The Gate That Keeps On Swinging
(Page 3 of 4)
June/July 1993
By John Vivian
Removing And Re-hanging
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Remove the gate and insert long screws through the bottom of the lower rail and up into the stile to secure the bottom joints. Put eye screws into the inner top of the hinge stile and then inner bottom of the gate stile. Then, using small cable clamps, attach a length of stainless-steel wire cable with a turnbuckle in the middle of the upper quadrant. For added strength, cut 6" triangles of outside-grade Y" plywood, and screw them at each inside corner. Then use a chisel or circular saw to cut out a Y" of wood from the inner face of each corner so that the angles are smoothly inset into the gate. If your gate is not infilled, put in- set plywood angles on both sides.
Re-hang the gate and tighten the turnbuckle so it is snug. Install your gate latch on either side, and then screw a sturdy wooden cleat at latch level, or a length of overlapping infill onto the outside of the the latch post. By doing so, the gate won't swing out so far that it strains the screws holding the hinges to the post on in-swinging gates, or blocks pedestrians walking along your fence on an out-swinging gate.
If it looks as if the gate might crush plants when if it opens too far, sink a stake into the ground to catch it. For added strength, run a length of turnbuckle-equipped stainless steel cable between the top of the gate post and the bottom of the adjoining line post. Tighten the turnbuckle so the wire is taught. Finally, if you want a self-closing gate, you can attach a rustproof gate spring to the gate post and bottom rail. (Do not use spring-loaded self-closing hinges meant for screen doors. They will rust quickly.)
Or, do it the old-time way; on the outside of the gate, rig a galvanized chain between the middle of the angle-brace and a point 3' into the fence so that the chain rests just above the ground when the gate is fully open. Then, run a weight (a sash weight, holed brick, or old-time cannonball gate weight) to the middle of the chain. The weight will tend to pull the gate closed. If you keep the turnbuckles tight, grease or oil the hinges periodically, and paint the gate wood with a preservative as needed, it will last for a generation and more.
A Stile for Snow
A stile is best for an infrequently-used but important crossing in snow country, where a conventional gate would be snowed closed for months at a time. Best built at a sturdy corner, it consists of an opposing pair of stairs (one going up, the other down, as they say). For most fences, 3'-wide steps to the top rail will suffice. The top step should be double-deep, opposite a similar step on the other side. Support each stair with a pair of three-step stringers—the inside one should be fastened to the fence rails, the outer one supported at bottom by a short post and at the top by a post that extends a yard higher than the fence. A hand rail should be run across the fence between the pair of posts supporting the stairs. If built at the corner, and flights on both sides of the fence rise to the corner post, an extension of the corner post can offer a third baluster for a wideboard railing.
