THE WORKERS

Building a gate can be as simple as a few pieces of odd lumber nailed together or an ornate wrought iron beauty. Most people do not have the facilities to work with iron or steel so for this article we will stick strictly with wooden gates. You must first decide where the gate will be located and secondly how large you need the gate to be when completed. With this information in hand we can get started. If your gate is to be a person gate, a three foot wide opening is generally acceptable. If you need to pass a lawn mower or tractor or perhaps even a vehicle through your gate then it has to be much wider. A vehicle gate is usually ten feet wide, mowers and small tractors may need only a four to six foot wide gate.

Gates fall basically into two categories of styles, ornamental and utility. Utility gates are built for access to livestock pens, access to yards or keeping animals out of your garden for instance. Since appearance is not the prime factor, these gates may be constructed of metal pipe, wire fencing, vinyl, wood or other similar materials. Gates used for access to flower gardens, pergolas, decks and other areas where beauty is as important as the gate function itself may be constructed of cedar, pressure treated materials, common pine stained or painted but the possibilities are endless. No matter what the intended use of your gate may be, the assembly is basically the same.

Once the type of gate is chosen and the location is selected, you must decide the finished size of the opening you desire. A person gate at 36" wide is fine for walking but you may want a 40" gate perhaps to make passing a wheelbarrow less of a chore. The wider the gate, the more it will need to be reinforced against sagging or bending.

Start by working on a level surface wider than the finished gate dimensions. A picnic table or saw horses with a sheet of plywood both make an excellent temporary work bench. For this project you will need protective glasses, tape measure, pencil, circular saw or real good hand saw, screws or nails and depending upon the size of the gate perhaps a couple of small turn buckles, screw eyes and some light cable. We will construct a 36" gate but larger gates are basically the same procedure. Start by cutting the two horizontal 36" long pieces that will hold all the vertical slats for the gate. Lay out these two pieces on your work bench with the lower cross bar about four inches up from the bottom of your gate and the other four inches down from the top of your gate. Tack these lightly to keep them from shifting around while you work. Measure from corner to corner of the bars to assure they measure exactly the same distance. If they do, they are square to each other. If not, they are not parallel and an adjustment must be made until the measurements match. Now cut your vertical pieces of lumber. Try to remember that as individual pieces they may seem lightweight but when you add them all together the gate can become quite heavy. I have made gates with a one by three horizontal bars and 1/4" vertical slats that function just fine as a gate to a chicken pen for example. Gates to a garden that needs to keep out deer must be heavier materials.

The vertical slats of your gate may have the top ends cut square, half round, scroll, pointed or any design you wish to make. Starting on one side of the gate, temporarily nail a vertical slat into place keeping the edge of the slat flush with the ends of the horizontal back braces. Now do the same on the opposite side of the gate. With these two slats in place lay out all the remaining slats. Adjust all the slats to create even spacing between them unless you want a closed face gate. A closed face gate will usually require at least one slat to be rip cut for width. Leaving small spaces between the slats allows you a little more leeway. Once all the slats are in final position, double check your corner to corner measurement to assure the gate is square. If it is good, go ahead and nail or screw all your slats into place. Now turn the gate over to work on the backside being careful not to twist or "rack" your gate out of square. For smaller gates, cut a brace that will fit on a diagonal from the end of the top horizontal to the lower opposite end of the lower horizontal. When in place, it will look like a giant letter "Z". Nail or screw the diagonal into place. On a larger wooden gate, you may need to install two screw eyes at opposite corners from high end to low end also on a diagonal and add a small turnbuckle with a cable to provide added support against sagging.

Install your support post for the gate making sure it is of sufficient size to support the gate without bending or leaning. Choose a heavy duty set of hinges and I strongly recommend you use galvanized wood screws to fasten the hinges to both the gate and the post. Keep the gate above the ground to allow it to swing freely. If you live in Northern climes make sure you leave room for snow if the gate is to be used in winter. Double check that the gate swings freely without binding or dragging. Install some type of device such as a barrel bolt to hold the gate in a closed position. Built out of wood scraps my last gate costs only a few dollars for new hinges and a lock bolt and a couple of hours of my time.

Imagine the years of enjoyment and pride youll enjoy after building your own deck. There is nothing like the sense of accomplishment you get from a DIY project well done, not to mention all the compliments!

Lets get started with the basics of building a simple, yet functional deck. Youll have a few choices, depending on your needs and the area in which you plan to build. The answers to the following questions will help you in creating the design for your deck. Youll likely need a building permit and youll need to have your design in hand for that.

To determine your DIY deck design, lets consider the following questions:

What is the grade of the land? Youll need to make sure it slopes away from the house at least 1 for every 15", so the water will not accumulate around the foundation.

Assuming youll be using pressure treated lumber for your deck, youll be able to choose from 5/4" x 6 (which is really 1" x 5 1/2) or 2" thick (really 1 1/2") in lengths of 4, 6 and 8.

Once youve determined the appropriate size for your deck, this will guide your choice of ledger (joist that connects to the house) size. Ledger sizes are typically 2" x 6, 2" x 8 and 2" x 10.

Support posts will typically be 4 x 4 for decks lower than 5 from the ground.

In general, beam size for spacing up to 9 will be 4 x 8 and 10 and over will require 4 x 10.</blockquote>

With these answers, your DIY deck design will come together beautifully. Once youve got all your decking materials and permit if necessary, youre ready to begin.

You have already checked the grade so now just remove any sod and clean the area of any debris.

Mark the ledger location on the house. Dont panic! Its easy. It is calculated by measuring 1" below the door plus the thickness of the material, plus the joist. Mount the ledger to the studs using 1/2" lag screws a minimum of 3" in length, with a washer placed on it for water drainage between the deck and the house. Use at least 2 lag bolts on each end and a minimum of 1 on each stud in between. Make sure to double-check that it is level as you go along.

Hammer stakes into the ground and run strings from the ledger to establish the perimeter of the deck, making sure your calculations are square.

Based on these perimeter calculations, dig your post holes at least 8 deeper than the frost line and then back-fill 6" to allow for proper drainage. Fill hole with concrete and allow to set. It is very important to wear a dust mask when you dig the hole so you dont inhale mold spores. Wear it when you mix concrete as well, since both contain small particles that can lodge in your lungs and cause lung disease. No project is worth that price, so be smart about it.

Once the concrete has set, attach posts using concrete anchor bolts. Attach the beams using post-to-beam connectors double-checking that everything is level.

On beams and ledger, mark the locations for your joists. With crowns facing upward, set your joists in place and nail a rim joist across the ends.

Cover the ground below the deck with black polyethylene to keep weeds from coming up.

Using galvanized or stainless screws, attach your deck boards across joists, laying them side by side. Its not necessary to leave a gap as the pressure-treated wood will shrink slightly causing gaps naturally. Make sure any bowing of your decking material faces downward. If boards are uneven on ends, snap a string and cut uniformly. Sawdust is more hazardous to your lungs than the smoke from cigarettes, so always remember to protect them. Wear glasses or goggles to protect your eyes when cutting.

If your deck is low enough it wont require a railing. Check the building regulations in your area. If you do need a rail, place railing posts at each of the corners and at intervals of 6, or centered if your deck is less than 12. Attach caps and balusters and add a step if needed.

A word to the wise:

This is a comprehensive overview, be sure to check the building codes for your area to insure you only need to do the job once. Be careful, take your time, measure twice, use common sense and remember safety first. Protect your hands, eyes and lungs. When you take on a DIY project, you and you alone are responsible for your safety and well-being, so stay focused, dont allow kids or animals around your tools or materials. </blockquote>

These simple precautions will help to keep things running smoothly. Soon you will have completed a project that you can be proud of for years to come. Then it will be time to fire up the barbeque and invite your friends and family over for some fun and maybe just a little showing off!