Making A Privacy Fence Gate

Diagonal cross braces like this should always angle downward to the lower hinge.

Making a privacy fence gate.

The gate was made by first creating an external frame of 2x4s that were screwed together with exterior screws installed through pre drilled and countersunk holes. Fewer posts will save you some digging but in the long run wind and gravity will make you pay for it in your privacy fencing. Use graph paper to draw a plan for your fence. Measure the entry at the top and bottom as they can easily be different.

If it is wider you must make and hang two gates which will meet in the middle. When you re ready to build the gate you ll want to make a frame out of 2 by 4 boards cut to the appropriate lengths then install slats or pickets to complete the gate. Make sure the fence posts can support a gate if you already have a fence. Apart to make sure your fence doesn t sag.

A diagonal cross brace was then added. Plan your gate size to use full pickets. Keep out those pesky neighborhood kids. The fence can be a simple chain link just to keep the dogs in the yard.

A good rule of thumb is to space posts just under 8 ft. Some towns might require this plan for an approved building permit. Gate pickets should be flush with the inside faces of the posts. 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.

Note the post locations and gate locations. Plan gate post locations. This will keep the gate square and prevent sagging. It can be custom designed to match the style of your fence or as a focal point to the yard s landscape.

For more tips from our landscaping co author including detailed instructions for attaching the gate to the posts keep scrolling. The size of the gate should not be greater than 4 1 22 m in width.