Gate stop placement on double gate

10 years ago

We had a beautiful wood double gate built, about 6 feet high. The last bit needed is a gate stop (or two?) to protect the hinges. The gate swings into the back yard, at the end of the driveway, and the "stationary" side is held by a hefty cane bolt. (The latch is a type with is no latch bar, so that is not a concern). My questions -
Is one stop enough, or do we need two, given the height (and weight) of the gate?
Which gate should it be attached to?. It will, of course, protrude a bit, so I'm not sure which is more of a catch/tear risk - the stationary gate (will it scrape my ankle every time I walk through?) or the swinging one (will it scrape my ankle every time I open/close it from inside?

No perfect answer, but wondered what you have experiences and advise.

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Comments (6)

lazy_gardens
10 years ago
We have a large double gate and it has two cane bolts holding it at the bottom and a drop-bar that goes across the top. We don't need to open it from the outside, and the extra wind-proofing is worth it.

If you are going to be using this gate regularly put a stop top and bottom on the stationary side, or a full-length stop on the stationary side.

If you are in a windy area, immobilizing the bottom and top of a gate is important. They start to wobble and then things start coming loose. A sliding rod bolt on the inside at the bottom to be used during storms might be a good idea.
kookoo2
Original Author
10 years ago
We aren't in an exceptionally windy place, just ordinary winds. We did use really large, strong hinges, but I know over time even those will start to give. A drop bar at the top could work with a shorter gate, but ours is pretty tall - hard for us short people to reach - and also, the top is rounded. But it sounds like having some kind of stop both at the top and bottom is a good idea. Having one go the whole length would kind of spoil the beautiful design of the gate, though.
We need to be able to open (and close) it from both the inside and the outside at different times.
I'm mainly wondering if people tend to bump into the protruding piece, since it's not really in the center of the visual field.
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sombreuil_mongrel
10 years ago
Pintle hinges are immune to damage from swinging too far
Casey
kookoo2
Original Author
10 years ago
Not sure what pintle hinges are, but it seems they are fro strap hinges? We don't have strap hinges.
sombreuil_mongrel
10 years ago
These gates have pintle hinges that are "strapless".
The bolts are attached to
the frame of the gate panels.

The gates swing into the catches,but if the catch broke and the gates swung wildly in the wind, they wouldn't tear out the hinges.
There is also a self-closer spring in between the gate and the rockwork.
Casey
lazy_gardens
10 years ago
The wood can break away from the hinges if it starts flapping.

We get some nasty thunderstorm gusts ... the gate currently under repair broke where the hinges attached to the frame on one spot and the wildly swinging gate bent the other hinge. Which is why its replacement will have a metal frame and be latched top and bottom.

The one before that (different entry) was actually slammed by the wind so hard that it popped through the opening - shoved open the wrong way. It now has a full-length metal stop.