Hi all,
I park my tent trailer on a small driveway next to my house. I need to build a gate or two to hide it from the street. The opening is about 14′ wide between the house and the fence on the property line.
I pretty much figured on putting a removable post in the center of the driveway, but I’d still need to create two 7′ gates. I’ve never made a gate that wide, but I know the sheer weight of the thing will put a lot of strain on the hinges, the supporting posts, and the gate structure itself.
Did I mention the driveway slopes down pretty quickly, so supporting wheels won’t do much good when the gate’s open?
I won’t have both sides open often, since I hardly ever get to go camping anymore, but I will need one side to stand up to fairly regular use so I can get my lawnmower in and out, etcetera.
Anyway, anybody have any ideas?
Replies
I would install an 8' pressure treated 6X6 in 3' of concrete on each side. Use the screw in "L" shaped hinge pin lags for the gate hinges. They work the best for heavy gates. You will have to install a drop pin in one gate that fits into a piece of pipe to make one side stationary. I've built these before and they work great.
Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
I would look into ranch gates, made of riveted galv steel or painted welded pipe. The farm store should have brochures full of ideas too. The posts supporting the gates can be stabilized by running a tensioning wire down diagonally to the next post like this
I/I==II
where I is a post and = is the gates
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"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." --Marcus Aurelius
Or you can set steel posts in concrete. Use a steel tubular gate with cyclone wire which can accept slats if you want privacy. Lockdown pin as Pro-Dek suggests.
you can also install a pneumatic tire on the operating gate to carry the weight Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Piffin- The ranch style gate would work ok on the ranch but I think this guy is a little restricted on space with only 14' between his house and his fence.I just don't want to see him fasten anything to his house or fence. Separate posts independently, whether wood or steel would work best for this application I think.Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Pro-Dek:
Like your advice, would further recommend three hinges, with top lag bolt possibly facing down. Don't know about excluding tensioning wires, especially ones running from weight bearing posts to the gate end (forming a triangle). Due admit was a necessary component of a 10 foot gate I built, but don't rightly now about a seven footer. Besides I tend to overbuild everything and like the look of triangles...
Regards,
Rework
Rework- Diagonal support from the top hinge to the lower corner of the gate is an absolute necessity. I was just saying that there is no room for diagonal supports behind each gate post from top to bottom to another post.Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
here is a little trick I've seen used on occasion - -
Go with Pro-decks advice. I just finished one exactly as he describes that replaced a previous one of the same design that was 20+ years old. It took me a day to do and it will last another 20+ years easily. Just remember to truss the corners and use thru bolts and lag bolts instead of screws. Also make sure the braces run from top outer to bottom inner (post side) of the gate. It should look like a Z on the left rear gate and then flipped on the right rear gate. Sorry its hard to draw a picture with this software.
Two Inch steel pipe ought to work nice if you can weld. If not, get a welder.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1927