Will a smaller gate fit in a 3m opening?

[lesp]

Hi i am looking at replacing a driveway gates with colorbond gates the question being each gate is 1445 wide but the gate opening is 3mtr will these gates be to small these are the old gates and the replacements

 

 

[Jason]

Hi @lesp,

Many thanks for joining in the discussion and welcome to the community. We trust you'll get loads of helpful advice as well as project inspiration from our clever and creative members.

Let me tag a few helpful members to see how they would approach this gate replacement project: @Nailbag, @Jewelleryrescue, @Remarka6le.

Jason

[lesp]

Thanks that would be good

[EricL]

Hello @lesp 

Thanks for sharing your question about replacing your driveway gates. Doing some quick math 1445mm x 2 = 2890mm and the available space is 3000mm the Colorbond gate will be short by 110mm. That is quite a large gap to cover, however, I see two possible ways to overcome this. First, I suggest adding 55mm timber pieces to the existing mounting post on both sides. The extra timber thickness will take up the gap and bring the gate panels close together.

Second, you can attach the Colorbond gates to the existing posts as is and modify one side of the gate. I propose adding a plywood cover panel to take up the 110mm gap. It won't be pretty, but it will make the gate functional and prevent any pets from escaping through the gap.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1  and @Jewelleryrescue for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[lesp]

Thanks did another quick measurement of the openning it is around 2.96 wide so thats makes abit of a differance but i like the idea of maybe just adding something to a post and attach to that.what would be a good timber to use thanks

[EricL · Accepted solution]

Hello @lesp 

That is an extra 2mm less on each side, so you'll need a post that is around 53mmm thick. However, after a bit of pondering, I realized that the mounting point of the gate can be adjusted on the surface of the timber. This is on the condition that you'll still be using the same hinges attached to the Colorbond gates.

I suggest using 90 x 45mm Outdoor Framing MGP10 H3 Treated Pine - 2.4m. I recommend that the post be screwed securely to the existing fencing post. Please make sure to leave a gap of 50mm at the bottom making sure that the post is not touching the soil. This is because it is only H3 treated and is not meant to be in direct contact with the soil.

However, before you fix the timber to the post, I propose standing the Colorbond fence up first and doing a test fit. In this manner you'll be able to see which way the timber post will need to face.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[Dave-1]

Evening @lesp 

I had the same thinking as @EricL  (The first one where you attach timber to the existing posts) Just late to the party lol It will look a lot nicer when its done I think. Are you going to paint the colourbond or leave it as is? Id also suggest to make it with a little space in between, gates always seem to jamb because a post moves a little with time or they sag. If you are worried about the gap in the middle then Erics second suggestion you could use, just modify it as it will only need to cover say 10mm gap instead of the larger one if you were fixing the gates to the existing posts as is.

And is there any chance you could take some photos of the project? It would be interesting to see.

Dave

[Nailbag]

Agree with Dave-1 in allowing a slightly larger gap allowing for movement of the timbers due to various weather conditions and aging.

Any gap could be concealed with an semi-overlapping of custom bent and end folded colour bond in your matching colour

[Nailbag]

Can I suggest marine ply or matching colour bond flashing. Its actually relatively economical and will blend in with the panels and maintenance free.

[lesp]

i sure will take some pics