Do It Yourself Wood Fence Gate Construction

These easy to build do it yourself fence gates.

Do it yourself wood fence gate construction.

When the fence is in place apply paint stain or a weather proofing finish according to manufacturer s instructions. But designing a fence gate that balances the need for privacy with a level of curb appeal that won t deter the invited guests can be a challenge. Use a pencil to mark where the hinge should go on the post and then put the gate down. Predrill where the screws will go.

Put the gate into place supporting it on the bottom with a 2x4 1 5 inch off ground. Make sure you keep your gate square while assembling. Prop up the gate and screw the hinges into the gate and attach the hinges to the post. Step 3 add screening to gate frame.

Install hinges and attach the gate to the fence. After building a fence staining or treating the wood can be the first step in proper maintenance that can extend its life. Plan gate post locations. For a more modern take fence posts are drilled all the way through so that the rails can be inserted into the slots.

There are many different types of wood to use for gates. If there are already fence posts spaced the distance apart you want you can skip to the section constructing the gate s frame. Step 2 the posts if new posts are needed you ll need to bury them at least a foot into the ground maybe as much as two feet if the posts are big and the door will be heavy. You might want to lay them out left to right and right to left depending on the hinge side try to get things even.

To strengthen your gate cut a piece of wood to be placed diagonally from the top of the hinge side of the gate to the bottom of the latch side of the gate. Some towns might require this plan for an approved building permit. Worst case senario you have to play with the picket spacing or cut a picket. Plan your gate size to use full pickets.

At that point they call the wood barn wood and sell it for 3x what it initially cost. Note the post locations and gate locations. Since you are building the fence and the gate you control the opening and the dimensions so think ahead. Add some wire mesh to make the enclosure more secure.

Apply wood preservative around the base posts to prevent the wood from rotting. I used cedar fence slats and do not plan to finish them in any way. Use graph paper to draw a plan for your fence.