gate question

[forgeblast]

Hi all, I have a 3 rail fence with field fencing backing it up to keep my dog in her area. The JD 318 I bought is larger then the gates I built for my Lt160. I also have one gate that needs to be repaired....so I plan on taking out that gate and one section of fence this will give me 12' from my 4x6 post that my gate hinges on to a 4x4 post that the rails attach to.
With it being 12' exactly, should I go with 2 6' gates or one 12', I still need to keep the dog in so a big gap is not going to work for me. She does not test the fence she is pretty well behaved with it.
Any suggestions? I am looking at TSC and they have farm gates with mesh in them to keep her in place. like this Galvanized Mesh Gate, 6 ft. - For Life Out Here

thanks!!!

 

[oosik]

I have two gates on my driveway. Both are galvanized mesh gates and 16 feet wide. I would suggest a single gate - easier to open/close. The only reason I could think of a double - the gate post isn't heavy enough to handle a single gate. And that situation is easily corrected with a heavier, deeper set post.

There must be a reason you are considering a double gate - for me, a double would just be a bigger PITA. Its bad enough that I have to get out and open/close two single gates each time I leave the homestead.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have two gates on my driveway. Both are galvanized mesh gates and 16 feet wide. I would suggest a single gate - easier to open/close. The only reason I could think of a double - the gate post isn't heavy enough to handle a single gate. And that situation is easily corrected with a heavier, deeper set post.

There must be a reason you are considering a double gate - for me, a double would just be a bigger PITA. Its bad enough that I have to get out and open/close two single gates each time I leave the homestead.

I put chain link fencing around the front perimeter (all road frontage)of my house mainly to keep my dog and farm animals off the road. I made 2 each 10 foot gates from 1" top rail for chainlink fencing. I fastened them to 4x4 post cemented 2 feet into the ground. I bought the material (8 aluminum 90 ells and some bands to attached the chainlink material to the gates. I made them 10 feet wide since that was the longest top rail Lowes had. I put a 12V Mighty Mule gate opener on one of the gates and the other is fixed position with a rod in a pipe concreted in the ground. I can exit with automobiles thru the gate that is opened with the gate opener but if I want to move thru with my trailer or with my motor home, I open the other gate by hand. It works well that way and doesn't require massive posts to hold them.
The 90 ells have built in fastener points for adding cable from top rail at the gate post to the bottom rail at the closure point. This has kept the gate from sagging for about 4 years now. I put a 2x4 piece of aluminum tubing in the middle on which to attach the gate opener. It also extends past the gate about 6 " to act as a stop for the gate when it closes against the anchored gate. This was needed because there is no way to fasten the gate opener to the chainlink gate. So far it has worked flawlessly for me.

 

[oosik]

I initially had simple five strands of barb wire for each gate. The wife simply didn't have the strength to pull the wire tight enough to "close" the barb wire gate. Then I tried something fairly unique. I leveled the road bed at one of the gates - laid down two sheets of 4' x 8' plywood(4x16) - painted the plywood white and added black stripes. This worked all of one summer and until the following spring. Here come the young, spring calves - they don't know anything about cattle guards. So a couple wander across the striped plywood and the mamas start to bellering. Then one of the mamas jumps completely over the plywood. The game was up.

I used real railroad ties for my gate posts. Heavy - in the extreme - nasty & gooey also and buried deep. They've been in place for 32+ years and look like they will probably last, at least, another hundred years.

 

[forgeblast]

I would suggest a single gate - easier to open/close. The only reason I could think of a double - the gate post isn't heavy enough to handle a single gate. And that situation is easily corrected with a heavier, deeper set post.

There must be a reason you are considering a double gate - for me, a double would just be a bigger PITA. Its bad enough that I have to get out and open/close two single gates each time I leave the homestead.

Folks appreciate the info!, The post I have in is deep and its a 4x6 so it makes much more sense to use one gate. Thanks all I just had to be talked into it , Its just so that I can get into the dog area and cut grass, right now its high because the tractor was down and I cant get in there. I will run tonight and get it.
As far as doubles it was just a thought, my daughter loves climbing over the gates, so I am not worried about the weight of it or her closing it.

The 90 ells have built in fastener points for adding cable from top rail at the gate post to the bottom rail at the closure point. Gary thats awesome, I have more fencing projects in mind and I appreciate the info!!

painted the plywood white and added black stripes--there was a book I read about agent zig zag and they talked about the artists who camouflaged buildings to look like they were bombed out, I thought of that as soon as I read about the visual camouflage you came up with

 

[oosik]

I'd like to say my plywood/painting scheme was original - but it isn't. The highway dept paints striped "cattle guards" at several open range areas. They also use the normal type, most often. So I kind of assumed that the painted ones were temporary until they obtained the funding for normal ones. This is not the case - the painted ones are obviously much, MUCH cheaper and only have to be repainted annually. They have templates that are laid down on the asphalt then they hit it with a wand sprayer off the paint truck. I guess it must work or they wouldn't continue to use this method. I know of quite a few locations where the painted cattle guards have been used for well over 15 years.

I considered having a cattle guard installed at my outer gate until I was quoted a price - $4600. That included digging the hole for the cement "box", forming & pouring the "box", the guard and all necessary abutments to tie into the existing fence. The guard was made of railroad track and I would not have been able to lift it, even with my new tractor, to shovel out the dirt/debris that collects in the "box". Like I told the contractor - "I was just asking".

 

[Stimw]

Here is a 14' gate from TSC that I put in my pasture for access.
IIRC these gates are just under size so with hardware they are the stated size.
You can also adjust the size by putting the hinges off center on the post.

 

[forgeblast]

Stimw thanks, I am going tonight to get one, I went yesterday to a tsc but they only had painted ones and it looked rusty in a few spots, and they were out of the galvanized. I want a galvanized one to match the other farm gates we have. I didnt realize they were undersized that will make 12' a perfect fit then. Thanks!!

 

[Soundguy]

Hi all, I have a 3 rail fence with field fencing backing it up to keep my dog in her area. The JD 318 I bought is larger then the gates I built for my Lt160. I also have one gate that needs to be repaired....so I plan on taking out that gate and one section of fence this will give me 12' from my 4x6 post that my gate hinges on to a 4x4 post that the rails attach to.
With it being 12' exactly, should I go with 2 6' gates or one 12', I still need to keep the dog in so a big gap is not going to work for me. She does not test the fence she is pretty well behaved with it.
Any suggestions? I am looking at TSC and they have farm gates with mesh in them to keep her in place. like this Galvanized Mesh Gate, 6 ft. - For Life Out Here

thanks!!!

Me? I'd go with one gate,and consider if you need 12, go 14 or 16.. easier to do now.

you can get gates with meshing on them.. or get a cheap tube gate then tack a cattle panel on.. etc.. the tsc gates with mesh look pretty decent.,

 

[DieselBound]

I've been struggling with trying to plan for my fencing (about 2000' - fixed knot woven wire- 48"). mostly the details of gate post locating/positioning and gate hanging. How do I properly measure for locating the post holes? It's my understanding that gate measurements include mounting hardware, but this kind of depends on how one wants to hang the gate(s). Do I need to measure the hardware pieces themselves, hinges and latches? I suspect it matters whether the gate will swing-through or not.

My fencing needs to contain my animals, keep out predators (mostly coyotes), while allowing deer to pass. This is why 48" fencing. Will look to add electrified wire at the top (just above the woven wire).

Planning on having a total of four gates.

The front driveway gate is currently a double. It's 16', two 8' gates, I think. I need a wide gate but don't really want one large one. I'm thinking along the lines of Gary (above) in having a double that is made up of one larger section and one smaller one, with the smaller section tending to only be opened up when I need the extra girth. Don't need the gate to be bi-directional in which case I suppose that I could look to hinge on the inside face of the post (gates swinging in)?
ew one to be.

My other three gates would be gates to/from pasture areas. These also need to provide for containment and exclusion. I could very likely get by with simple "latching" as depicted in simw's picture- a chain (with lock).

I've got a bit of urgency in figuring this out because I'm wanting to leverage the rental of a skid steer with augur that I'll be renting to do some post holes for a woodshed I'm building. If I could get the the holes for the fence posts (except line posts) done it would be great.

NOTE: I made up a gate for one of my pens out of a section of cattle panel and then stretched/laced woven wire over that. Only tricky part is getting a hinge on it: I'm attached to T-posts, so that took extra effort.