct size, and proper type.   

      3.   Gate Posts of the correct size and proper type. 

         

        The basic framing structrure for a wood gate is at least two horizontal framing members placed approx. top and bottom with a "Z" type brace running from the lower hinge side to the opposite top.  This design works well for up to a 4' gate. We recommend 2 - 10" Heavy Duty Maxima Hinges. Two hinges are fine for this application. If this gate is going to recieve daily use we recommend 3 hinges but dropping the size down to the 8" Maxima Hinge. Hinges are to be "Tee" or "Strap" type depending on the gate post setup. For a gate utilizing 3 hinges a framing member will have to be added to the center of the gate running from the hinge side to the angled framing member for hinge attachment. All hinges are attached thru the pickets and underneath to the 2x4 framing, from the outside or to the 2x4 framing from the inside.  

        4x4's are fine for the gate post of 6' gates as the gate post is only part of the structure for holding up the gate. Just as important as the gate post itself, is to ensure it is properly attached to the fence framing members. (2x4 horizontal members) Thereby transferring the force of the gate weight on down the line to the fence itself. Always try to install a gate where there is at least 1 section of fence installed in order to help transfer the swing force and distribute the gate weight throughout the fence not just the gate post. Still more important is the gate post depth. While it is fine for the inline fence post to be set to a minimum 24 inches. Gate post and Corner post shall be set to a minimum of 30 inches. While Inline posts can be tamped in, Corner, Gate and End Post must be set in concrete.

         For 8' Tall fences we will always use 6x6s for all posts and these must be set to 30" depth for in line, and 36" depth for all Gate, End and Corner posts. 

          People notice a sagging gate when they open it and it hangs up on the grass. It's the outer side (opposite from hinge) that normally sags so it's a real easy fix. Take the gate off and measure a line from "0" on the hinge side to approx. 1" on the open side. Use a skill saw, cut it off and rehang the gate. You may have to pick it up a little inorder to hit the latching mechanism when closing, but it's not a biggie. Every once in a while we find the lagscrews on the hinges have wallowed out and these need some work. Remove the hinges from the post and gate. Use a "Wood Hardener" all around and inside the old Lag Screw holes. Then apply a wood bondo material and fill the holes making sure to press the bondo all the way in, let dry and then sand smooth. The bondo material is actually harder than the wood so you are able to drill new holes where they should be and set the gate in the proper position. Needless to say follow all directions and safety precautions for the wood hardener and bondo. Last but not least if you have taken care of your fence - pressure washing and staining it as necessary, it will last a long, long time. The gate as a movable part will not last as long as the fence and will need probably require metal bracing at some point. It will also reach it's lifes end at some point and need to be totally rebuilt. You may have reached that point. By then the powder coating is also probably wearing off the gate hardware and may need replacement also.
        For 5' wide gates we recommend metal gate bracing from the start. They also make wheels for the open edges of heavy gates and while we hav'nt used them they may be an option for you. There are many excellant metal type braces available on the market today. Here are some excellant ones:
                            http://www.artisticironworks.com/gate.html
                            http://www.amazon.com/No-Sag-Gate-Bracket-Kit/dp/B0026KVMDG
                            http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10584
                                                                                                                   

                                                                         

                                                         T -Hinges

Strap Hinges