Building A Wooden Fence Gate

Plan your gate size to use full pickets.

Building a wooden fence gate.

I got an old sewing machine when i was just a kid and i ve been hooked on making stuff ever since. The home mender dustin luby shows us how to build and install a new gate for a privacy fence. My name is sam and i m a community manager here at instructables. The frame for a basic wooden fence gate should be a simple box with 4 sides usually somewhat smaller than the gate opening.

Keep out those pesky neighborhood kids. Build a wooden fence and gate. Plan gate post locations. Attach the gate to the fence posts.

Note the post locations and gate locations. Screw one side of the hinges to the fence post and align the gate between the adjoining gate posts and screw in the other side of the hinges to the gate. The key is understanding a few basics about gate building and you can build any design gate you want. Nice looking gate i d second karel s suggestion regarding the addition of cross supports even with the corner bracing when the wood gets wet it will get heavy and eventually sag i used to build wood fences and we d actually build the gate in place with 3 2x3 s cut slightly smaller about 3 8 than the opening held in place temporarily with.

Gate pickets should be flush with the inside faces of the posts. I have a family me. It should be attached so that the bottom is about an inch off the ground to avoid attracting moisture. If you ve got a 3x5 opening in the fence build a 3x4 box out of a weather resistant wood.

I ve been meaning to rebuild one of my wooden fence gates that is over 12 years old. These instructions can be adapted for construction of custom hidden panel lattice or driveway gates. Design and hardware are what make a wooden gate operate well for decades. See how i built a 12 foot wooden gate that won t sag.

Some towns might require this plan for an approved building permit.