New Gate Entrance Project Finished....Almost

[hunterridgefarm]

Jerry,

Nice gate, I really like it. You did a great job. I have saved the picture for future reference since I am thinking about putting one up.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

The gate looks very good to me. When you come in, do you swing the gate inward and outward when you leave? If you swing inward, you might want to put a stopper post near the ends of both gate swings so the wind won't blow your gate. If you always swing the gate outward, it will stop against the fence, but inward it doesn't have a stopper.

The gates can swing out or in, but I plan on swinging them in. I plan on putting cane bolts (the rods that mount vertically on a gate to hold them in place) on both gates to avoid wind problems.

 

[jinman]

The gates can swing out or in, but I plan on swinging them in. I plan on putting cane bolts (the rods that mount vertically on a gate to hold them in place) on both gates to avoid wind problems.

The reason I was so conscious of wind and gates is the gate in the attachment. On Tuesday, we had high sustained winds in this area from the northwest. This gate got blown and shaken pretty hard even though it was closed. When my wife opened it, the top hinge bolt snapped. It's has a zerk fitting where we grease the gate hinges, but this gate is over 12' wide and weighs about 250 lb. and the hinge finally gave up. It's now open and hanging only by the lower hinge. I could hardly lift the end of the gate. The top hinge must have been under tremendous stress. Guess what I get to do this weekend?

 

[EddieWalker]

Jim,

I lost a gate in that wind too!!!! It was a temporary gate that I built out of standard 2x4's with the expectation that it would only been there for a year. Three years later, it's just about totaly rotted out and now in seven diferent pieces!!

I'm off tomorrow, so I'll be drilling to holes in the ground for posts. It's a gate that I don't need and I can remove those post when I get around to finishing that part of my fence.

Eddie

 

[mikim]

Jim - is that kathy's gate that you put that opener mod on sometime back? and was it still holding up?

 

[jinman]

Jim - is that kathy's gate that you put that opener mod on sometime back? and was it still holding up?

Yep, Mike, it was Kathy's gate. That fence and gate are about 8 yr old. The opener used to break all the time because there was nothing to absorb the shock and a gate that size takes a lot of pull to get it going and has a lot of inertia when the opener shuts off. The guy who built it wanted to make it a 2-piece gate with two openers, but the budget wouldn't allow that. The springs I added under the gate shackle have performed flawlessly for over 3 years as shock absorbers. The opener is still working fine. Since we don't have any support overhead between the posts, we have to make one adjustment during the wet season and another during the dry season. That's it.

I think Jerry's gate will have a lot less problems than this one. Since he used PT lumber, he won't even have to paint it like we do.

 

[mikim]

for over 3 years as shock absorbers
3 YEARS! good grief ....I saved the pics you posted of that so I could use it one day ....well I hope the next 2 years go as fast as the last 3 ....I'll be ready to use it about then. 23 months and counting for 41 yrs complete.