Gate Design

[Chris Padilla]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some pics and ideas about gates you've built.

http://www.pacificgateworks.com/ sorta wet my appetite to build a new gate for the new fence my neighbor and I are putting up between our houses. I like the idea of using some nice clear Western Red Cedar to make it out of as well.

I plan to get locks/hinges/hardware from Lee Valley as they have some nice stuff.

Let's see some pics!

Cheers!

[Terry Bigelow]

Finshed this last summer. Has taken quite a beating being on the west side of the house but still looks o.k.. BTW, got all the hardware from Van Dyke's Restorers. They got some pretty cool stuff too and good prices to boot.

[Chris Padilla]

Very sharp, Terry! Cedar? Redwood?

[Chris Holder]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some pics and ideas about gates you've built.

http://www.pacificgateworks.com/ sorta wet my appetite to build a new gate for the new fence my neighbor and I are putting up between our houses. I like the idea of using some nice clear Western Red Cedar to make it out of as well.

I plan to get locks/hinges/hardware from Lee Valley as they have some nice stuff.

Let's see some pics!

Cheers!

Hi Chris,

David Marks did an episode where he builds a garden gate. You can see dimensions and design pics here. http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ww_dec...573821,00.htmlI thought it would be a cool project. Good luck!

[Terry Bigelow]

Very sharp, Terry! Cedar? Redwood?

Ha!! I wish! Try......good ol' pressure treated pine!!! Sorry to dissapoint but I had a budget man!!

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's a pic and some construction details from one I built.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=9669

[Wayne Cannon]

We made frame and panel entry and garden gates plus a wide sliding gate in western red cedar left to weather gray. The lower panel was a cedar raised-panel; the upper panel was a metal grid. The entry gates were of clear WRC, while the others were #2 common. The latter are actually more attractive than the clear, in my opinion, but I was unable to avoid some broken knots along edges and panel trim. Received lots of compliments on them all.

There were two problems related to cedar, however.

(1) Cedar is soft and very easily dinged/scraped by mowers, wheelbarrows, and carried loads -- though I have to say that the weathered patina wears the dings surprisingly well.

(2) The tanins (?) in cedar react with iron to create black streaks. I thought I was being careful to use stainless bolts, stainless finish nails for the trim, and galvanized hinges and cane bolts. Wear points around the hinge and cane-bolt hardware's galvanizing results in ugly black streaks. Same problem with powder-coated hardware. Someone suggested a thin plastic spacer between the hinges and the cedar to prevent contact at those wear points. Other alternatives I've considered are fiberglass hinges, remaking the gates in a different wood, or living with cleaning the streaks (oxalic acid).

[Brian Penning]

Some ideas here...
http://www.prowellwoodworks.com/gates/index.htm

[Chris Padilla]

Here's a pic and some construction details from one I built.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=9669

Jamie,

Most excellent and great tips! I plan to build the gate like a door just as you outlined. I'm 0/1 on finding some nice clear Western Red Cedar but I've only just started. I plan to use my Domino heavily in this project.

Gate dimensions will be around 4' wide and around 7' tall. Gee sounds like an awfully large door!! Hmmm, I wonder if it'll need a gate wheel for added support. This could be a rather heavy gate! Dry cedar weighs about 21 lbs/ft3. Hmmm....

I picked up the following hardware from Lee Valley:

Hinges, Locking Latch, Gate Closer/Tensioner, and a couple of handles.

Should be fun!

[Chris Padilla]

We made frame and panel entry and garden gates plus a wide sliding gate in western red cedar left to weather gray. The lower panel was a cedar raised-panel; the upper panel was a metal grid. The entry gates were of clear WRC, while the others were #2 common. The latter are actually more attractive than the clear, in my opinion, but I was unable to avoid some broken knots along edges and panel trim. Received lots of compliments on them all.

There were two problems related to cedar, however.

(1) Cedar is soft and very easily dinged/scraped by mowers, wheelbarrows, and carried loads -- though I have to say that the weathered patina wears the dings surprisingly well.

(2) The tanins (?) in cedar react with iron to create black streaks. I thought I was being careful to use stainless bolts, stainless finish nails for the trim, and galvanized hinges and cane bolts. Wear points around the hinge and cane-bolt hardware's galvanizing results in ugly black streaks. Same problem with powder-coated hardware. Someone suggested a thin plastic spacer between the hinges and the cedar to prevent contact at those wear points. Other alternatives I've considered are fiberglass hinges, remaking the gates in a different wood, or living with cleaning the streaks (oxalic acid).

That is some good information, Wayne, to keep in mind as I plod along this project. I think what I'm getting from Lee Valley will be fine (steel reinforced nylon). The hinges will be on the non-show side.

[Chris Padilla]

Some ideas here...
http://www.prowellwoodworks.com/gates/index.htm

Ooooooo!!!! Good stuff there, Brian!! Real good! Thanks a lot!

[Chris Padilla]

Hi Chris,

David Marks did an episode where he builds a garden gate. You can see dimensions and design pics here. http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ww_dec...573821,00.htmlI thought it would be a cool project. Good luck!

I wonder what a sheet of copper like that goes for nowadays!

[Chris Holder]

Ha!! I wish! Try......good ol' pressure treated pine!!! Sorry to dissapoint but I had a budget man!!

Hey Terry,

What did you use for stain? I've heard many people that had trouble finishing pressure treated materials.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm 0/1 on finding some nice clear Western Red Cedar but I've only just started.

IIRC the cedar for that gate came from PALS, in the San Francisco yard. They have a yard in San Jose, closer to you, but I don't know what they stock.

I'm not convinced that a gate wheel is a good strategy. Ground isn't flat, so the wheel would be touching the ground only in a few spots. Furthermore, ground in San Jose shrinks in the summer as it dries out. I think a better strategy is a very sturdy post for the gate to hang on. In that pictured gate, I anchored pressure-treated 4x4 in concrete, and sheathed it with 4/4 cedar. If you have a post on only one side, maybe a 6x6 would be better. Another approach might be steel for the post, either sheathed or not.

I used bronze square-drive screws (from McFeeleys). They weather to the color of an old penny, which goes nicely with the cedar. For higher contrast, you could use stainless.

[Chris Padilla]

I might look at these J-bolt pivot hinges as well. They would be a much cleaner nearly invisible looking hinge that I could mortise into the post slightly.

I called PALS here in SJ and they don't carry cedar at all. Economy Lumber in Campbell does carry construction grade but he said he has some clear stuff that I can pick through since I won't need much for the gate.

I'm thinking 2x6 material for the frame and 1x6 material for the filler. Thoughts?

I have a 6x6 post to anchor to but I'll need to lag bolt another 6x6 (or whatever) to that in order to pull the gate out from the fence.

I'll have some pictures up soon if I can ever remember to take some!

They have gate wheels that are spring-tensioned.