HOW TO MAKE A GARDEN GATE

We all love spending time in our garden, especially when the weather is nice, however if there is a lack of privacy it can be difficult to relax. So how about a beautiful garden gate. It can work as a double use to keep kids and animals safe in your garden whilst giving you the privacy you need.

Materials and tools you’ll need:

• Timber materials such as reclaimed wood, pallets etc
• Hinges
• Wood stain / paint / preservative
• Hammer
• Screws
• Screwdriver
• Power Drill
• Spirit Level

Making the gate frame

The garden gate frame needs to be able to support the weight of your gate, therefore you’ll need to anchor and plumb the fence posts to stop them from dropping.

To secure the posts, measure and dig 2 holes that equal half the length of the posts. Bury the posts and measure again to ensure the same length. Use a spirit level to make sure their straight! Fill with a concrete mixer to anchor. Now you can build your gate.

Build a wooden gate

Measure the gap between the posts and leave around 1cm either side for opening and closing the gate. Using the gap between the posts you can cut your planks of wood to size and these will be the top and bottom frames of your gate. Do the same for the sides once you decide on the height of your gate. Lay your frame on the ground and secure using your screws. Its advisable to pre-drill pilot holes so the wood doesn’t split.

Next you want to make your gate rigid so adding cross frames will help with the structure. Again, secure with screws.

Consider what design you’d like for the top of your garden gate and mark out using a pencil.

When you’re finished you can add the hinges to the gate and fence posts. Simply mark out the areas for the screws with a pencil, then drill pilot holes and secure.

Once your gate is hung, use a wood sealant to weatherproof it making sure the bottom of the planks are coated generously to avoid wood rot setting in. You can either finish off with fence paint or leave it completely.