Gate Design Help

woodlandfarms · Jul 4, 2008

Hey everyone. I have an idea for a gate, and thought a simple Home Depot kit would do the trick. But just as I was about to pull the trigger I found out our gate would need to be 8ft wide (X2 of them for a total of 16 foot opening).

What we were looking for was a simple 3 horizontal slat fence.... Nothing fancy, nothing ugly. We have mulled over the metal fences, and would consider that a last resort.

Also, we are not going to spend a bundle on this project. So, inexpensive / efficient ideas a plus

Have a great 4th...

Carl

davitk · Jul 4, 2008

? I cannot envision hinging 8' of gate ? I am interested to see if someone comes up with a solution for you. A simpler solution might be to build removable sections, i.e. posts and all lift out of the ground.

Lloyd_E · Jul 4, 2008

I have 16' wooden gates. (Actually I have a 20' section as well - 16' plus 4' gate). I used 10" hinges and welded 1.5"x20"x1/4" flat bar to the hinge. I ground the end to a point - fake forged end. I leg bolted hinge to posts(oak) and to the gate. In the middle (8') of the gate I made a support leg with a small pneumatic wheel. The leg/wheel supports the gate as it is moved.

The gate is three rails plus top cap rail to match the fence design. The gate and fence is made of 1x6 hemlock painted black.

Attached is a pick during construction stage minus leg/wheel, paint and final fitting.

lloyd

davkir · Jul 5, 2008

I've seen gates that use a post on the hinge side that is taller then the gate and have a diagonal support wire.

EddieWalker · Jul 5, 2008

Have you priced what a metal, 16ft gate will cost? Off the top of my head, I think they start at $100 or so and go up from there. If you just want a simple one, then you will never be able to build one ouf of wood that will last as long as a pre-built metal one, nor will it look as good.

Put in a good, solid 8 inch or thicker post in cement and use the hinges that it comes with.

I have two 12 foot gates on my main entrance, but have 16 ft gates on other areas that work flawlessly. I've bought them from Tractor Supply and my farm supply store. I've seen them for sale at some hardware stores and just about every farm supply store. I can't remember seeing a standard farm gate for sale at Home Depot or Lowes. They might have them, I just can't say for sure one way or another.

Good Luck,
Eddie

TNhobbyfarmer · Jul 6, 2008

woodlandfarms said:
Hey everyone. I have an idea for a gate, and thought a simple Home Depot kit would do the trick. But just as I was about to pull the trigger I found out our gate would need to be 8ft wide (X2 of them for a total of 16 foot opening).

What we were looking for was a simple 3 horizontal slat fence.... Nothing fancy, nothing ugly. We have mulled over the metal fences, and would consider that a last resort.

Also, we are not going to spend a bundle on this project. So, inexpensive / efficient ideas a plus

Have a great 4th...

Carl

I bought some gate hinges on ebay. They are very heavy duty and come in three sizes for gates up to 8' wide. The neat thing is they supply plans for building a very attractive gate to be used with their hinges. I also needed almost 16' of coverage width so I built a pair of gates and hung them with the hinges. The gates are heavy but the hinges are very heavy duty and do a great job. As long as your gate posts are well braced you will get no sag with these hinges. Search strap gate hinge on ebay or private message me and I will give you the link.

I'll try to get a picture of my gates and post them later.

UpstateNYMarine · Jul 8, 2008

I have to ask even though this is prolly a stupid question. For those of you that have gated entrances to your homes. How in the world does the UPS or FedEX guys drop off packages?

Gary Fowler · Jul 8, 2008

I just help my brother in law install two swinging 16 foot galvanized steel pipe gates from Tractor supply which was $65 each I believe. We buried an 8x 8 pressure treated post 3 feet in the ground and backfilled with concrete. Hinge installation was simple with the supplied lag bolt hinge. Just drilled a 5/8 hole for the 3/4 lag bolt and screwed it in. THe bottom L shaped lag bolt installs with the L facing up and the top one faces down. The gate has a bottom hinge attachment welded to the gate. The top has a bolt on strap attachment that you attach to the gate then raise it up to slip on the lag. You adjust the lag bolt to make the gate swing level. It took us about an hour to install the gates after the concrete was set using an 18 volt cordless drill to drill the holes. Sure was handy to have the PTO powered post hole digger to dig the 3 foot deep holes even though we had to get the hand digger to clean out the loose stuff from the bottom.
We just chained them together for the time being. Plan is to later install a buried pipe in the center and add some hardware to attach both gates together kind of like a double entry door with a dead bolt on the bottom.
The gates are light enough that with the 8x8 post, we didnt need to double brace the gate post or install any kind of end X brace between two post that is commonly need for wooden gates.

Blagadan · Jul 9, 2008

We've made quite a few gates for our community project, using regular pressure treated 2"X4" stud rail and some 9"X2" for the large upright on the side of the post. We wanted to make them a little fancy so we cut a curve into the top of the large upright where the diagonal brace is connected, to give a little bit of style. You will need to make half lap joints on the ends of the diagonal brace, but not a complicated task by any means. Use a good quality adhesive on all the joints and bolt together with coach bolts....
It is amazing just how cheap it is to make these gates.

For a pair of 8ft gates, the 4"X2" would be fine. A gate longer than say 8-10 ft would get a bit squirrely when you swing it. You'd have to consider beefing up the materials.

woodlandfarms · Jul 10, 2008

Blagadan

What is a Coach Bolt? Also, what is a half lap. Sorry, not a woodworker but those gates look liveable by the wifes standards...

Gary... I am looking hard a steel. I just have a wife who is saying no way...

Upstate. We had a package shipped to our home and not our mailbox by mistake. The UPS guy left it at the gate. It was gone by the time we showed up. Had to have it re-shipped. A lot of times UPS / Fed Ex will leave at neighbors, or do what we do and rent a mailbox address in town.. We get a lot of packages, and one of the things we considered is a large barrel, like a mailbox drop off or a trashcan. Something we could secure to the ground, and make lockable with a one way entrance.... and also make it waterproof. It was cheaper for us to get the mailbox in town...