Gatepost movement

Kiln dried timber does that, which is why my gate posts are brick.

Colin Bignell

well, sadly, the bigger the post the more movement.

Sounds like they are just very wet and slowly drying out.

Wood is wood. Wood moves summer to winter. Get used to it and adjust the best you can..

If the worst comes to it, you may need to insert a packer under the hinge - not dig up the post!

My posts have twisted too. To twist the post around in the ground, attach a piece of 4x2 a couple of yards long to the post using several clamps and pull on it. Afterwards bash the ground around the post with a sledgehammer.

It is because you used softwood timber posts. With timber, there is always going to be a risk of twisting. Gone are the days when you could easily get well-seasoned oak that was less likely to twist.

For heavy gates I always specify steel posts made of square or rectangular hollow section with the hinge pivots welded on, then the whole thing is either hot dipped galvanised or shotblasted and painted with the stuff they used recently on the Forth Bridge (railway bridge) with a 30-40 year life. In a couple of cases the gates have been clad with brick or timber to give the appearance of a brick pillar/timber gatepost respectively.