Wooden gates and wickets are the calling card of the owners of a country house. From the way a wooden gate looks, one can judge the owner’s tastes, his well-being and complaisance. The neater the gate with a wicket looks, the better the impression the owner makes on his neighbors and acquaintances.
Today we will tell you how to build wooden gates and wooden gates with your own hands. You can find photos of similar objects on the Internet, and some are also present in the article. Thanks to these photos, you can decide what kind of wooden gate you would like to make for your suburban area.
Do-it-yourself wooden gates and wickets
Wickets and gates with your own hands, of course, can be made not only from wood, but also from other materials. Here the choice is yours, which suits you more. But if you do not have experience, and you are planning to make a gate with a wicket with your own hands for the first time, then it is better to choose wood, because this material has a number of advantages:
- the tree is unpretentious in terms of processing;
- availability of material;
- ease of use;
- finished wood products always look elegant and beautiful.
Below are several photos of samples of what wooden gates and gates can look like, and how you can decorate them with your own hands.
Kinds
If you look at photos of swing gates in various catalogs, you will notice that today there are a great many varieties of such products.
This is explained by the rapid development of construction technologies, the creation of new materials and the presence of a huge color palette that can satisfy even the most demanding buyer.
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But it is worth noting that there are two main types of such gates, namely:
- Single door option;
- Double-leaf option.
In addition, such gates can also be divided according to the number of leaves.
We select tools and tools for the job
Almost anyone can make a wooden gate or gate with their own hands, even without such experience. However, before you get to work, you need to prepare the following set of tools:
- construction tape;
- pencil;
- levels or squares;
- screwdriver (screwdriver);
- self-tapping screws;
- hacksaw for cutting wood;
- a plane, if the lumber needs to be processed;
- rasp;
- plumb line and drill;
- scrap;
- container for mixing concrete and components for the mixture.
building materials to install wooden gates and gates with our own hands
- wooden beams with different sections for pillars and frames;
- slats or picket fences for covering the frame;
- metal bolt;
- awnings;
- loops.
Details
Advantages
Wood is a classic building material that has been used for over 1,000 years, and is also easy to process and relatively inexpensive.
Wooden gates have the following advantages:
- It is permissible to make it yourself using inexpensive building materials.
- Possibility of using all kinds of decor in order to add individuality to the product.
- Environmental safety - wood does not emit harmful fumes into the atmosphere.
- Long service life (more than 10 years) if the wood is treated with a special protective impregnation.
- Low price compared to metal models.
- High strength characteristics.
But don't forget about the downsides.
Flaws
Wooden gates for a private house also have negative sides:
- Low resistance to vandalism - traces of paint from a spray can or marker will be quite difficult to remove from the surface.
- Heavy weight – fences covered with profiled decking or polycarbonate weigh much less.
- Fire hazard – wood easily catches fire, and in the event of a fire, the gate can burn completely.
- Susceptibility to the process of rotting - the material begins to deteriorate under the influence of moisture and water.
- Strength characteristics are lower than those of metal.
Next, let's talk about installation.
Preparatory work before assembly
Before purchasing lumber, be sure to decide what height your gate will have and what the size of the gate will be. Remember that for reliability, the support pillars need to be deepened into the ground by about a meter .
If you want to build a gate “for centuries” with your own hands, it is better to make the supports not from wood, but from concrete, brick or metal. And in order to maximize the service life of wooden poles, before installation they are impregnated with an antiseptic, and the underground part with resin or bitumen mastic.
The area for installing gates and wickets must also be prepared in advance:
- remove large stones;
- loosen hard clods and level the soil;
- if necessary, mark the placement of supports using a cord stretched between the pegs.
It will be very difficult to install pillars with your own hands, so it is advisable to invite an assistant so that you can hold the pillars and concrete at the same time.
The shutters are hung on the gates only after the concrete has completely dried, and the supports at the top are best fastened horizontally with a common beam, which will prevent the pillars from warping under the weight of the shutters.
Classification of swing gates
The main division occurs at the stage of selecting the number of sashes. Options are available with either one or two, opening in different directions. With a double-leaf design, it is not necessary to maintain equal lengths of the leaves.
Also, a wicket can be built into the door leaf. This solution will simplify entry and exit to the territory and help increase service life by reducing wear on the hinges.
This solution will save space if the gate is installed in a garage opening.
How to properly install wooden posts
The pillars are installed in this way:
- Using a drill, we dig a hole a meter deep;
- the distance between the planes of the pillars placed “facing” each other should be slightly greater than the width of the gate, this is within the range of about 120 cm;
- pour 5 cm of sand into the bottom of the hole and spill a lot of water for shrinkage;
- add 5 cm of crushed stone;
- we burn the underground part of the pillars with a gas torch or blowtorch, or you can treat the entire pillar with an antiseptic to protect it from rotting;
- Place a pole along a plumb line, fill the hole with crushed stone and compact it;
- the base must be filled with liquid cement mortar and sand. The stronger the solution, the faster you can start installing the gate.
Assembling gate leaves
Swing-type gates include two leaves and a wicket , which must be placed on the side of the leaves or be one of its parts. Depending on your project and dimensions, you need to make a frame.
To assemble the frame of the doors, you need to cut pieces of timber of the required length with a jigsaw. The wooden quadrangular frame is fastened with wooden nails by drilling holes in the ends of the beams, into which the treated dowels are inserted.
When the frame frame is ready, attach the jumpers, which are located horizontally or diagonally, .
How to make a wooden frame for a gate
To assemble a gate with your own hands, you must first assemble its base. First, install the frame, then cover it with slats, which will create rigid triangular platforms that are needed to counteract the wicket's sagging and deformation.
The bars are laid out over the entire flat surface, then markings are made . Cut to the correct length that matches the length of the gate and check the frame for placement. We connect all parts of the wooden frame; they will be fixed using slats. If there are burrs or uneven surfaces on a wooden panel, they can be corrected with a plane.
Features of the wicket covering
The gate can be made solid or lattice. If you want a solid one, then wooden boards with slats are placed on the frame, then cutting lines are drawn. If the gate has a semicircular shape at the top, you can use a compass to make marks.
And to make a lattice wooden gate, each slat is cut individually using a ruler or tape measure. The cuts must be made as evenly and clearly as possible . And in order to assemble all the structural elements at the end, it is advisable to take special wood screws.
What to consider when choosing a design?
In order for the exterior of the house to look harmonious, everything must be combined with each other: the decoration of the facade of the house and other buildings, the material of the fence and doors, the style of execution. Let's look at the main modern trends.
High tech
Choose a minimalist design, modern materials: plastic, metal, WPC. It is better to make the doors blind, and always automatic.
Loft
Rough, industrial materials are suitable: welded metal, brick or concrete supports, burnt wood.
Classic
Timeless black forging with silver or gold plated elements is just right. Perfect for brick or plastered houses.
Provence
The doors are made of wood or forged, preferably with metal elements (hinges, locks, awnings). The pillars are made of stone (sandstone, limestone); as a compromise, choose white-painted brick.
Country
Let the facades, fences and gates consist of 99% wood: choose thick, natural beams, unedged boards. An excellent option for country fencing.
Modern
The main condition is that the gates should not be blind. Preference is given to welded metal structures with abstract geometric or floral patterns.
Features of installation of fasteners and valves
The last stage of our work is the installation of fasteners and valves. So, the canopies need to be attached directly to the frame.
Check that the gate can close securely. If it opens on its own , it means something was done incorrectly. Fix the problem and you can install door latches and hinges.
To fasten gates and wickets, it is best to use factory fittings made of stainless steel or anodized.
To attach the gate to a brick post, you need to leave two hinges on the outside during its manufacture. And the overhead part of the hinge must be attached to the horizontal crossbars on gates or gates using bolts.
To attach a wicket or gate to a post made of metal, asbestos cement or concrete, you need to use a suspension assembly consisting of a hook, clamp and nuts . To hang wooden gates with your own hands, you need two such knots.
Benefits of using wood
The main advantages of this material are:
- Availability and reasonable price. You can easily buy wood products of the required grade and required sizes at a hardware store or a specialized company. The pricing policy is significantly lower in comparison with metal.
- Easy to process and install. Without much difficulty, anyone can prepare this material with their own hands. Whereas processing of metal products will require the use of expensive equipment: an angle grinder, welding equipment, etc.
- Durability and reliability. With planned regular maintenance, a wooden entrance structure can last for a long time. Compared to metal, a wooden surface is not subject to rust, but requires periodic treatment with special compounds. If one of the sides of the canvas is damaged, replacing old boards with new ones can be done in a matter of hours.
