Hello all you clever people.
DIY'er here needing help.
A couple of years ago I spent a long time making a stairgate to match with our banister. It's hinged on one side obviously, and hence when it's open I guess there's a lot of torque running through it with the weight of the gate. I anticipated this to a degree and have a hook and eye for both when it's closed up to the banister and also when it's open against the wall, i.e. so it is supported at both ends. However, inevitably with a family it's been left open and hanging once too often and has come apart a couple of times now.
Any tips on how I can make it stronger, preferably without any diagonal bracing (which I guess would help seeing as that's how garden gates are made) as this would ruin the aesthetic. I made it originally out of good quality hardwood for all the verticals, with dowels both ends of each vertical - these have just snapped through now where the two have come out and others are loose. First time if broke I reglued, but without replacing the broken dowels as I would have had to take the whole thing apart to get new ones in, and added the small metal brackets. Not happy about them really and they didn't work.
Looks like I'll have to take it all apart and start again, but would love some advice on what I might have done wrong, or what I could do better to make it last please?
DIY'er here needing help.
A couple of years ago I spent a long time making a stairgate to match with our banister. It's hinged on one side obviously, and hence when it's open I guess there's a lot of torque running through it with the weight of the gate. I anticipated this to a degree and have a hook and eye for both when it's closed up to the banister and also when it's open against the wall, i.e. so it is supported at both ends. However, inevitably with a family it's been left open and hanging once too often and has come apart a couple of times now.
Any tips on how I can make it stronger, preferably without any diagonal bracing (which I guess would help seeing as that's how garden gates are made) as this would ruin the aesthetic. I made it originally out of good quality hardwood for all the verticals, with dowels both ends of each vertical - these have just snapped through now where the two have come out and others are loose. First time if broke I reglued, but without replacing the broken dowels as I would have had to take the whole thing apart to get new ones in, and added the small metal brackets. Not happy about them really and they didn't work.
Looks like I'll have to take it all apart and start again, but would love some advice on what I might have done wrong, or what I could do better to make it last please?
