Privacy fence gate problems

[Shane Copps]

I am putting up a privacy fence and have gotten to the gates. I had planned to build a square frame, put a 45 board from the bottom of the open side to the top of the hinge side and then mount it to the post. I am not sure that an 8 or 10 ft will be supported like this.

Any other ideas or questions to help clear up what I am doing?
Thanks
Shane

[Shane Copps]

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Here are some pictures of what I am working with if that helps me get some ideas

[Von Bickley]

My personal opinion......

I think you will have a major problem with an 8 - 10 ft. wooden gate sagging.
Is there a way that you could use a metal gate like they use around farms, and attach your wood slats to it?
Just my opinion, lets hear what the other guys say.

[Shawn Pixley]

For a swinging gate that big I think cable tensioned with a turnbuckle would be in order for a wood swinging gate. Better options in my opinion would be a metal frame swing type or a sliding gate. For my money at that width, I would go sliding. Why does it need to be so wide? Would you consider removable section of fence for occasional access and smaller person sized gate for daily use?

[Lee Schierer]

I am putting up a privacy fence and have gotten to the gates. I had planned to build a square frame, put a 45 board from the bottom of the open side to the top of the hinge side and then mount it to the post. I am not sure that an 8 or 10 ft will be supported like this.


I think you want you 45 degree brace running from the bottom hinge to the top of the free end of the gate. I'm not sure it will do much good on a 8-10 foot wide gate.

[David Gutierrez]

What about two 4' gates. A much more manageable size.

[Shane Copps]

Shawn and David,

I can split the one 7-8 ft gate, it would probably work better anyhow. The ten foot gate- I could just make it solid fence as the only real reason I was going to put it in is in case we need to get something in the back yard. The other 6 ft gate is the one I don't have a lot of choice on. It crosses a sidewalk/foundation and then is up against a building that I am pretty nervous about hanging a gate off of. I also need to get lawn equipment through it.

I'm thinking maybe a wheel on the 6 ft gate.

Thanks for the thoughts guys.

Lee, thanks for setting me correct on the way the support needs to go

[lowell holmes]

I would suggest two things. Make two gates 5 foot wide with diaganol reinforced gates and then run gate posts to 7 feet high with a header across the top from one post to the other.

The header will keep the posts from leaning. I put tenons on the post tops and mortises in the header. I built a fence that weathered the 5 foot flood waters from hurricane Ike. That fence had headers over the gates.

I also placed a 36" 2x4 brace across the top rails where they met each other on top the fence posts.

[Jim Matthews]

Build with the brace, and check for sag.

Get three of the beefiest ball bearing hinges you can find, and anchor them well
at the fence post. The footing will make more difference than you might think.

A degree or two out of plumb will make a huge difference over 8 feet.

If it does drag; put a wheel on it.

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http://www.amazon.com/Shepherd-9798-8-Inch-Spring-Pneumatic/dp/B0094DTBEA/ref=pd_sim_hi_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JABK2Z9NWE1QTFWPC8Y

[Bernie May]

another vote for cable w/ turnbuckle and a wheel on the end.

[Erik Loza]

I'm in the middle of replacing an all-wooden gate (about 50" wide) that the fence guys installed when they did our perimeter fence a couple of years ago. Even at that width, it was sagging in 6-8 months. Turnbuckles didn't fix it. Even if the gate is square, the support post started to sag slowly. Or at least mine did.

If I had it to do over again, I would have specified steel fence posts and then a metal gated, skinned however I wanted. Just my experience.

Best of luck,

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Mel Fulks]

Again I reccomend the gate book reprint sold by Lee valley. Proven designs for farm use,well engineered and clever. Even covers pivot hinges using rocks for counterbalance .

[lowell holmes]

This is what I was speaking of in an earlier post to keep the gate posts from sagging.
Put them 36" in the grond, dry pack sackcrete around them, and put a header across the extended gate posts.

You can wrap the gate posts and the header with cedar pickets to dress them up. I built a fence on canal front property 10 years ago and built two gates like shown here.
They have been through a hurricane with flood waters. Neither gate has sagged.



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[scott vroom]

Sounds like the 10' gate would be seldom used. In that situation, I'd build the gate as you originally described and either add a large diameter wheel for support, or if a wheel isn't suitable to your ground then I'd add a latch on the open end such that the open end could be supported by the fixed fence post; for the rare occurances when the gate needs to be opened, you simply undo the latch and hand carry the gate opened (I constructed a 6' wide access door to my shop this way). If this is truly a rarely opened gate, I personally wouldn't go to the expense of a custom metal framed gate. Lots of ways to skin that cat though, eh?

[phil harold]

cable and turn buckle on the gate and the post your hanging the hinges for the gate on

[Shane Copps]

Thank you very much everyone.

I really appreciate it. I ended up putting up a 5 ft and 3 ft gate in the 8 ft hole. Mostly it will be a walk through with the option of opening it for something bigger. I just finished fencing off the 10 ft hole as it would have been a -just incase its needed-. The 7 ft hole I had to just bite the bullet and make the gate that big due to positioning of buildings, garden and sidewalk. I am going to watch it, and if it starts to sag I have a wheel on order to support it.

Again thank you for your ideas

[David G Baker]

I made a 10 foot gate out of old bed frames and made two gates that were hinged on 3 inch steel pipe anchored in the ground with concrete. I knew that the gate would be to heavy unless I split it into two sections. I also mounted wheels on both gates to support them so they would never sag. I attched 1"x8"x 6' redwood to the metal. I made the gate around 20 years ago and as far as i know it still is working.
Another option is a sliding gate because they won't take up all of the space a hinged gate does.

[Greg Hines, MD]

Our gates are metal welded frames set on heavy duty hinges, with the wooden slats screwed to blocking inside the frames, and they have held up fine. We have a double gate in the back that spans about 8' and a side gate that is about 4' wide, and I don't have any trouble getting the lawn mower in and out through it.

Doc

[Val Kosmider]

For the 'wide' gate which is seldom, if ever, used, I sank 2" pipes into concrete at the same distance as a 'normal' fence section. I then hollowed out the inside of a PT 4X4 fence post and slid it over the pipe protruding from the concrete. The fencing slats were installed per any other fence section.

When I needed to remove that section, I simply slid it up off the pipes. Worked like a charm. In ten years I only used it twice, but it was REALLY handy. I made the pipes so they slid into the concrete, so when I needed to get a truck into the fenced area, I could pull out the pipes and have unimpeded access.

The only really difficult challenge is getting a two inch hole drilled 18" deep in a PT 4x4! That just takes time, patience...and a drill extension!