My gate used to be a single very large gate, but a local handyman cut in half about 3 years ago and made it a double-sided gate with a latch in the middle and a ground rode on one side. Both sides have cross bracing.
One gate has held up pretty well (Right Gate). The other gate is sagging at the top inner side (Left Gate), which is causing the latch to be misaligned and also causing a gap at the bottom which the bankyard chickens like to escape through.
Reviewing the images below, does anyone have any recommendations on how to improve the Left Gate sagging issue? Should I remove/ re-add the cross bracing?
I noticed there were some gaps between the horizontal beam and the cross braces; maybe a tighter fit would help? Should I implement the "X" pattern as seen on the Right Gate? I also noticed there are products out there; they're a bit price, does anyone recommend these?
I'm not much of a carpenter or handyman, but I could get some 2×4 wood and put my straight edge and jigsaw to work on cutting some cross braces. Any suggestions would be appreciated. If you could provide photos or sketches, that would be very helpful! Thanks!
My sagging gate is of a similar nature this posted question (How can I fix the issues I'm having with large double gates?).
Product links: EZ Brace – Anti Sag Gate Brace $50… or Gate Brace No Sag Gate Kit $40… or Rocky Mountain Goods Anti Sag Gate Kit – Extra Strength zinc plated steel $18
Images
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Image1: Cross brace design of both gates (Left=sagging / Right=stable)
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Image2: Ouside view of gates (Left / Right inverted view)
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Image3: Center latch & Left ground rod with gap problem
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Image4: Left side angle (sag) & Right side angle (stable)
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Best Answer
The left side gate is not made correctly.
The cross brace is supposed to prop up the swinging end of the gate. In other words, you want to go from the lower hinge (in this case the lower left) to the upper end of the horizontal brace (in this case the upper right).
The diagonal on the right is oriented correctly, the diagonal on the left is not.