Wood – What’s the best way to seal an access hole in a wooden gate

exterioroutdoortrimwood

I have had to cut out a square hole in a tall wooden garden gate in order to be able to gain access to the bolt and padlock that sits on the side of my garden. I've put all weather seal on the cut edges but despite all my sanding and tidying up, the hole still looks a bit untidy and crappy.

Could anyone suggest a good way of putting a border around the inside of the hole to make it look nice and neat?

Best Answer

If your goal is to make the hole look "neat" instead of just a chunk cut out of the fence gate, I would suggest simply adding a little trim around the hole like was done in the picture below. Obviously your hole is probably smaller, and a thinner trim would need to be ripped from fence boards, but the concept is the same - cover the rough, unfinished edge of wood with nice, sharply cut trim.

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Another option would be to grab some "outside corner molding" which is sold at most stores that stock interior moldings. It would need to be treated to handle the weather.

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