Gate How-To

23 November 2009

Gate installation includes but not limited to: - gate transportation to desired location, gate balancing, and making ready of gravelled area for gate installation.

Figure 1

First, set out pathway for gate to manouver. Draw a half circle in ground with the diameter of circle being the full width of the door. Use leftover bricks to pave the radial pathway. Set bricks into ground accordingly.

Diagram 2

Locate gate next to existing timber post. Ensure that gate is upright and the external face of the gate is aligned with the external face of the post. Hold post-end of gate so that it is not tilted to begin screwing holes for hinges. Drill holes all the way through the post and timber. Ensure no one is on the other side of door during drilling process to avoid unneccesary holes in un-needed places.

Image 3

Bolt selected hinges into place through door panel and post, approximately 600mm apart from each other starting from the centreline of the gate. Use 2 no.s of mild-steel, 300mm long, fixed-butt hinges. Cap bolts with matching nuts on the other end. Tighten to secure.

Photo 4

Next, give door a heave to test if door and castor wheel works. If door falls down, repeat the whole process again. If wall falls down, tearing post and fence along the way, engage a professional gate builder and check to see if home+content insurance covers moronic behaviours. Proceed.

Picture 5

Finally, clean all exposed surfaces of gate with clean water. Ensure surfaces are dry and free of dirt or smudges before commencing painting. Apply 2 coats of clear polyurethane finish to panels and louvers generously. Second coat should be painted a minimum of 1 hour after first coat has been applied. Use spray-gun to coat the louvered and other hard-to-reach areas. Use chinese paint brush as a cheaper alternative for spray-gun. Do not paint if weather is muggy or rain is forecasted. Leave to dry.

Install child-proof, vandal-resistant, dog-safe latch if required.

Gate

6 November 2009

The job to make the house complete seems like a never-ending journey. Not that we would want this journey to end anytime soon. Today it's about the gate. The side gate leading to our backyard on the Northern side of the site.

Gate base frame

D had a vision of a timber-strip gate. Timber was used because that is the only thing he could manipulate freely and it matches our deck. The gate design incorporates some see-through element that does not compromise on privacy.

Louvers

The gate will be made up of 3 sections, 2 parts solid, and 1 part semi-solid. The semi-solid area will be made up of repetitive timber louvers that is detailed as per the image above and below.

Washer - Bolt - Washer

First, D made 2 separate frames which would eventually be the 'solid' component. Then he started working on the louvered zone by stacking the pre-cut timber louvers (approx. 50mm wide) consecutively on top of one of the frames. The louvered part is anchored to the frame with a galvanised bracket - sponsored by our neighbour.

The anchor bracket

Clearer picture

This sums up the description above. D used four of M10 galvanized steel rods at 1.2m long as the louver supports. The pre-cut louvers were also pre-drilled at intervals similar as the distance between the rods, so they could be slide in, as indicated.

Gate skeleton

2 weekends later, the gate was approaching completion. At this stage, due to the amount of materials we used, this gate was heavy as! Still, there's more to come... After conducting a little bit of measuring, D realised that the dimensions is slightly off the mark. It was a teeny bit shorter than anticipated. Thus a frame along the perimeter was added to the structure.

Extra framing

Next, - the 'solid' part. For that, D screwed 2 pieces of 7mm thick plywood on each side, 4 pieces, for both sides. I'm starting to get worried as the structure continuously piles on more and more weight ...

Solid & See-thru

And lastly, for this entry, how is the gate going to work? It is way too heavy to just rely on the hinge itself. It cannot be lifted off the ground, but definately has to rest on something and yet remain mobile. So, we shall have a little wheel at the other edge of the door.

Castrol Wheel

This little castrol wheel is going to support half the weight of the massive door. It's rubber based, pretty cheap and we hope that it could withstand the elements and does not need replacement in the near future. To see how it all comes together, stay tuned ...