Steel box section for gate ?

[Franko]

I am looking at making a sliding gate for my back garden driveway out of square steel box section and cladding it with ply but I am unsure of the strength of the box section, the gate will be approx 3.2m long X 1.8m high, sitting on rollers on a track.

I was thinking of using 50mm X 50mm square section with a 5mm wall and welded together - does anyone have any idea if this will be a suitable gauge steel for this project ?

Many thanks for any input.

Franko

[Brian Sharrock]

Think 'outside the box' ... I'm also presuming that you're intending to double-skin the gate ... otherwise you'll have the steel and ply expanding/contracting at different rates over (say) -9 C ~ 30(?) C. Presumably you're actually asking;- will two sheets of ?? mm thick ply (Marine(?)/WBP(?) separated by 50mm steel be stiff? IMHO, the ply is forming 'the box' the 50mm square sections are merely acting as spacers albeit ones that add 'stiffness' to the project. Have you considered how you are going to surface-treat the (presumably) exposed ply? For portions of the day one side will be exposed to sunlight and the other to shade: unless the gate is precisely oriented N-S ... :).

If you've got access to welding equipment; have you considered using steel-mesh to clothe the gate . Just wandering around, I've seen lots of gates which are all-steel; lots of gates that are all wood (apart form hinges etc.); but I don't think I've seen a gate formed from ply and steel ... :(

HTH

[Franko]

Very good points Brian and thanks for your input, I understand what you're saying. I would rather have an all steel gate but I feel that the mesh idea would not give me much privacy.

As for the all timber version - I am concerned with warping as the gate rollers will need to sit on a track and the gate would have to sit into some sort of parking bracket to keep it stable when shut.

Any other ideas please,

Thanks

Franko.

[Chris Bacon]

It should discourage ram raiders! You'll be able to save on materials and weight, as well as making replacement of sheets easier by a) making the gate to a size which "fits" sheet materials easily; you mention 3.2x1.8m, which looks like using three

8x4' sheets; you could construct the steel like this: ________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |____|____|____|

using 50mm all around, with 50mmx25mm for the two inside uprights - then use steel angle welded to the 50mm sq. stuff, and a bolted-on (to the inners) "loose" piece of timber to pinch the panels in. Anyway, you're the designer....

[nightjar]

The gate on my house in France is about the same width but probably no more than 1.5m high. That was professionally made, using (from memory as I won't be able to check it for a few weeks) rectangular tube about 100mm x 50mm x

5mm wall. The cladding is steel sheet with a very shallow X shaped fold in each panel, presumably to stop it drumming. It closes against a post of the same tube and the motor uses a worm drive, so no lock is required. Hope this helps.

Colin Bignell

[Harry Bloomfield]

Then make an all steel gate and add some of those rushes you can buy as a bundle, to provide the privacy.

As Brian suggested, it will warp and probably not last long. 5mm would seem to be quite a bit heavier than you might need, unless the gate is a very large one.