How to frame fence gate?

Set posts

While installing your wood posts, make sure you mark where the gate opening will be. Your gate posts will have a different distance compared to that of other fence posts. The typical gate opening is 36 inches.  Add to this a 1 1/2 inch (3/4 inch each) combined gap for gate hinges and the gate latch, and you will have a total distance of 37 1/2 inch between your gate posts.  This measurement is intended for self-closing hinges. There is no need to provide a gap for hinge installation if you will be using the regular hinge types.

Attach rails

After securing your fence posts, fix your fence rails onto them. Do not cut the rails at hinge post and latch post. These rails will serve as the primary frame for your wood gate.

Insert diagonal braces

To add stability and strength to your wood gate, insert diagonal braces on the railings in between your latch and hinge posts. Place these braces leaving a 4-inch clearance to the posts.  This clearance will serve as space for the latch and hinge installations.

Cut rails on gate hinge side

When cutting the rails on the hinge side, be sure to cut the rail only halfway through if you will be using a regular hinge. If you’re using self-closing hinges, cut the rails on the hinge side but be sure to provide support for your gate weight and the force of fixing the fence pickets.

Nail pickets in place

In fixing the nail pickets allow a 3/4 inch gap on latch side. On the hinge side also allow a 3/4 inch gap if you will be using self-closing hinges. No allowance is needed on the hinge side if you will be using regular hinge types.

Install hinges

Install hinges along the railings of the fence.  Installing a hinge on the top, middle, and bottom rail is advisable for regular hinge types.  For stronger hinge types, top and bottom hinges may be sufficient.  For regular hinge types, cut the center back of rails on hinge side after installation.

Cut rails on latch side and install gate latch

Cut the rails on latch side and install the latch. Make sure that proper support is provided to the gate while installing the latch.  Ensure appropriate latch installation by using reliable installation guides.

Insert gate stopper

To prevent the gate from opening more than the desired angle and causing unwanted damage on the hinges and the gate, insert a 2 inch by 4 inch gate stopper or “Back Stop” with a setback of 1/2 inch from the pickets.

This is, after all, the reason that it’s not uncommon to see older homes with garden and fence gates that look a little sad and a little sloppy.

It doesn’t take much (a little bit of time, little wind and a little weather) to cause gates to droop – and if left unaddressed they can come apart at the seams faster than you would have thought possible.

Luckily, though, a little bit of foresight and a bit of planning can help anyone build a better fence gate that is as “sag proof” as it gets. Here’s a quick guide designed to help eliminate these sagging gate issues once and for all!

As mentioned a moment ago, there are a couple of different contributing factors that can cause fence gates to sag.

All outdoor structures and furniture are going to be subjected to whatever harsh weather conditions occur. Heat, humidity, wind and weather are all going to do a number on even the best built fences and gates.

At the same time, though, square and rectangular framed structures (fence gates in a nutshell) are always going to be subjected to gravity – the natural force that pulls these frames “out of whack”.

It doesn’t take much (or very long) for gates that aren’t really well-designed to start being pulled apart, twisted, and torqued into the kind of tension that inevitably causes them to sag and droop.

You usually start to see this on the “free side” – the side without hinges, the side supporting most of its weight all on its own. That’s also the side of the fence gate that’s usually subjected to the most trauma as it gets slammed shut over and over again.

Add into the mix people that like to lean on this side of the fence gate (including little kids that like to swing back and forth on them – we’ve all done it) and it’s not hard to see why gates start to sag over time.

Thankfully, though, there are ways to prevent this drooping from happening. And many of the strategies are whole lot easier to use and implement than you might have thought before!

Ignore the principles we highlight below and you’ll end up with a fence or garden gate that falls apart in five years or less.

Use these principles to design and build a proper garden fence, though, and you’ll have a fence that lasts a lifetime (and then some) without a whole lot of attention, maintenance, or babysitting necessary.

Let’s get right into it, shall we?

The first really big piece of the puzzle you want to get right when building a fence that will not sag is choosing the right material for the project at hand.

Fence materials are (generally) pretty strong and pretty resilient, but you want to take that to the next level when building a gate.

Remember, the gate is going to get the most “action” of this project – it’s going to be swung shut, kicked open, and bounced all over the place on a pretty much daily basis for its lifespan.

While any construction material can be converted into a fence gate project pretty easily, a few materials are better suited than others.

When you’re using wooden construction materials you’ll want to consider:

Cedar – Naturally moisture and rot resistant, pretty affordable (far as premium wood materials go), and also helps to fight back against bugs in the backyard

Mahogany – Pretty expensive to be sure, but capable of standing up against everything Mother Nature throws at you and then some

Teak – Also a little on the expensive side of things, but even more resistant to moisture and water (as well as rock) than cedar is. Dropdead gorgeous with a proper finish, though

Pressure Treated Pine – One of the most popular construction materials on the planet for outside jobs, pressure-treated pine is accessible, easy to work with, pretty affordable, and can be finished in a variety of ways

Synthetic materials (laminate wood, plastics and nylons, plastic coated wood, etc.) can also be used on a fence project. There are definitely benefits and drawbacks to using those materials, though, so you’ll want to research them pretty thoroughly.

It’s also important that you invest in:

Quality Hinges – Your new fence gate is going to “live” on these hinges. They need to be strong, durable, and not only capable of hanging the entire weight of the gate but also dealing with the force of being opened and closed over and over again

Quality Concrete – Concrete bases near the posts add extra strength and stability, particularly in climates where frost is a problem during the late fall, winter, and early spring

Quality Finishes – When using wood for a fence project how that interior is going to be finished needs to be a main priority right from the start. Oil finishes, paint, and other exterior finishes can provide resiliency that protects your gate for years to come

Anybody with even the most basic of woodworking skills can layout a simple garden gate that does the job for a little while – a square or rectangle attached to hinges that swings open and closed.

To pull off a garden or fence gate that’s going to resist gravity, stress, and harsh weather conditions and stay strong, stable, and solid for years to come is something else entirely.

That’s going to require some serious consideration about the kinds of joinery used as well as the kinds of fasteners that are taken advantage of.

Mortise and tenon joints are incredibly popular with woodworkers that want to provide a strong joint, a tight fit, and a clean look – particularly around the “fence frame”.

There’s a reason why these joints have stood the test of time, why they are so often used on fence gates, and it’s because they very effectively resist the force and pressure that causes gates to sag.

Dovetail joints are the “kid brother” of the mortise and tenon joints used in fence projects. They are little bit simpler to pull off, little easier to engineer, and generally offer similar levels of strength and durability.

No, these joints aren’t quite as fancy as a mortise and tenon. But they get the job done just the same without having to waste a lot of time and a lot of energy planning and carefully cutting those more elaborate joints.

Half lap joints are the easiest of the bunch to cut, creating a thinner yet stronger fence gate that looks fantastic. These are the kinds of joints you want to use when working with more expensive wooden construction materials as they help to showcase the wood a little better than dovetail joints ever could.

As far as fasteners are concerned, it’s important to use quality fasteners that are designed with exterior purposes in mind.

Drilling holes and hiding these fasteners can be an effective way to create a more seamless look, covering up the screw heads with tiny dowels that are cut and sanded down. But no matter the approach it’s important to use strong, durable, reliable fasteners that can stand up to the outdoor elements.

Simple supports that run diagonally across the backside of a fence gate can practically guarantee that gate won’t sag going forward.

These diagonal supports add a bit of extra attention and compression to lock in the stability of the wood being used. Without these supports, rectangular or square fences are going to pop apart the second that they start to stress against the joints or fasteners you’ve used.

It’s important to be sure that the diagonal supports run across the entirety of the inward facing part of your gate.

Bracing that only goes through a small section of the gate (the internal gate materials) will still sag and droop over time. It needs to run from corner to corner (usually tied into the outer frame material with joints or fasteners) to add that extra stiffness and stability.

Have a look at classic garden gates or farm fence gates or inspiration.

Most of them have what looks like a wooden “X” on the back or the front of the gate. That’s not done as a design or decoration.

That’s the diagonal bracing we are talking about here, though you don’t always have to go with double diagonal cross braces to get the strength you need. Sometimes more of a “/” will get the job done – especially when you’re working with smaller gates.

When you start to get to building gates that are 3 or 4 feet wide, though, it’s time to consider thinking about using that double diagonal brace with the added supports in the middle to keep things locked into place.

Pulleys and strings can be used to support the non-hinge side of the fence when diagonal supports aren’t used. But they really clutter up the place, adding visual distractions but also over complicating a project that could be straightforward with diagonal supports implemented correctly.

Use diagonal bracing to prevent shifting whenever possible and you’ll guarantee your gate never droops going forward.

Make it a priority to inspect the bracing every year or so (replacing components as necessary) and your gate will be just as strong, just as square, and just as stiff years from now as it was the day that you built it.

It doesn’t get much better than that!

We’ve gone over the important things to consider when building a gate from scratch that won’t sag, but what do you do if you already have a gate you want to save that’s become a little droopy?

To kick things off, you’re going to need to get your gate off of the fence post (usually by unscrewing or unfastening the hinges) so that you can square things back up without stress or pressure put on the components.

After squaring things up (a speed square makes this really easy to pull off), you’ll want to consider adding either diagonal bracing as mentioned above or corner brackets that sort of lock square back into place for your existing gate.

These little metal brackets go directly in the corners (all four corners) and prevent the fence from shifting or tilting in the future. They still put a lot of extra stress on the gate itself, which may compromise it sometime in the future, but the sagging problem will be resolved pretty permanently.

Turnbuckle and cable systems can also be used to straighten things out, though these are a little bit more complex as well.

At the end of the day, squaring it off, running diagonal bracing across one face of the gate (the inward facing face) is the way to go. This is an elegant solution, a cost-effective solution, and a relatively easy DIY style solution that almost anyone can implement – even on fence and garden gates that are years (not decades) old.

If things are really bad and you don’t think you can save the gate don’t be shy about rebuilding one from scratch using the tips and tricks we highlighted above.

Building a fence gate is a usually the last step in a DIY Fence Project. Unlike fences (which typically all look very similar), fence gates are great way to personalize your Fence Project and make it your own. Building a fence gate can be accomplished rather simply using basic carpentry skills.

To Build a fence gate, start by planning out the gate size based on the existing rough opening. Next, construct the frame of your gate, securing it together with pocket holes and exterior rated screws. Once the frame is constructed, attach gate pickets to the gate frame and customize the gate as desired. Finally, install gate mounting hardware (hinges, latch, etc.) and secure the fence gate in place.

This article will show you how to build a DIY fence gate, step-by-step. If you are more of a visual learner, you can check out my “How to Build a Fence Gate” Youtube Video that is liked at the end of the article.

Let’s get started!

The first step in a successful DIY fence gate project is to plan your fence gate layout. Before planning your fence gate layout, however, it is helpful to identify the most common fence gate components. Typically, a fence gate will be comprised of the following components:

The first step in planning your gate layout, is to determine the “rough opening” between the two fence gate mounting posts (shown in yellow above). For my gate opening, the rough opening width was approximately 48″.

If you have not installed your fence or fence gate mounting posts yet, I recommend that you check out my “how to build a fence” article which outlines every step of the fence building process (including the installation of fence gate posts).

Once you have measured your fence gate rough opening and spent some time planning out your fence gate layout, it’s time to purchase your materials.

To build a fence gate, you will need the following tools and materials.

Tools:

Materials (purchased from Home Depot):

Everyone’s fence gate will be slightly different, so the tools and materials above may need to modified for your specific project. However, the tools and materials above are a good starting point.

Once you have planned your fence gate layout and purchased your materials, you can begin constructing the fence gate frame.

Constructing the fence gate frame is likely the most important step in the gate constructions process. To determine the gate frame width, take the rough opening (between fence gate mounting posts) and subtract approximately 2″. This will give you approximately 1″ of clearance between your fence gate and the mounting posts on each side.

Your fence gate frame height will depend on personal preference. Typically, you want to have the top of your fence gate even with the top of the adjacent fence. Additionally, you want to leave about 3″-5″ of clearance at the bottom of your gate. However, the final dimensions are up to you.

Once you have determined your fence gate frame dimensions, it’s time to make your measurements lumber and make your lumber cuts on a miter saw.

It is recommended that you use a carpenter’s square when making measurements and markings to ensure that you have marked a perfectly straight line.

After making your measurements, make your cuts along the marked line using a miter saw.

You can also use a circular saw to make your fence gate frame cuts, but a miter saw usually makes the process simpler. After cutting both the horizontal and vertical components of your fence gate frame, you should be left with a gate frame that looks like this:

After positioning the unassembled gate frame in place, it’s time to screw the gate frame together. There are many ways you could attach your gate frame together. However, I used a pocket hole jig to pre drill my screw holes.

You could also use a countersink bit (on an angle) to achieve similar results to a pocket hole jig. However, the results will not be quite as consistent. After pre drilling your pocket hole screw holes in each piece of lumber that makes up your fence gate frame, attach the frame together using exterior rated screws.

When attaching the fence gate frame together with screws, it is often helpful to use clamps to hold the gate frame together at a right angle. Continue to screw all of the corners of your gate frame together using exterior rated screws and a drill.

After assembling the rectangular gate frame, you want to install additional bracing to increase the overall strength of your gate.

For my Fence gate, I used a piece of 2″x6″ pressure treated lumber as my horizontal brace. I cut the brace to length and positioned it 10″ from the top of my gate, as shown.

Just like with the fence gate frame, I attached the horizontal brace to the gate frame using pre drilled pocket holes and exterior rated screws.

Next, I added diagonal bracing to the bottom of the fence gate. Although these diagonal braces add strength to the fence gate, they are also highly aesthetic.

To install the diagonal braces, I placed a 2″x4″ diagonally across the fence gate so that it was lined up perfectly in the corner of the gate. I then scribed a line to mark the angle. For more information on this process, check out my “How to Build a Fence” Youtube video linked here.

After installing the first “full” diagonal brace, I repeated the process for the two “partial” diagonal braces.

Again, I positioned the diagonal brace in place (using a clamp) and then scribed the angle before making my diagonal cut on the miter saw.

After cutting your diagonal braces, attach them to the gate frame by using pre drilled pocket holes and exterior rated screws.

At this point, the entire gate frame (complete with diagonal braces) has been constructed. If you following the instructions above, you should be left with a gate frame that looks like this:

At this stage, it is time to install the decorative balusters at the top of your fence gate frame. This feature will allow for you to have a “viewing” opening in your gate without compromising any security.

If you measured your horizonal 2″x6″ gate brace evenly, it should be 10″ from the top of your fence gate frame. Confirm that the 10″ distance is uniform along the entire width of your gate before proceeding.

After confirming the measurement, cut your 2″x2″ pressure treated baluster lumber to size. It is recommended that you cut one baluster first and then dry fit it within the gate frame. If it looks good, use it as a template to mark the rest of your baluster cuts.

After marking your 2″x2″ baluster lumber using the template, make all of the cuts on your miter saw.

After cutting all of your balusters, it is time to attach the balusters to the fence gate. To do this, I recommend that you pre drill all of your screw holes using a bit that is slightly smaller than the exterior screws you plan to use to attach the baluster to the gate frame.

Keep in mind that you will start your pre drilling through the side of the baluster and finish through the bottom of the baluster (45 degree angle).

Next, attach your balusters to the gate frame using exterior rated screws as shown below:

At this stage, your gate frame is fully constructed. All that is left to do is install the picket “veneer” on the front of your gate frame. For my gate, I used leftover 5/8″ pressure treated fence pickets on the front of my gate.

First, I cut the middle pickets to size so that they fit perfectly between the bottom of the the gate and the “viewing window” of my gate. After cutting them to size, I positioned them in place and secured them to the gate frame using plenty of exterior rated brad nails.

I continued this process for the entire front of the fence gate, positioning pickets in place and attaching them to the gate frame with exterior rated brad nails.

As you can see in the photo above, I left a bit of excess picket on each sides of the fence gate (except the bottom). I then used the gate frame as a guide and cut off any excess picket using a circular saw. I found that this method produced the most precise cuts.

Once you have trimmed off any excess picket length from the sides of your fence gate, your fence gate construction is complete. All that is left is the mounting of gate and the installation of the gate hardware.

To mount the gate in place, start by establishing the preliminary position of the gate between the two mounting posts.

It is highly recommended that you use a piece of spare lumber as a spacer at the bottom of your gate. This will help you to get the correct height for your gate and will make the mounting of the hinges much simpler.

Finally, use shims (if necessary) to ensure that your fence gate is centered between the two mounting posts and that it is perfectly level.

Once your fence gate is appropriately positioned between your mounting posts, it is time to install the mounting hardware (hinges, latch, etc.).

For my fence gate, I installed two, heavy duty hinges at the top and bottom of my fence gate. The first hinge was positioned at the location of the horizontal brace and the second hinge was positioned at the bottom of the fence gate frame.

After positioning the hinges in place, use the screws (included with hinges) to attach the hinge to both the mounting post and and the fence gate.

Attach the gate hinges at the top and bottom of your fence gate, installing the screws with a drill. After installing your hinges, give the gate a test to make sure that it opens and closes freely. If there are any issues with the gate opening/closing at this stage, make the required adjustment as needed.

The last step in the DIY fence gate project is to install the gate latch. To do this, install the gate latch at your desired height using the screws included with the hatch. Test to make sure that your gate closes properly.

After installing the gate latch, your DIY fence gate installation is complete. Feel free to add additional gate accessories as desired (handles, lock, etc.)

If you are more of a visual learner, you can watch how I completed every step of the DIY Fence Gate Build Project on Youtube!

Additionally, you can learn how I built the Fence around this gate by checking out my “How to Build a Fence Gate” Youtube Video linked here.

Thanks so much for checking out ATImprovements! If you learned something from this project, you might also like these other DIY Projects:

If you’re going through the process of adding a fence to your home, you will probably need to also make a wooden gate. Adding a gate to your fence is important to provide easy access from your front and back yards without needing to go through a garage or house.

At our house in the backyard, we needed to make a wooden gate on the side of our house to get easily access to front yard from the back (and visa versa). We also use this gate to get the lawn mower from the backyard shed to the front yard grass to mow.

We recently shared the whole process of how to build a wooden fence with a video and blog post tutorial, so you should definitely check that article out if you’re building a fence too.

However, we decided to separate out the tutorial for how to make a wooden gate because the process is so different. It deserved its own post, don’t you think?

If you love DIY videos, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

This how to build a wooden gate tutorial contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t recommend wholeheartedly. Read my full disclosure here.

Build a rectangle frame with 2×4 pressure treated boards & corner brackets. Be sure to use deck screws which are made for outdoor use.

Simply lay the 2×4 on top of the rectangle, mark where you need it cut and cut using a circular saw. Attach the diagonal piece with more deck screws drilled diagonally into the brace.

The diagonal cross brace should be “in compression” which means that it needs to go from the bottom hinge to the top corner of the other side.

Wood is much stronger in compression rather than tension, so this will help prevent the gate from sagging later.

Add one cedar fence picket to the edge of the gate frame that will be on the hinge side and attach your gate hinge on top and bottom.

Be sure to drill pilot holes first and then use the screw provided with your gate hinge.

Have one person hold the gate up and into place (while make sure it is level), while the other person attached the other side of the gate hinges onto the gate.

Add the rest of the fence pickets to cover the gate.

Add a gate handle to the opposite side.

The wooden gate turned out awesome and works great for our purposes. It blends right in with the rest of our fence and was very easy to build.