Hi all
Is it usual to hinge a gate straight off a concrete post using rawl plugs etc or is it preferable to attach timber to the post and screw hinges to that? I prefer the direct approach, but am capable of being swayed by "usual practice".
Phil
It's much better to affix timber to the post. And FIW, I wouldn't use rawlplugs on concrete posts, it's far better to drill straight through them and use bolts.
I've just re-hung my wrought iron gate onto a concrete post and I bolted it straight through - I affixed (again bolted rather than screwed) timber to the other post for the latch side
I'll bite. Why?
Guy
Because the hinge screws are under stress everytime the gate is opened or closed. Having them in plugs in concrete is no good because if the gate opens or closes too far, the plugs will simply pull out of the concrete, this is why we have door frames in houses, and don't affix doors directly to the walls :-p
So are the fixings used to attach the timber to the post.
So how do you attach the timer to the concrete post?
I thought that was to spread the load and avoid the problem of fixing into a wall at points that might not be suitable.
On a door hinge there are typically three or four screws to fix the hinge to the wall or frame. If fixing to the wall, assuming the wall is strong enough, the load is concentrated in a small area and there's a good chance of screwing into something weak like the mortar between bricks.
A door frame can be attached over a longer length giving the wall some mechanical advantage over the frame and thus the hinges.
I'm prattling on about this because our front gate hinges are attached to a brick wall via a couple of small blocks of wood; one for each hinge. The blocks are screwed to the brick with rawl plugs and the rawl plugs are pulling out!
I think I'd be best off replacing the two blocks with a single, long piece of wood attached to the brick wall at several places along its length. Should I use rawl plugs? (!)
Guy
Most gates I've seen hung off concrete posts have pin and eye type hinges - where the horizontal base of the pin goes right through the concrete, with a nut on the other end. See
"Roger Mills" wrote
Thanks Roger
Can't say I've really registered these before, but now they are presented, I do believe I've seen similar.
Phil
I just used normal four inch, 6mm wide bolts from the hardware shop, about
20p each :-p
Not if you use bolts as I did.
With four inch, 6mm bolts
This is why bolts are better :-p
NO! - you can buy masonry bolts from the hardware shop @ about 30p each for use in brickwork, the end of them is made of tungsten-carbide, or some such stuff, which cuts a thread into the masonry as it's being tightened, once they're in, they *do not* come back out, except with a socket of course.
For concrete fence posts, I just drill directly through and use smaller bolts, obviously taking the fence panel out first so that I can attach the nut on the other end
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.