If you have a fenced in back yard, you will wish to have a side or garden gate for it. These are generally installed to prevent kids or pets from getting either inside or outside of the fenced and gated in area. Typical sized gates are approximately six feet, or eighteen hundred millimeters high. For those readers who are considering building and installing their own fence gate, you should carefully read and follow the instructions listed in this article below.
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Gate Post Width and Depth
How big should the gate’s posts be, and how deep should they be placed? In general, free standing gate posts ought to employ four by four sized board posts for narrower gates up to four feet high, five by five posts for narrower gates which are six feet of height, and minimally six by six sized posts for wider gates. Regarding the size and depth of the posts’ holes, you ought to remember that wooden posts need to be sunk in concrete in a hole that is approximately one foot square and two feet deep. An intelligent means of steadying the gate’s posts revolves around making a little concrete bridge slightly under the level of the ground from one post to the next. The posts should be properly spaced about three feet apart from one another, so that typical yard items can fit through the gate, as in wheelbarrows.
Constructing the Gate Frame
When you begin to construct your fence gate, you must first measure the distance lying between your two gate posts and subtract an inch. In this way, you will permit a half in clearance on each side of the gate itself. You should utilize standardized six feet by one foot sized boards which are six feet in length in the actual gate construction.
The gate frame ought to be constructed using a thirty five inch wide by five foot in length measurement, from two feet by three feet sized boards. Simply make pencil marks in order to properly cut down to size a section of wood that will be two feet by three feet, then put it in the middle of the other two longer pieces of the frame. You will also need to measure the two diametrically opposed sections of your gate’s frame. Work with the frame until these two diagonal measures proves to be identical, so that the rectangle’s corners will sit at true right angles. This ensures that your final gate frame will be square, and not crooked. The gate’s bracing will need you to put down a section of two feet by three feet of wood in a diagonal fashion from one corner to the next corner of the frame. Mark it with a pencil, cut it down to size and attach it to its proper place using galvanized nails.
The vertical boards of the gate will require you to nail the six feet by one foot fence boards on to the frame utilizing some two and a half inch flat galvanized types of nails. Such boards must be flat against the frames sides, as well as overhang the bottom and top by an even amount. You might have to cut the length side of the board down in order to make it go flat against the gate frame’s edge.
Putting Up the Gate
Take your newly created gate and put in up between the two gate posts that you sunk previously. The gate must sit up at least two good inches off of the ground beneath. Put packers along the gate’s sides so that the post and gate gaps are evened out, in order for the gate to be truly wedged in place.
The gate ought to sit in the proper position all the while that you are attaching the T hinges with screws. Every horizontal member, of which there are three total, gets a hinge installed. When your gate is supposed to open to the inside, then you will fix the hinges to the outer side of the gate, against the boards themselves, and of course in line with the horizontal parts. After you have properly screwed in and fastened on the hinges, remove the packing and attach the gate latch. Generally, such a latch is fitted approximately half of the way on up the gate. Lastly, you should cut a good sized hole, close enough to the latch and large enough for a hand to get through, so that you are able to open the gate from either outside or inside.
Designing a Gate Stop
The last thing that you need to ensure is that you have a gate stop, which will keep the gate from opening farther than it should, to prevent damage to the hinges and latch in a stronger wind or storm. Utilize a one inch thick board for this purpose. Attach it to the gate post in such a way that it will serve to maintain the gate itself flat to the post when the gate is closed. The gate stop itself should be the identical length as the gate is long.
For more information on building a good fence gate, simply click on the following links: eHow, Instructables.
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