Widest possible gate?

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Picture this: An alley between a house and the neighbor's fence. 10 feet wide with a concrete sidewalk which comes around the house. The walk's a couple of feet wide and the rest of the alley is grass. My son wants to place a wooden fence across this alley, but include a gate. It's at his mom's house, so I'm just the advisor. He's talking about using stockade fence sections.

My take on this is that the stationary part of the fence (over the grass) will be one more thing his mother has to use the trimmer on, and she hates the machine. Why not create one big swinging gate that can be opened flush against the neighbor's fence during mowing? I haven't made any calls to lumber yards yet, but could swear I've seen wooden gates that big, probably at farms. Maybe with a roller at the bottom to support the weight?

Or, am I imagining this?

[ransley]

A trimmer, just use roundup and junk the trimmer.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

A trimmer, just use roundup and junk the trimmer.

===================

Roundup is not an option. This is about mechanical possibilities.

[SteveB]

You can do that, but you can't build it out of fence panels alone. You could start with two fence panels, but you'll have to add all sorts of bracing.

A ten-foot gate won't support itself. It will have to have a wheel on the end.

Options: * Two five-foot sections that open from the middle. These are small enough to support themselves. * Put paving stones under the bottom of the fence so you don't have to use the trimmer. * Use persistent plant killer at the bottom. This keeps *anything* from growing where you spray it for one year. This is what I do to keep my grass out of the neighbor's flower bed.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Paving stones - there's an interesting idea. Maybe use some that are wide enough so the mower can be rolled on top and the blades can reach the edge where the stones meet the grass.

[SteveB]

That's exactly what my dad did several years ago. He buried 2" concrete blocks level with the soil around the whole yard. He now uses an edger instead of a trimmer, except where he decided to stack stuff on the blocks. :-(

[hallerb]

On Jul 28, 8:21=EF=BF=BDam, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrot= e:

a wood gate is going to be heavy. might be a issue for your mom.

chain link wouldnt look as nice but will; be lighter and easier to move.

if your area gets snow the rolling wheel and such may get frozen in place.

[Limp Arbor]

The roller is going to be a problem unless the entire area is level or you get one of those fancy spring loaded roller$. I'd go with split the dif or pavers under the fence portion. Keep in mind the hinge side of the gate has to be very strong, my bet is the existing fence post is not deep enough to support a 5' gate.

[Joe J.]

Out here in farm country, the gates are 10-12' feet but they are metal frames, not for privacy, just to keep the animals in. They are usually mounted to a 6 x 6, or 8 x 8 set deep enough in the ground to counter the weight of the gate. Some also have a steel guide-wire attached to the top of the gate for added support. Readily available at a store such as Fleet & Farm.

Joe J.

[Steve Barker DLT]

OH, roundup is always an option. It's just a matter of deciding if you WANT to do it the easy way or make it hard. And yes, you can build a gate even if you can't buy one like you want. The biggest deal would be if the sidwalk is higher than the surrounding ground, it may be tricky to have a wheel on the end.

s

[dpb]

Steve Barker DLT wrote: ...

...

You can build wooden gates that are as much as 16' w/o needing any wheels...have whole passel of 'em. Do need a good support, however, but a 10-footer wouldn't be much hassle at all if done correctly.

And, if decide want the wheel, the spring-loaded, large diameter guys (you can buy the mechanisms ready-made) will handle it trivially.

But, it's going to be more effort than OP is thinking--the two 5-footers would be a simpler solution if he can get away w/ opening the one against the other property as opposed to his own.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Three feet from a garden full of edibles, chemicals are only an option if you're an idiot.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

The roller is going to be a problem unless the entire area is level or you get one of those fancy spring loaded roller$. I'd go with split the dif or pavers under the fence portion. Keep in mind the hinge side of the gate has to be very strong, my bet is the existing fence post is not deep enough to support a 5' gate.

==================

My son's planning on installing 4x4 posts with cement. Maybe the thicker posts if we go with the single wide gate idea.

[salty]

...Or know how to read labels and follow simple instructions.

[Wayne Whitney]

My understanding is that you definitely want 6x6 posts if they are freestanding and supporting any kind of gate.

Yours, Wayne

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Yeah. OK.

[cshenk]

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote

;-) I wouldnt either. Runoff. I would try vinegar though if inclined to have a setup like that.

[salty]

I guess you went to the same school as Spare brains Kanter. Roundup, when applied properly presents no problem near or IN vegetable gardens. You wouldn't want to apply it directly to your salad as a dressing at the dinner table, but almost all vegetables you buy in a store were grown in fields where Roundup has been used. It breaks down into harmless components very quickly after application.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Good. You use it. Enjoy. Regardless of your age, you're too young to understand why any and all claims of yard chemical safety are lacking in accuracy.

[salty]

Bwhahahahahaha!