BIG gate questions

[adams77]

I just finished my Privacy fence and now the shop is in the backyard. I need to build a large gate. I used 6' dog eared pickets on 8' posts.

I built the fence without consultation with the wife and now my gate has to go on the other side of the house where I have all of my post set on 8' centers. Other places it may not be a big deal to just move the posts, but here in North GA where the ground is made of red cement it is a huge deal.

My thoughts were to make two 8' gates and cut the center 4x4 post out so I have a 16' opening. But I need to find some really good hardware for the hinges to avoid sagging. Where can I find some, or other ideas welcome.

 

[Sundowner]

McMaster.com has some pretty serious hinges.
Search "strap hinges" and "load rated hinges" on that website and you will be fine.

 

[partsman]

try tractor supply the have alot of stuff for farm fence .

 

[PAToyota]

Heavy duty hardware here: http://www.betterbarns.com/Hardware.asp

Hinges are towards the bottom of the page.

 

[rodnok1]

Someone has suggested getting hinges for semi trailers...

 

[Yotaforce]

Hinges are not all you may need. Adjustable cable sways mounted from top of hinge post to bottom of gate panel. No matter how big the hinges or how straight you get them mounted, once the weight is on them, they will sag. Use the cable sways to bring it back up level. Also, over time, you can adjust them for more sag.

 

[whiskytango]

I dont know if this will help or not but: I have an 18' opening for my driveway and a 4' cedar fence. I did regular wood construction of the fence and for the gates had a friend weld up two 9' sections out of 2X1 steel for the double gate and then screwed the pickets to the iron gate. Looks super nice. Obviously this isn't the size of a privacy fence thus the wood doesn't weigh as much but a metal gate is a great way to go in my opinion. I got all of my gate hardware at a tractor supply as one other person suggested. The hinges consist of an L shaped shaft with a pivot point on the gate end (obviously) the shaft is put through a 6" corner post and fastened with nuts. The hinge that is welded to the gate is a relatively heavy metal strap with the female counterpart to the pivot point. Hope this helps and good luck. Live and learn - check with the Warden next time!

 

[Aceman]

I'll bet an 8' long gate will sag no matter what you do supported only by a 4x4 post, even with the fencing secured to it. If your ground is flat, I'd say put rubber tired casters under the ends of each gate. Then you'll NEVER have a sag problem.

 

[Bevis]

mount a caster wheel to the bottom of the gate. Will take some of the pressure off the gate.

 

[Yotaforce]

Real good idea! Roll it.

 

[kbs2244]

Do you have 8 feet to each side of the gate? Sliding gates take up a lot less room and have easy to get hardware.
If you do have to go with swing gates you will need to both use a wheel at the moving end and beef up the post with the hinges.

Go to:

http://www.harveylacey.com/id15.htm


This guy builds some huge and heavy gates down in Texas.
But note how he builds the hinge posts. He doesn’t skimp. That is why he gets word of mouth referrals.

 

[Bevis]

I had a 10' gate that started to sag, after putting a wheel on it i had no more problems and it was easier to open..

 

[DynoDave]

Well, I had planned on a wheel for mine when the time came, but kbs has me thinking slider now! With a slider, I wouldn't have to worry about having a reasonably level surface for the wheel to roll on, not would I have to worry about pushing it through snow.

 

[sheryl96razor]

Re: BIG gate questions..

It would be really great to read different questions for a different ideas or suggestions regarding an issue..
______
sliding driveway gates

 

[csp]

It would be even better if that statement (or is it a question??) made sense.

 

[Ign]

The hinges are probably not the big issue. Of course you just need to get some heavy duty "J" hinges from a farm or fence supply, but most gates sag because the hinge post moves in the ground..........or in your case since it's wood the hinge post will bow and warp. This is all wood knows how to do. Gates also sag because they come out of square, and again a wood gate will have a helluva time holding square.

Look around and you'll notice all HD gates use a series of two posts at the hinge end welded up in an "H" form...............nearly impossible to get an H to lean in the ground vs a single post on its own. I wouldn't expect your picket runners to provide much support - they'll just bow, too.

Oh, and the "J" ag hinges will at least be threaded (all-thread running thru your post) so you can adjust sag to a point. Hard-mount non-adjustable hinges always make me nervous - ya never know what might settle or move a little over the years.

 

[e-tek]

Not sure if this is the same application/scenario as yours, but I went with the wheel option. Takes all the sag out of it forever. As for "hinges" I used a pivot in cement.

 

[Racecarl]

I have a 14' gate in my privacy fence. I went to the local farm supply store and bought a welded tube gate. I bolted some furring strips on the gate and screwed the fence pickets to the strips. It has held up well for almost 7 years. My corner post is a piece of oil field drill stem set in concrete. I make a cradle to set the gate into when it is closed. I usually open it far enough to get the mower in or a pickup when the leaves need raked. When the gate is open it just sits on the ground.

 

[2chipped]

The best gate is a cantilever rollgate if the opening is 20 ft add 10 feet for a 30 ft ( cantilever = add 1/3 to the opening), done right it will roll like butter .Next best is a roll gate with rollers, last is a swing gate , if built out of wood needs to be built out of square. Or use the no sag gate kit pictured above

 

[DIC]

My dad was in the fence business almost 40 years... He built some huge wood gates...
You need a welded steel gate frame (1 5/8" or 2") (like a commercial chain-link gate) mount 2x4s on it to nail your picket's to........
4" sched.40 post with industrial chain-link gate hinges. It won't sag....You can ride on it...........

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Every one is missing the easiest solution. Get a new wife.

 

[bazzateer]

What vehicles do you have that are more than 8' wide anyway?

 

[jdub63]

I like the wheel idea...works pretty good. But, I would also make the center post removable. When the gates are closed the center post is installed this would keep the 8ft panels from moving in and out during windy days.

x2 16ft is a "big" opening.

 

[1320stang]

Hinges are not all you may need. Adjustable cable sways mounted from top of hinge post to bottom of gate panel. No matter how big the hinges or how straight you get them mounted, once the weight is on them, they will sag. Use the cable sways to bring it back up level. Also, over time, you can adjust them for more sag.

+1

I would also cable the top of the hinge posts away from the gate to the bases of the posts next to them so they don't try to lean in (like they do with telephone pole guy wires).

Wheels are nice if the ground is relatively flat and level, if not, the above solution is what you want. You can also add rods that go into a sleeve in the ground to keep them from swaying in the wind.

 

[KEH]

Like the idea of a sliding gate, but i don't know how to build one so I'll leave that to you.

I'm probably 100-200 miles North of you, so I'm aware of the problem of getting posts out of the ground. Yesterday I used a FEL to pull up some 3/8 diameter electric fence posts less that a foot in the ground. Only one came up by hand. Since you probably don't have access to a FEL I would get one of those heavy duty farm jacks and a short length of light chain, like maybe with 1/4 diameter links, hooks on both ends. Take 3 or more turns around the 4 x 4 posts, set the jack next to the post, loop the free end of the chain over the lift peg, and jack the post up. And old bumper jack would do also.

If you want a swinging gate with wood planks:

Supporting one end with a wheel sounds fine to me. The best way to avoid warping or sagging is to make an angle iron frame with a diagonal brace and bolt the wood to it. Weld hinges to it. Simplest procedure is to skip the hinges and weld 2 short pieces of pipe of a size to go over the hinge bolts that screw into the gate post or go through it as pictured in other posts.
The pipe has to be offset from the angle iron to give clearance.

If you want an all wood gate I would still bolt it together and bolt a diagonal brace corner to corner. A sliding gate should be bolted and braced also.

If you are going to hang the gates, I would replace the 4 x 4s with 5 or 6 x.

KEH

 

[Torque1st]

I have been working on the design for an eleven foot gate with an opener. I don't have room for a slider and the approach is not level enough for a wheel (4% grade). Thanks to all of you for some great ideas.

I have used adjustable cable stays for gates in the past. They work well for keeping gates and poles in alignment. Big old galvanized turnbuckles or screw eyes with nuts to draw them up work. The only problem I have found with stays is getting the pull balanced or it will warp the gate. Mounting the cable on the inside surface of the gate makes the gate twist. The stay has to be internal to the structure so it is at or near the center of gravity viewed from the end of the gate.