My wife wants me to build a garden gate. She does give me conceptual drawings which I have to figure out how to build - see the attached picture. The gate will be about 70" high and about 36" wide and will have vertical slats with a narrow space between the slats, maybe 1/4" or 3/8".
Question 1: I plan to mortise the rails into the stiles. The stiles will be wider than shown in the picture, maybe 4.5 inches. I'm concerned about wood movement, especially since the gate will be outside. I'm thinking about making a double tenon on both rails. Do you think that will work okay for wood movement?
Question 2: Do you think this joinery will be strong enough that the gate won't sag?
Question 3: What glue would you use? Epoxy?
Question 4: Right now, I'm planning on using white oak. What other wood would you recommend that's reasonably priced and will stand up outside? Mahogany is too expensive.
Any other comments you'd like to give a novice gate builder will be appreciated.
Mike