Designing a wooden gate that won't sag

[Badfish740]

Nothing peeves me more than a gate in a fence that sags-it looks terrible and they're always a $#&@^ to close. I'm fencing my entire yard with a 6' dog ear fence that I'm building from scratch and I'll need two 8' openings on either side of the house. The gates will consist of double 4' wide doors fashioned from the same materials making up the fence panels. My first thought was to beef up the posts that will bear the weight of the doors. 4 x 4 x 8 posts will be used everywhere else, but I'll use 4 x 6 x 10 posts for the gates, burying a full 4' of the post in the ground. My next thought was to use piano hinges for each door. However, the gates are still going to be exerting a lot of force on the support posts-should I try to incorporate some sort of bracing for the post itself? I should also add that I thought about adding a support carriage (wheels) to the bottom of each door, but the ground is uneven and it would be too much of a hassle to try to level it out to the point that the door could swing all the way out and be fully supported. Any ideas?

 

[smokinj]

good hardware and and what your already thinking of will be good for a 4ft gate now if you where swing the whole 8ft that would be much different

 

[billb3]

I like a diagonal brace with the hinge always on the left side of the Z.
Can still sag, though. Just less likely to sag as much.

 

[G-rott]

A Support in the center where the panels meet will keep the load of the hinges and post the majority of the time. Diagonals on the fence sections on each side of the gate from the top(hinge) of the gate post to the bottom of the next post will transfer the load well. Eye bolts, light cable or heavy wire and small turnbuckles will work as diagonals too.

Garett

 

[coaly]

I use a screw eye at the top on the hinge side, and another one on the bottom at the latch side. Stainless garage door cable looped through the screw eyes with u clamps at the loop ends. You can add a turnbuckle in the center and it becomes adjustable if anything does sag ! You can hardly see the cable and it won't rust. This is a good fix on larger sagging barn doors as well. When the ground freezes and heaves, you can wind it tighter, and it lifts the door to clear the ground.
If an end fence post leans with the weight of a gate, another cable with turnbuckle from the top of the leaning gate post to the bottom of the next post will pull it right up.

 

[semipro]

I also recommend and have used the turnbuckle - cable solution. Most any gate will sag with time. Making the sag adjustable is the way to go and your gate always latches easily.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Badfish...I saw this bracket type bracket on a "holmes on Homes" episode.....History Channel or something like that.
Basically, the installed a huge fence for a condo/townhouse....something like that.
And basically, it was like a 90 degree bracket that you placed on the bottom corner of the gate, and it was made to fit over a 2 X 4. I thin they come in a kit, so I think you get one for both the top and bottom...you might be able to find the episode on holmes and holmes....will try to post if I can find it.
Not sure of the cost, but it looked like a real nice solution for do it yourself gates.

Edit: Here is the product they used...lists not available in the US, but you might be able to find another mfg:

http://www.peakproducts.com/products.aspx?product_id=94

 

[BucksCoBernie]

I just saw this on Ask This Old House about a week ago. You can probably go to their website or maybe Hulu to view the segment.

 

[prink3]

You should brace the post, that's what usually causes my metal tube gates to sag, and they don't sag themselves so it's always the post. I use a ratchet or turnbuckle from the top of the post to the bottom of the next post.

 

[ohbie1]

Have posts 6 ft. in length from top to ground. At the top of the posts use a cross piece, post to post. You can even make somethng decorative if it fits with what you are doing. I just used a simple P treated 2x4 top to top. The posts can't lean in, so the gate stays aligned.

 

[tiber]

I just saw this on Ask This Old House about a week ago. You can probably go to their website or maybe Hulu to view the segment.

Yes but you didn't post what you saw.

The THIS OLD HOUSE segment said that the usual problem was hinges that either wore out or pulled out. They recommended using three sets of hinges to hold up big doors like that and basically buy the biggest ones that fit.

 

[begreen]

Making sure the hinge post is rigid and that the hinges are adequate for the job are good first steps. If it is a big gate, brace it high on the hinge side ( http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/5064.pdf ) or consider making it a double gate instead of one large one.

Here are some helpful websites:
http://www.woodworkersworkshop.com/resources/index.php?cat=437
http://www.ehow.com/how_5131098_build-wooden-gate-professionally.html
http://www.cornerhardware.com/howto/ht011.html