I'm building a gate in a not square hole! Advice on hanging it?

[Mike Barnard]

Hi again.

In my glorious new back fence I will put a gate. It'll be 1.9m high and 1.5m wide. I intend to cut it into a one third / two thirds pair, the smaller of which will only rarely be used.

The back fence and posts are now in place. This makes the gates frame a pair of 4x4s on each side and some 4x1 across the top. HOWEVER, I've just discovered that one of the 4x4's is slightly warped. This means the hole isn't square but is wider by about 8mm at the top.

So, should I make SQUARE gates and leave a slight gap, which will be obscured by stops later, or cut the gate to fit exactly in the frame? What are the pros and cons?

Thanks in advance.

-- Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service ------->>>>>>

[dcbwhaley]

If you cut the gate to fit and hang it neatly to the leaning post the axis of the hinges wont be vertical. This will mean that the gate will tend to close itself. You may or may not consider that to be a good thing.

Personally I would make the gate square and pack the top hinge. Where you put the packing will determine wether the axis is vertical or not.

[Steve Walker]

Could you pull the posts together with a rope tourniquet and then refix the top-piece of timber to hold them? Frankly, 8mm isn't especially significant in a context like that anyway...