I have a wrought iron gate, and my fence has moved so it does not shut anymore. There are no springs, adjustments etc. The top of the gate just moved a bit, and it is getting stuck on the bolt holding the stationary iron tube to the wall. The nut is flush with the end of the bolt. I was thinking I could notch the gate with a hacksaw, and buy myself some time. I've talked to a fence company who says he can do something for $100-$150. Sounds expensive, and he's being secretive about what he will do. Any help would be appreciated.
How are the hinges mounted? Sure you can't make an adjustment there? The real solution is to fix the hanging post or the closing side to return the opening back to its full width. Chopping on the gate isn't a real good solution as that will then be there from now on...
I can see your logic here, but I wouldn't want some one to touch my stuff without telling me what he's going to do to it. I had a girlfriend once who did that, and never again.
1) Smitty, a picture was sent to you. I don't think I can post pics to this group. dpb, send me your email address please.
2) The hinges are fixed and attached to the frame. This is attached to a block wall (the wall has most likely moved). I might be able to buy smaller hinges (with less of a gap), but then the gate might get stuck on that side.
3) If the guy wanted to replace the latch-post with a smaller one, or plane it somehow, I could not do that myself. Anyhow, I'm entitled to get bids, so I need to compare what he's going to do, to anyone else's bid including my own hack job. If his price is fair & worth $100+ then he'll get the job!
4) It's 117 in Phoenix!
Sometimes you can use a car jack and a 4 x 4 post cut to size between the openings of a gate to move the posts further apart. Just keep jacking until the post(s) have moved where they need to be. Do this near the ground.
If you are going to do this, soak the ground first. Get it soaking wet. So the post will move without bending or breaking.
I"ve done this for a wooden fence post, that held a gate that was sagging, but I disconnected the fence first. The OP doesn't say what kind of fence he has, and he should have, because there are several kinds of fence that might have a wrought iron gate. So I can't tell if it is possble to disconnect the fence, or what will happen if he doesn't, because each material, and other details, are different.
Can't tell for sure, but it looks like the stucco'd stack of block next to the house, that the latch is attached to, is pulling away from the house. Anyway to fine-tune reality and draw that up against the house? Looks like they didn't have enough foundation under the post, and it moved around with changes in soil moisture.
After seeing the pics, $150 for a 'pretty' repair sounds cheap. Up north, on old brick buildings where stuff moved around, they would sometimes lace it back together with bigass bolts or rods, right through the wall of the building. In some cases, they even samk the interior bolt heads/washers into the wall and mudded over with plaster. In a warehouse or non-public area, they would just leave them exposed.
I just checked, and both sides of the frame are level. I know it looks like the block is "pulling away from the house", but from the inside view, it's not that bad. I believe $150 is for a hack job on the latch-post. Maybe grinding the nut like Smitty suggests. IMO, the only pretty solution would be a new gate, and that's gonna cost more then $150.
Hard to see the problem. But maybe drill a mounting hole, or attach a mounting plate, at the bottom and near the corner of the gate so that you can bolt on castor wheel. This wheel will support the weight of the gate and lift slightly higher so that it won't bind on the hinge.
!!!! Why is that there at all? That wasn't in the original installation. How was it supposed to have been attacned?
Why did no one paint it black? Can you take it out, hammer or drill a countersink** into the metal, and put the same or thinner-headed bolt bakc in?
**I have no idea if one could do this. If it is all wrought iron, if it is solid or hollow. If it's solid, surely there's room to countersink it, although then you couldn't use a hex head. So what, get a screwdriver head or torx head (if they come big enough. Probably do.) There are lots of heads that don't require a wrench around the outside.
If it's hollow, but has an opposite side, maybe a larger hole can be made in the side closer to the gate, and then a screw can be put in that holds only the side close to the wall. Non-hex so the first layer hole doesn't have to be so big. You could plug the bigger hole with a black plastic "plug" or hammer in a dowel rod and paint it black. Or leave the hole./
You should have pointed out where the problem was when you first posted the pictures, because a lot of time was afaict spent by everyone on things that are not the problem. Some people I'm sure gave up, so it's in your interest to to present the whole problem at the beginning.
I can't see the silver thing from the other side of the fence.
The silver thing is a nut. If I remove it, I have the "tail" of a bolt. This bolt is coming out of the block wall & through the hollow post. I can only assume that it was pushed out when they built the wall. Also removing that nut will free the post from the top of the wall. I think I explained it pretty well, except I wasn't clear about it Stopping the gate from moving the last inch. I made it sound like it was binding or friction. That was last year, now we've moved on to the gate slamming into the nut. Anyway, I'm probably going to do Smitty's solution, and install a flat/flush head in another hole, and cut the problem bolt out of the way. If it goes smoothly, I might also do the bottom bolt/nut. That one has plenty of clearance for now.
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.