I have another client who needs a replacement garden gate. The old one is just worn out and sagging. I'm looking for tricks of the trade to speed up the construction and make a more accurate gate.
Here's the old process:
- Measure.
- Cut three horizontal rails and lay them out on the ground.
- Align the vertical pickets on top of the rails.
- Fiddle around until everything is square (or skewed for a gate over sloping ground). This step takes forever, and it's a royal pain if the gate isn't supposed to be square.
- Nail on the pickets.
- Hang the gate.
- Shift the non-hinge end up and down to align the gate with the fence.
- Cut two diagonal braces and attach them to the rails.
- Nail the pickets to the diagonals.
- Attach the latch.
- Cut a strip to cover the latch-side gap.
I've done some internet searches for a better process, but I can't find anything with details, just hand-waving explanations, and _none_ that approach it from a production point of view. Everything is aimed at a DIY guy who has a whole weekend.
So what say you? Who has the best process for building a garden gate?