What to use for gate posts

[freewookie]

Can't make up my mind and it's about to drive me crazy.

I'm putting up a 14ft entry gate, tired of "lost" folks driving down my road. Nothing fancy just a steel pipe farm gate. My dilemma is what to use as gate posts.

What I'm considering:

- 6" treated wood posts
- 6" treated wood h braces with 4" cross brace
- 4-1/2" steel post
- 4-1/2" steel h braces with 2-7/8" cross brace

With the wood I worry about rotting and fire but they are significantly cheaper than the steel.

I'll have short runs of barbed wire running from the posts to corner posts. Longest run would be 30-40 ft. One run is vertical to the gate and the other horizontal.

What say you???

 

[Buppies]

4.5 in tubing filled with concrete for support

 

[GPintheMitten]

4.5 in tubing filled with concrete for support

This or 6 x 6 with h brace. Put a bag or two of redi mix in each hole on either side of the gate.

 

[roadhunter]

Steel. Even if it costs a little more now. Wood posts can be a PITA for many reasons. Rotting is obviously the big one but sometimes the brackets that mount the gate to the post can have problems. Much easier to weld on hinges and never mess with them again instead of trying to lag or bolt hinges to wood posts.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Steel in concrete.

 

[Stimw]

I used two old utility poles that were on my property when I bought it. I put them 5.5' deep and have double 12' cattle gates on them with a opener. They are not going anywhere!!

 

[Jstpssng]

4 1/2 inch pipe set in concrete poured in 18" sona tube... welded solid to another 4 1/2 inch pipe buried 3 feet under your road; which is then welded solidly to the upright on the other side. (I may hate gates and no trespassing signs, but I also know how to build them.)

This will enable you to upgrade later if needed to a gate which might even keep me out... I can tell you how to build that, also.

 

[Jstpssng]

PS; the above was written based on your climate... in colder regions, I would alter the design to account for frost action.

 

[s219]

I have a 16' tubular farm gate hanging off a pine log that was cut green and set in a 3' hole with dry cement mix. It's been there for over 2 years now and hasn't budged. I accidentally tagged the latch side post with my front loader and it got a scratch but still didn't budge.

So based on that, I'd say a treated 6x6 would be fine, or get some treated 7" round posts from Tractor Supply. They are 8' long and $15 each, and are whole logs -- not veneer cores. They have agricultural-rated treatment, which is the good stuff. Should last a long time. You can avoid rotting issues at grade by making sure the concrete is domed to shed water away from the post.

 

[japody]

We have cedar posts, 12 " diameter, for our gates. i just had to replace one that was set about 30 years ago. Darn!

 

[kenmac]

I have a 16' tube gate. Used 6x6 post 3 ft in the ground. No bracing..The post don't move much if any

 

[freewookie]

4.5 in tubing filled with concrete for support

Do you set the post in concrete as well?

 

[boggen]

posts wood / metal / concrete, will leave that to others...

i have 1/2" and 3/4" pipe, with some U bolts holding it all together.
one gate wants to swing open all the way
one gate wants to swing shut

i picked up a J bolt, to use as a hook, and some cheap chain, so i can hook the gates open. ( T post, current fence what ever ya got there)

i also have a couple pieces of chain in center. so when both gates are closed together. i can give one or two wraps of chain, and toss on a paddle lock.

paddle lock, it is worth getting one dipped in rubber, with cover that goes over key hole on the lock. ((keeps out a lot of dust / snow / ice that would cause lock problems))

==========
trying to get two gates that always want to natural open "CLOSED" is well a rather pain.
trying to get two gates that always want to naturally close, is also a pain.

less walking back and forth to open/close gates atleast for me, if one naturally wants to swing open, and the other wants to naturally swing close.

==========
if you go with a full gate for live stock and like. get a boat trailer jack (has a wheel vs just a piece of metal on the bottom of jack). and fasten that to the gate end. make it so much easier fighting snow / mud. just crank the jack some lift the gate and she opens, and no need to physically lift gate or drag gate, as it opens / close

i have had trouble in past with gate wanting to come off the hooks, (hooks that fasten between posts and gate), bailing wire ran around hooks and holes on gate, i don't know half dozen plus times around. it looks crummy, but its not going any were now.

 

[boggen]

a older thread, someone mentioned using yellow hose (yellow normally around here = a gas line). and sliding a cable through the hose. and then putting a latch or what not on one end.

my issue was i tried above with out the hose, and had some rather close calls, thinking it was open (i physically could not see the bloody cable)... and end up stringing my own vehicle.... the yellow gas line over the cable is there to help you, see the bloody cable.

and when someone does run into the cable. it will stretch the cable... make sure you have a way to re-tighten the cable back up.

 

[oosik]

I have two 16' tubular metal gates. I used 8"x8" creosote treated railroad ties sunk 4' in the ground. This was done 32 years ago when I moved here and, so far, absolutely no rot or movement on any of the four posts. There is no need for any additional bracing and they were not set in concrete. The only down side - extreme weight, very hard to man-handle into the holes and you better be wearing "throw away" clothes because you will surely end up looking like the tar baby. These are real RR ties - not something from your local lumber yard.

 

[JRobyn]

I wanted 4" galvanized steel posts for my 14' heavy-duty tube gate out at the main road. After I got shocked by the cost to buy new, I tried the local metal salvage/recycle yard and lucked out. Got 3 slightly used 4" x 8 ft heavy galvanized steel posts. The yard manager said it was more trouble than it was worth to try to figure out how to have ME pay THEM instead of the usual other-way-around, so he GAVE them to me! I now occasionally "donate" some scrap metal to the yard.

Had to have my BIL use his blasting drill to make 4' deep holes in the rock, then concreted them in, one on each side of the road. I left the hinge-side one a bit tall so I could mount a solar gate operator and control box using some big 4-1/2" muffler clamps - very easy and also adjustable!

- Jay

 

[crash325]

Pictures of a gate that I built. Good gate for vehicles. It's 12' 6" wide. Support posts are 6" pipe & RR tie. Both set in concrete.
Latch post 2" pipe, driven into ground. Simple flip latch that locks. Neutral swing, stays where put.
It was run into & bent as shown in the picture, nothing gave way or loosened.

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[freewookie]

Pictures of a gate that I built. Good gate for vehicles. It's 12' 6" wide. Support posts are 6" pipe & RR tie. Both set in concrete. Latch post 2" pipe, driven into ground. Simple flip latch that locks. Neutral swing, stays where put. It was run into & bent as shown in the picture, nothing gave way or loosened. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/396448-what-use-gate-posts-yellow-gate-1-jpg"/> - <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/396449-what-use-gate-posts-yellow-gate-back-jpg"/> - <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/396450-what-use-gate-posts-gate-bent-jpg"/> - <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/rural-living/396451-what-use-gate-posts-gate-latch-jpg"/>

That looks quite secure.

 

[TnAndy]

Steel. Even if it costs a little more now. Wood posts can be a PITA for many reasons. Rotting is obviously the big one but sometimes the brackets that mount the gate to the post can have problems. Much easier to weld on hinges and never mess with them again instead of trying to lag or bolt hinges to wood posts.

Exactly. Pay once, or use wood and pay several times. Steel in concrete. Personally, I used 8" I-beam from the scrap yard in a couple yards of concrete per side, then rocked around it. Gates are 1" square tubing and flat bar. Hinges were standard farm "pin" type gate hinges, 3 per gate, nothing fancy, and with a little oil poured on them from time to time, have lasted 30 years.

 

[crash325]

That looks quite secure.

It's good for horses, grown cattle & vehicles. Even off road type.

Should I want or need a wider gat i would put a pull out post in the center. Could not be pulled if gate is locked.
I don't want tall posts on my gates, like to be able to lift long objects over them.

Pictured is another gate I built & hung. Commercial gates, even the ones called heavy duty, are made of thin tubing.
Gate pictured is made from water pipe. By making my own I can add custom touches.

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