I have a concrete driveway that continues to the side of my house, with a double gate (a person gate, and a large vehicle gate).
The gates are very old and made only with 2×4 frames and standard hinges. Needless to say, they are falling apart. The person gate ripped off the 2×6 which is lagged into the house in the last wind storm.
I would like to replace both of these gates with lighter gate-frames. My problem is that the vehicle gate is too wide for a standard gate-frame. The vehicle gate is on the left in the mockup below. It hinges on the corner post of the fence.
I keep struggling with how to rebuild this. I would like to put a post 2 feet from the corner of the fence. The existing dirt is too close and is on top of several sprinkler and drain lines.
What is the best way to end up with a sturdy post? I hesitate to go to all of the trouble of cutting out a section of concrete and putting in a 5×5/6×6 post. I had another pole rot in between the two gates (which was put in before the side slab).
So my questions are:
- Am I worrying too much about rotting? Is there a better option, such as a metal post?
- Should I have two gates with no pole between? Can I rely on the vehicle gate to be sturdy with a ground pin holding it's swinging end?
Best Answer
I recently saw someone set a length of galvanized pipe in a concrete footer, and then bolt a pressure-treated fence post to the metal pipe. The galvanized pipe and footer should last essentially forever, and provide plenty of strength to support the fence/gate. The fence and gate can be replaced as needed. I thought it was a fairly clever approach. You might consider it for your application.
It's perfectly normal to have two gates without a center post, using a ground pin (often called a cane bolt) to hold the less-often used side of the gate stationary. The only downside here is that the gate will twist a bit more if side loads are applied near the top of the gate (e.g. wind, someone pushing on the gate), since the only fixed point is at the ground.
The longer the cane bolt, and the further up the gate it extends, the more support it can provide to the gate. Taking this to the extreme, if you were really concerned about the rigidity of the swinging end of the gate, you could make your own "cane bolt" out of a long section of pipe (perhaps 4 feet), and have it drop into a larger pipe set a foot or so into the concrete. That gate wouldn't go anywhere!