How to Build a Wooden Double Gate That Won't Sag!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 พ.ค. 2023
- See how I built my 13.5 ft wooden gate so that it doesn't sag! Have you wondered how to build a gate that will last? Here's the place to start! Whenever we bought this house both gates were in a state of disrepair. I don't like doing things twice, so making sure that I do it right the first time is worth the extra time and effort. See how the blend of notching, gluing, and screwing the frame can add strength, rigidity, and prove the test of time for you! I previously posted my other double gate build, but after many comments about including the latches, hinges, correcting the music volume, and better detail on the half lap joint process, I tried to make a better quality video with more detail. I have had my other gate for 4+ years and it is still going strong. For those of you who state that this gate will eventually sag, you're right... wood rots, metal rusts, and rock crumbles over the course of time. Nothing lasts forever, but if you're looking for a BETTER way to construct a gate that will last longer, is stronger, and cheaper than other materials, this video should surely help! Thank you for joining me for Rutter Renovations!
I built a 55 foot picket fence including an 8 foot gate 4 feet high with 1 1/2 inch space between pickets. I built the fence and gate the same way. I then cut one 8 foot section right at the post and down the pickets and rails. I cut only until I had cut through one rail and put on a hinge. Three hinges on each side. I then cut through the rails to make 2 4 foot gates. I then put on the gate latch. I then put a pipe just in front of one gate down into the ground and put a metal rod in the pipe to keep that section closed which kept both sections closed.
Great detail, shows the little things that make the corners tight & square.I hope my gate replacement goes as well!
Thanks for the comment! I hope it goes well too!!
Thanks. Great video. Good content. Gets right to the point without trying to be comical or annoyingly entertaining.
😂 Thanks!
I watched this video and it completely removed the fear of building a gate. I followed this video and built a single 5' gate and it worked perfect and now looking forward to trying this on a double gate. Appreciate you taking the time and making this video thanks!
Awesome!! Great job!
The cross memembe should be less than 45 degrees or it puts too much stress. Now 50 more people will watch this and do their youtube video.
The gates look good. They’re correctly braced. The next weak link is the post which can migrate through the earth with continuous load of the gate. That’s why you see closed gates resting on a block. If the gate is inline with the fence a cable and a turnbuckle from the top of the gate post to the bottom of the next line post should slow that down. I think that’s why those ranches in the movies had really tall gate posts with a sign bearing beam across the tops to keep the posts from leaning in.
Definitely need to get oversized post 6x6 min, preferably 8x8 and sink them DEEP!
Exactly correct. Over time, the fibers in the timber bend with the weight of the gate. This may take several years. Another solution is to put a pre-loaded wheel on the gate end. Edit: Or just use a metal or concrete post.
actually looking at gates braces they are more than 45 degrees . therefore NOT braced correctly.
Heres a little helpful tip when putting the gate up. Lay them down as they would be when attached. Screw a board the majority of the length at the bottom and top. Now with some help stand it up in place and block it up. After the hinges are secured remove the boards. This will help assure they are perfectly lined up
Nice. I didn’t mind this. Also, if the ground is uneven, depending on the height of the frame, they might not line up perfectly due to the need for a height adjustment.
that’s smart thanks👍🏽
I like the idea of preloading the gate frame. I learn something new everyday. Thanks.
Thanks for the comment!😊
Yes indeed I have learnt something new. Thanks about the preloading tip !!
Pretty good guidance. The only thing I would do different is the cane bolt. In the "locked" position, you're only going through one bracket. That will be very easy to pull open. Get a properly sized cane bolt that always goes through two brackets in both the open and closed position.
Thanks.👍
Lots of good tips here, thanks. One point, a little extra care drilling toes and gluing would make your final product look a lot nicer.
Thanks! Great feedback!
OUTSTANDING VIDEO!!! Thank You so much for taking the time to do this video and sharing it, AWESOME JOB! PLEASE stay healthy and safe out there!
Thanks!👍😊
Totally recommend this video . I had no idea how to build a wooden double gate until I followed this and was delighted with the result. Many thanks !
Awesome to hear! Way to get it done!
A nice easy affordable demo. The finished product looks great. All gates do sag though. My experience is to have something in the middle for the closed gates to rest on when in the closed position. This lengthens its life. Also if you use properly dried timber and paint it afterward it will have more life.
Thanks for the comment! True true!
It looks like pressure treated wood. You don't want to paint that.@@rutterrealtygc
I liked the way you loaded the gate, very good idea.
Thanks!👍😁
Great video! Very detailed, yet to the point! I love it!
Thanks!
This is great and very clear instruction. Nice voice too.
Thanks for the comment!
I like that notch technique. It works good for me. Great vid.
Thanks for the comment!!👍😊
Nice tip on weighting the end of the gate down to show the play before hanging the fence. Pickets..
Excellent video!! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks!👍😊
Love your videos, I’ve been waiting for this.
Thanks for the comment!👍😊
You did an excellent job of explaining
Thank you for the comment!
Well done!
Thanks for the comment!👍😊
Nice job my friend 😄
Thanks for the comment!👍
Very nice project video
Thanks for the comment!
Nice use of table saw to do the lap joints. Everything well explained. Thank you.
Thanks!👍😊
I do the same
Very dangerous without a miter gauge.
Thanks brother!
You’re welcome! Glad it helped!
Thanks 🙏 for the video
You’re welcome!!😊👍
Very nice
Thanks for the comment!
Nice one
Thanks for the comment!
Amazing demo! Also you dont see corded drills alot in 2023/2024 but whatever works
😂 I now have cordless. I could t stand running out of battery which is why I was reluctant to get a battery operated drill. Battery technology is way better nowadays though!
Nailed it!
👍😁
Awesome video! I had a few quick questions and this answered all of them and some I didn't know I had yet! Thanks a ton Ryan!
Great! Best of luck on your project!
Awesome Job.
Awesome! I watched your video today and made my frame. It is just setting up and will get at the rest of it tomorrow. Thank you so much - Karen (not one).
🤣 “Karen (not one)” So funny! I hope it turns out great!!
Good one! I would recommend using a lighter weight wood for the pickets. The contrast in woods look real good and gate would be just as strong anyway and much lighter in weight. Improving overall function.
Nice!👍😁
Word of warning, freehanding the half laps on the table saw is dangerous without a miter gauge to hold the board square. If the board twists just slightly, the board will kick back.
So true! Make sure you have a solid work surface with clamped wood!
I use a sliding mitre saw to do my half lap joints.@@rutterrealtygc
Could you clamp the wood and use a circular saw to get the same results?
@@douglasbaldwin3812 yes, its just ever so slightly easier to make a silly mistake but there are several ways to do that
That and probably a chisel to clean it up
i'm sure I'm not seeing this right, but that locking pin you dropped at the very end. You should lower that top 'pin holder' you created and lower it to the point that the pin is up high and clear of the ground but not so high that it comes out of the bottom pin holder, then just twist the pin and the gate swings and the pin is secure. This will be your 'the gate is sagging alert when it starts cutting a line in the ground. :) Great job and I did learn a lot, thank you.
Not following you on the pin "twist" portion. I'll see what I can find on that!
I'm with you on this one DontTrust. The pin should have a small protrusion on it. Look at your upper bracket and see if the hole doesn't have a small elongation somewhere; that's where the pin slides through if you want it to, and stays up if you don't.
yep something wasnt right there. i like the hinges on the inside of the gate so it dosent stand out as a gate but guess itd have to swing in only and not outward. i need my gate to swing out ward but like to hide the hinges. good video thanks
Awesome
Thanks for the comment!👍😊
Nice.
Thanks! Best of luck with your project!😊
Hey he's doing a great job he using tht jst for show we all know he do has impact drills
Lol😆 I actually just got one… so thankful!😂
haha your are the only person in the usa that does not use cordless tools. i dont know if your intention is sarcasm or not. looks like that gate will last a while. nice job
😂🤣😆 I hate running out of battery in the middle of a project! Lol. Cordless is SO MUCH EASIER though!🤣
Came here to say this lol!
The half lap is a great choice for this and you have the diagonal going in the right direction. But unfortunately it’s still on an angle greater than 45° (from vertical). So over time, you are still going to get some sag. To prevent it or keep it to the minimum possible, decrease the diagonal to about 40° and it will work much better. If you don’t want to put in an additional upright, that will increase weight, consider notching the diagonal into the top rail so you’re not just relying on mechanical fasteners for attachment.
Good tips.👍
I like the lap joints. The only thing I would do differently is use carriage bolts and nuts on the hinges instead of lag bolts. After a few years, the wood weakens and the lag bolts pull out.
👍 Ours have been good this far.😁
Nice job. You didn't mention squaring before screwing door final assembly!
That’s because when you have a half lap joint, it should already be square when the two pieces of frame are pressed flat together.👍😊
I used this design a year ago. Still no sagging in the gates. 👍
Awesome! Glad to hear! Same!
Good man..........I see you are wearing a respirator while cutting the pressure treated wood. I do this myself, even outdoors like you were. Oh, your shadow gave you away.
Lol! Yep! Good practice! Pressure treated wood is nasty.
U pre drilled....good boy 👦
lol! Thanks!
Very nice tutorial. Short and to the point. But your choice and drills makes me cringe, lol!😂
🤣 I just hate running out of battery midway through a project.😁
6:08 i would move that top piece towards the bottom of the gate so the rod has more support and stability. then add a hook or something off to the side that the rod handle swivels into after lifting it out of the sleeve. that way you dont have to remove the rod every time you want to open and close the gate
Yeah! Good thought!
I have that exact lower slide bar stabilizer. It is designed to use it and not remove it at all. There are bulges in it so all that you have to do is lift and twist, to catch the the bracket. Then twist and let it drop for re-locking.
Great video! Can you post a link to the pocket hole jig that you used?
www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Pocket-Hole-Jig-KPHJ310/310410042?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D25T-025_007_PWR_TOOL_ACC-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-Power
The best way to build this is to have the gates approximately 2-3 cm up in the middle while attaching the planks
Feel free to do it that way.👍
A little more glue on the half laps is a must. The squeeze out should cover half of the garage floor. Lol just messin' with ya!
😂 Yep🤣
Youre going to want to steepen up those diagonals to an angle greater than 45 degrees for that brace to do its job as a compressive strength brace.
Gotcha. Still doing the job, thankfully!
Just out of curiosity, doesn’t the pressure treated wood shrink and wouldn’t that affect the glued joints?
Do you have to do anything to strengthen up the existing posts? I have a situation with a weak post.
Absolutely if you have a weak post! Strong posts are CRUCIAL and play a large part in making sure your gates down sag. If yours is weak, you should replace it with a new and stronger post!
PREload, never thought of such, LOOKS great, BUT, what does it look like a year+ latter when all that wood drys out? I'd have to spend a week at Home Depot sorting out boards BEFORE I could start
Still looking and working great!
Is there a way to make the notches for the corners with a miter saw..?
Yes, you can make the initial cuts with a miter, but you will have to use a chisel and hammer to clean up what’s left. The more cuts you make with the miter, the easier cleaning it up will be.
I would frame 2x4 so 3.5 in stiffins face of gate. Diagonal brace down to center from hinge
Do it your way!👍
Now that you're done, put all your weight on the fence door and bounce like you did in the beginning.
You can stand on the door and swing!😁👍
Looks great, are the braces at least 45 degrees? Some say that they have to be at least that in order for them to give good support.
I don’t know what degrees they are...🤷♂️
The braces look well under 45 degrees to me, so expect this gate to sag in the future!😢
@@edthompson9337 Under 45° from horizontal. Over 45° from vertical. I’m afraid you are correct though. 45° is the magic number here and if you don’t stay under 45 (from vertical), you’ll get some sag over time.
That's how I do lap joints on my table saw 👀
Nice!
Great. What direction did your fence open to?
In
I have a 20' gap that I want to put a gate on. Would it be feasible to do this to that size gap??
That’s a pretty large gap… I don’t know that a single gate spanning 10’ would be a good idea unless it was welded steel or aluminum. I believe it would be too much weight if it was built in the same fashion. It definitely wouldn’t last as long.
Question: my gate (our house) is at the end of a cul-de-sac and therefore is at the end of a wind tunnel. Any ideas how to protect the gate against very strong winds during the winter? The last gate would blow open no matter how I barred it from the inside, plus it eventually weakened one of the mounting posts.
We had a hurricane and I forgot to brace my fence. It twisted two of my gates shattering the frame. I’d recommend bracing them open, screwing the gates together during wind storms, or the best option would probably be putting in heavy duty posts, poles, or metal rods that can be removable. The little metal rods that come with these kits are good for everyday use, but not for wind storms. You need something longer and a greater diameter. I would probably put a thick metal cylinder in the ground and the have a removable rod.🤷♂️
take a look at hit and miss fence or gate construction. wind passes through, but you still have a secure and private finished job.
What size lag bolts?
Question - if my gate(s) is made up of two 8' wide panels, can I still use pressure treated 2x4's? Or should I increase the wood size to 2x6's??
Great question! I haven't built one wider than 14' with 2x4s. You could try 2x6s I guess. :/ If I were building something that wide, I would probably start looking into a medal framing (like a farm gate that you can get from tractor supply) and attached boards to it. The cheaper route will probably be to try the wooden version though. Let me know what you decide and how it goes! :)
@@rutterrealtygc agree
Yes a metal frame would be much better
How long did it take to finish the project? Great job by the way
Thanks for the comment. 2 days. You have to wait 24hrs for glue to cure on the gate frame. If it weren’t for that, it would be 1 day.
Never seen a table saw cut laps like that.
👍😊
This will 100% sag with a shallow angle like that. Keep the angle to 45 degrees or less, so the downward pressure gets redirected to the vertical 2x4 next to the hinge.
There’s no way to do a 45 degree angle at that width AND meet both vertical portions of the frame.
You don't have to extend the support all the way to the end. I'm no structural engineer, but the distance past the 45 degree support would not sag. @@rutterrealtygc
On side note, the video was well done, I just don't agree with the framing support.
Actually, I missed how wide that gate is. My goodness. I'm pretty sure there is no way to use wood to build a gate that wide that will not sag. Just seems like an unreal expectation and metal should be used for such a wide gate, IMO.
@@rutterrealtygc
@@riggityronreviews You are correct about exceeding 45°. The way to fix it, using wood like this is:
Run the diagonal at about 40°. Make a notch cut into the top rail so that you’re not just relying on mechanical fasteners.
buy an impact drill
😆 Sounds like a great idea!
Not all can afford it
Lol
Hehe
Both . Outstanding joints
Excellent job buuuuuut you should have went with 45 degree on your 2x4 cross memeber and just had overhang. The 45 or less are the strongest and anything longer just loses holding power. Cheers
45 degrees is ideal… but this is a rectangle, so it wouldn’t go from one corner to the other.
Don’t ever use your table saw like this guy. You will become a statistic eventually.
Don’t use a table saw like this if you’re not comfortable using it like this or if there’s a risk of getting injured. 👍
@@rutterrealtygc yup. At least we know you understand you are a statistic waiting to happen.
@@user-wc8lu7qd2myour insecurity is astounding
@@user-wc8lu7qd2mpretty much every contractor i know i swilling to use a table saw like this. I never use blade guards or anything. It’s fun! Take a risk! Live a little! 😂 his hands were over 6 inches from the blade. Looked plenty safe to me
What size wood did you use to build the gate?
2x4 for framing. 6x6 for posts
Thnk you so much, complete newbie to this.
Should get in a habit or checking diagonals
They are still holding strong.👍
this is great! i plan to do the same. If i use 2x6s for the frame instead of 2x4s would that put too much strain on the posts?
I don’t know, I haven’t used 2x6s before🤷♂️😁
I frame mine out of 2x4 cedar, its a fraction of the weight of PT pine.
Good call!👍😊
Not how that drop rod works!!!
Lol
Made me chuckle
😁👍
How far apart are the posts?
13.5 ft
👍
Thanks for the comment!
Are those Earwigs i keep seeing crawling around?!
I suppose!😆
Let's see it on down hill pitch
Maybe next time. That make some cool hinges for applications like that!
👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks for the comment!
Your diagnals are greater than 45 degrees and so are NOT compression braces. As the gate starts to sag it actually put pressure on the inner upright and eventually force it out of true. You need to either put in a center upright and two compression braces at 45 degrees or less or else put in a wire tension brace in place of the long piece.
Let me know when you get your video up!👍
@@rutterrealtygc Well, the fact remains that he's correct. The angle of the braces really is important, and the approach you've shown doesn't work. The professional crew that did mine put a horizontal member halfway up each gate and then put two diagonal braces, top and bottom.
Don't hold your tape in the middle. Pull it from the end.
Good deal.👍
My fence builder best around has had to redo my gate going on 3 times it keeps twisting at the top real bad this last one lasted 4 days before it twisted up a 10 foot 2 5s picket fence gate wish you worked for them I paid 20k for a crap fence but all there other jobs look good and best references in town I'm at a lost
Oh no! That’s awful! Sorry to hear that! How are they building it?
ayo 1986 called. they want their drill back. nice fuckin' gate though...
😆 I finally broke down and got a battery powered drill. Technology is so much better than it was the first time I purchased!😁
The gates don't sag, it's the posts that move.
Strong posts are crucial!!
Measure across top and bottom opening
Do it your way!👍
Double-Gates
Like Double-D’s?
ALWAYS sag.
Just a matter of time.
Wood rots, metal rusts, rock crumbles. Nothing lasts forever. This is merely an inexpensive way to creat a long lasting gate with the typical materials used.👍😊
Your pickets are 3/8" low in the middle, because gravity.
👍
Forgot to square it!
If you cut the half-lap joints right, you won’t need it, because it will have no choice to be square.👍
@@rutterrealtygc an automatic self squaring gate building technique.👍
Nice job. Fyi: That's not how the cane bolt works.
Thanks for the comment. I’m not sure what a cane bolt is.
@@rutterrealtygc You installed the cane bolt at the 6:00 part of the video. Goes into the ground to hold the gate in place.
Yup, thats wrong. Good catch
I just bought some grk’s lol
Grk’s?
It will sag eventually.
Wood rots, metal rusts, rock crumbles. Nothing last forever. This video is just showing a better way to construct a gate with typical products used.👍
I would have just switch the existing gate on each side as they were just installed wrong with the tension on the top corner which bears the weight is on the opposite side.
Nope. They’re right
No router? 😂 pocket screws are amazing too
I have a router… it will take forever in comparison with how quickly you can do it with a table saw.👍
add more glue next time.
😂 Absolutely!
It wont be at the same depth than rest of fence pickets but a little sunk.
The fence pickets are all in line
👍👍🇨🇦✌️🇨🇦✌️👍
✌️Thanks for the comment!
The gate will be very heavy,, if use wire net will a lot lighter weight, but no privacy.
You could use many different materials, but most people are going to use wooden pickets and these frames hold them just fine.👍😊
How bout on a hill?
Maybe some sort of hinge system like this? th-cam.com/video/jPGjz6-LWHo/w-d-xo.html or th-cam.com/video/cIdRG_DUtcM/w-d-xo.html or maybe consider a different style gate like a sliding gate?
No sag but plenty of flexing
I hope yours turned out well!
It did I used the infinity hinge and used Mr fence method of cross bracing