Do It Yourself Wood Fence Gate Construction

After building a fence staining or treating the wood can be the first step in proper maintenance that can extend its life.

Do it yourself wood fence gate construction.

These easy to build do it yourself fence gates. Use a pencil to mark where the hinge should go on the post and then put the gate down. Plan your gate size to use full pickets. 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.

When the fence is in place apply paint stain or a weather proofing finish according to manufacturer s instructions. You can purchase split rail fencing materials at most hardware stores but the original way to do it is to split the logs yourself. There are many different types of wood to use for gates. Install hinges and attach the gate to the fence.

You might want to lay them out left to right and right to left depending on the hinge side try to get things even. At that point they call the wood barn wood and sell it for 3x what it initially cost. Step 3 add screening to gate frame. Gate pickets should be flush with the inside faces of the posts.

Prop up the gate and screw the hinges into the gate and attach the hinges to the post. Since you are building the fence and the gate you control the opening and the dimensions so think ahead. For a more modern take fence posts are drilled all the way through so that the rails can be inserted into the slots. Note the post locations and gate locations.

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. Apply wood preservative around the base posts to prevent the wood from rotting. If there are already fence posts spaced the distance apart you want you can skip to the section constructing the gate s frame. I used cedar fence slats and do not plan to finish them in any way.

Put the gate into place supporting it on the bottom with a 2x4 1 5 inch off ground. Some towns might require this plan for an approved building permit. 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. Plan gate post locations.

Worst case senario you have to play with the picket spacing or cut a picket. Use graph paper to draw a plan for your fence. I live in a fairly dry climate so wood fences like this turn gray in a few years and then just last until they re deemed too ugly and someone tears them down.