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Gate Installation in Athens, AL
Walk gates and drive gates hung to swing true, matched to the fence material and the opening it serves.
- Free on-site estimate, price in writing
- Posts set below the frost line in concrete
- Final walkthrough on every job
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A gate is the part of your fence that moves, so it is the part that wears out. Gate trouble traces back to three things: a post nobody set heavy enough for a swinging load, hardware too light for the weight it carries, or a leaf built too wide to hold its shape.
Walk gates and drive gates
A walk gate runs three to four feet wide and carries little weight, so it hangs as a single leaf on two or three hinges.
A drive gate covers a driveway or an equipment opening. Past roughly six feet a single leaf starts sagging under its own weight and hangs serious leverage off the hinge post, so we hang wider openings as a pair of leaves meeting at the center with a drop rod.
The gate post does the work
A gate post carries a load that swings, so it always goes in heavier than the line posts around it: a bigger post, a deeper hole, more concrete. Hang a gate on a standard line post and that post pulls out of plumb inside a season or two. After that the gate drags no matter how often anyone adjusts the hinges.
Hardware sized to the gate
Hinges and latches carry a weight rating, and a heavy wood or steel frame needs hardware rated for it. We size hinges from the finished weight of your leaf instead of fitting whatever shipped with the panel.
- Self closing hinges where a gate has to shut on its own, which a pool barrier requires.
- Drop rods to hold one leaf of a double gate steady while the other swings.
- Lockable latches where the gate secures a yard or a work area.
- Cantilever rollers where nothing has room to swing, covered on the commercial fencing page.
Which way should a gate swing?
Toward whichever side has clearance, which usually means into the yard and away from a driveway or walk. A pool gate is the exception and has to swing away from the water. Slope decides it too, because no gate opens uphill into rising ground.
Gates on sloping ground
A gate needs clearance underneath through its whole swing, not only where it sits closed. On ground rising toward the opening, a gate set close to the ground when shut will jam halfway open. We check the swing across the full arc and set the height from the highest point the leaf passes over, which is why a gate on a slope sits with a bigger gap beneath it than one on flat ground.
Keeping a gate working
- Check the hinge fixings once a year. Screws working loose start most sagging gates.
- Oil the hinges and latch, especially on a gate that gets daily traffic.
- Watch the gate post for plumb. Catch it early and you reset one post instead of rebuilding the opening.
- On a wood gate, check the diagonal brace running from the bottom hinge corner up toward the latch side. Let that loosen and the leaf drops out of square.
Matching the gate to the fence
A gate built in the same material and style as the run stops looking like an afterthought. Wood gates get a braced frame so the leaf holds square, aluminum and vinyl gates use manufacturer frames sized to the opening, and chain link gates take a welded or bolted frame with mesh stretched across it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How wide should a driveway gate be?
Size it from the widest vehicle or equipment that will use it, plus room for the approach angle. Past about six feet a single leaf starts to sag, so wider openings hang as a pair of gates meeting at the center.
Why does my gate drag on the ground?
The gate post moved because nobody set it heavy enough for a swinging load, or the hinges are undersized and have pulled. Hinge adjustment treats the symptom. A reset post fixes it.
Can you add a gate to an existing fence?
Yes. We frame the opening with a proper gate post set deeper than the line posts, then hang the gate on hardware sized to its finished weight.
Which way should a gate swing?
Toward whichever side has clearance, usually into the yard. A pool gate has to swing away from the water. Rising ground on one side settles it too, since no gate opens uphill.
Related: Automatic Gates | Fence Repair | Commercial Fencing | Pool Fencing
How a gate installation job runs
Need a gate that swings true?
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