Friday, May 14, 2010

Recipe For Building A Gate

We have a large RV pad on the side of our house (seen here) and we wanted to get a gate put up across it. The space is wider than the neighbors, so we had to design a set up that would manage the whole expanse. And with the slope down on our driveway the gate couldn't be a wood frame supported by wheels. I suggested a "man" door to use up 4 feet and then the "big" gate would be a more manageable size. The trick was designing it (finding the right hardware) so that both gates could swing either in or out. This project took 4 weekends to finish, starting in mid April and finishing last Friday.

And now, without further adieu, here is our recipe for building a gate:

Pull out existing post (which was just waiting for a gate) that won't be strong enough to hold the big gate. Cut from cement stump.
Travis

Bolt to side of house for the "man" gate.
Avery

Buy a 10 foot 4x4 steel post.
Photobucket

Dig the existing post hole much deeper for the steel post. Put Avery inside (by his request) to gauge depth.
Avery

The weirdo likes it.
Avery

Now measure for real. (Notice the layers? Travis said one of them really stunk.)
Photobucket

Dig until you reach 4 feet. (10 foot post - 6 foot fence = easy math)
Travis,Avery

Put Avery back in.
Avery

The fence behind him is a 6 foot fence and look how tall Avery is next to it. I can't imagine standing in a skinny hole like that, that deep.
Avery

Pour some concrete in your hole and allow to set up so your ultra heavy 10 foot post doesn't settle into the dirt.
Photobucket

Buy 20 foot steel tubing to manufacture the gate frames. 2x2's for the outer frame and a 1.5x1.5 for some cross bars.
Travis

Cut cut cut.
Travis

Don't forget protective gear.
Travis

Grind grind grind.
Travis

Weld weld weld.
Travis

The heat of the weld can make the metal move so after tack welding it in place, make sure you're square again before doing the finish welding. And then square again.
Travis,Avery

Time to cut a cross piece.
Travis

More grinding.
Travis

Again, measure for square along the way.
Travis

Repeat steps for cutting, grinding, welding and squaring etc. for the large gate.

Prime and paint the steel post and 11 bags of concrete later your post is up. Be sure to level it with the other post and make sure it is plumb.
Photobucket

Brush your finish concrete all purty.
Travis

Prime and paint the hinges on a sawhorse, let them dry, then hang them for the rest.
Travis

Prime.
Travis

Paint.
Travis

Drill a hole in the concrete for the cane bolt you attach to the large gate.
Photobucket

Clamp 2x2 pressure treated lumber to the gate top and bottom for something to screw the slats into.
Travis

Attach with self-tapping screws.
Travis

Meanwhile, have Avery (who had been dying to help) load up all the slats to bring out.
Avery

And laugh when you peek in and catch him doing a groaning stretch.
Avery

When he's done, he won't be heavy enough to pull the hand cart back.
Avery

"Little help please?"
Travis,Avery

Good job, Avery.
Avery

"Whew!"
Avery

Set up a level board (the concrete isn't level, but you want your slats to be) to rest the slats on while attaching them. When Travis put board #2 up, I asked about them being spaced a bit for expansion, and he said he was just considering how to do it...
Travis

I hand him a shim. Glad I could contribute.
Travis

Cut a notch out to wrap around the latch mechanism.
Travis,Avery

Travis

Sand it.
Travis

Make sure the corners are just right.
Travis

And now a word on the hardware. Here's the latch. It allows the gates to be opened and closed from either side and to swing either way.
Photobucket

These two types of hinges allow the gates to swing either way. The left one is for the big gate and the bolt allows us to adjust the gate to make sure it's level. We had it level before putting the slats on, but the weight of the slats made is sag a touch which affected the latch. A little bolt tightening and we're level again.
Photobucket

The view from the inside.
Travis

The final screw goes in and we have a gate!
Travis

The wood is supposed to weather a while, but then a sealer will be applied so it doesn't end up gray like the fence which was never sealed. We will be applying a stain and sealer to the fence at that time too.

And there you have it, a recipe for building a gate.

6 comments:

Kari said...

Holy cow, that seemed impossible to me! Impressive!

Jocelyn said...

That is so much work! It looks great. I hope you know, now that you've revealed all your husband's skills, I'm sending Grant to him if we ever need help.

Mom said...

Grind, grind, grind.....just some dental skills at work.
Should have put the boys hand prints in the wet cement.
Nice, nice job Travis. I'm going to let you rebuild our gate. Looks like the latch can have a padlock on it. Your neighborhood must love the new neighbors. Watch out for monkeys swinging on the man gate...or on the big one in a couple of years!

Christensen Family said...

It looks beautiful! Travis is a handy husband, eh!?

Custom Gates said...

very nice, beautiful!

Thanks for sharing,

Custom Gates|Wrought Iron Gates

Aaron and Kristel said...

Avery is hilarious in this post!