Hanging 2 Driveway gates

[lidster]

Hi ,
Im about to hang 2 wooden driveway gates and would just like a bit of advice/clarification before I begin.



I bought these gates off the internet and am 1 coat into a 3 coat staining session! They are 6 ft wide each and 4 ft high.

1) Im going to use 600mm hook and band hinges like these. http://www.screwfix.com/p/straight-hook-bands-pair-galvanised-610mm/22885. They will be hung off 4 inch posts. 4.5ft high. dug through concreted drive 2 ft deep. Will these hold up?

2)some online fitting guides have shown that you can turn the top hook upside down to stop the gates being lifted off the posts. Surely this would stop that hinge doing any work on the post other than assisting the swing. all the weight would be taken on the bottom hinge?

3) Im not sure about the bracing....I have read that the diagonal brace should slope down to the bottom hinge, but mine are in the middle? Before I fit I would like to brace these properly if they arent going to hold up. Ive also read that bracing needs to be 45 degrees to actually work so I assume this is why they are set like this. the bottom is 6 ft long and the gap the brace fits in is 1ft 6 inches - so the angle if it went diagonally top corner to bottom would be much less than 45 degrees.

thanks for any help

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• lidster
• 11 Jan 2014
• 1

 

[Burnerman]

Its true what you say - with one hinge inverted, theft is more difficult but the load is taken by one hinge only......its possible to add a third!
Traditionally braces rise from the hinge.....on those gates it doesn't really matter but you may as well hang them that way.
Personally, I'd go for 6" posts for this project, and I also prefer crooks which are threaded for easy adjustment.
John

 

[r896neo]

A 6 foot gate needs a bigger post than 4'' . If it was me i'd be using a 6'' post concreted in at least 600mm. A 4'' post had a cross section of 16sq/in whereas a 6'' post is 36sq/in so more than twice as much material and strength.

If your going with 4'' posts you would definately need to make sure the gate doesn't swing freely at any point by making sure your drop bolts and latches work properly because a gate swingly freely and over extending is what will damage the post.

The gate design isn't ideal. The braces shown are relatively ineffective and a gate that wide could be prone to sagging but there are 3 main horizontal rails so it might be fine but certainly not standard practise.

sorry for the doom and gloom

 

[geraldthehamster]

If you will need to open the gates more than 90 degrees inwards, make sure you fit the hooks on the backs of the posts, not on the insides facing towards each other.

I wish someone had pointed this out to me

Cheers
Richard

 

[lidster]

A 6 foot gate needs a bigger post than 4'' . If it was me i'd be using a 6'' post concreted in at least 600mm. A 4'' post had a cross section of 16sq/in whereas a 6'' post is 36sq/in so more than twice as much material and strength.

cheers for the reply. I need these gates to last 5 yrs or so as will be selling the house then - and I need them up now as I just got a dog!!
I appreciate your comments about making sure they dont swing freely though. ive already dug and cemented in the 4" posts but there is a brick pillar in front of them. I didnt use the pillar as tree roots have knocked it out of straight. My posts are straight and plumb. Based on your comments though I think I will use some metal building straps/ L Straps and fix the top and the middle of the posts to the brick pillar in front for more support. In fact the posts need reducing and capping so I might fit a strap to the top and then cap it after to make it tidier ....

As far as the bracing is concerned - how would you suggest it's done better?

Untitled

• lidster
• 11 Jan 2014
• 1

 

[Burnerman]

The brace the way it is, is largely decorative......personally I wouldn't bother
doing any modifications but historically the brace would go from bottom left to top right. However modern glues are so much better these days that the original techniques are largely ignored.
Keep an eye on the tenons of the gate.....if you think the strain is too much you can always fit a jockey wheel to help with the weight.
John

 

[munchingB]

that post needs pulling out and putting in properly-straight i mean. cut it to the correct height before and put the 6 inch post in while youre at it.

shouldnt take that much effort to make it fit a hell of a lot better.

 

[cajar]

It's the brick pier that's not plumb he said, but I agree about needing a bigger post.

 

[geraldthehamster]

A 6 foot gate needs a bigger post than 4'' . If it was me i'd be using a 6'' post concreted in at least 600mm. A 4'' post had a cross section of 16sq/in whereas a 6'' post is 36sq/in so more than twice as much material and strength.(

I used 8" posts for my gates of similar size, concreted in by about a metre...

8" x 8' posts aren't expensive from an agricultural supplier.

Cheers
Richard

 

[lidster]

thanks for all the help/replies.

Im gutted now that Ive put in 4" posts instead of 6" or 8". Those posts are at least 2ft deep and will be about 4ft4" above ground once they are cut and capped- so at least the bottom of the posts will be solid. Id imagine any weakness will be at the top.

Im going to attach some 2"x3" wooden battens to the brick pillar's and then fix the posts to these as well to give it extra strength. The brick pillar may look as though it's falling over but it is still rock solid and sound - its just not straight...

As with most of my well planned DIY Projects - a little improvisation is now required....

 

[lidster]

The brace the way it is, is largely decorative......personally I wouldn't bother
doing any modifications but historically the brace would go from bottom left to top right. However modern glues are so much better these days that the original techniques are largely ignored.
Keep an eye on the tenons of the gate.....if you think the strain is too much you can always fit a jockey wheel to help with the weight.
John

cheers for this. the tenon/joints do look very well done. they are a 3rd thick, wedged and glued through tenons. they also have 2 dowels drilled and glued through the tenons. In fact the only part of the carpentry I wasnt happy with was the tongue and groove boards aren't recessed down the sides for any expansion. I really wanted to make some gates myself originally but for what I paid for these I was v happy.

 

[Burnerman]

You could always hire a long drill bit, (15mm say) and drill through the post and the brick column....and then pass a length of 12mm studding through!
John