I've got a pair of wooden gates across my drive. The frames are OK, but the planks on them are very prone to swelling and contracting. In the summer they contract to the point where the wood started to split, and in the winter (about now), they swell to the point where they jam, so I'm unable to open them. Is there an easy solution to this, or am I either going to have to live with it, or replank them with some different timber ?
TIA
Adrian
if you soak them (perhasp by brushing on repeated coats) you might stop them drying out in summer. Then you can plane them down to winter thickness.
If you only fix the planks in the middle they won't split. This is also why the planks are either T&G or shiplapped etc, so that visible gaps don't open up in the summer.
Plastic gates? Brian
Sealing the end grains of each piece helps, since most water vapour travels in and out by that route. Rubbing a candle over the ends, and melting with a hair dryer, is about as good a seal as you're likely to get. However, if the timber is old and knackered, it will tend to absorb water (not just vapour) all over
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