Gate Relief

I consider it an act of justice to repair faulty gates. Dysfunctional gates slow down progress and disturb people's peace. They must be rectified! 

I got the call from Dave this spring that his poorly hung yard gates were causing him to loose sleep and affecting his marriage. He asked if there was anything I could do to help. I assessed the situation and affirmed him that there was hope. 

So I gathered my gear and headed east to Gillette. Note to all aspiring welders out there: If an acetylene tank lays on its side for very long, it needs to be stood up for a good length of time before you can use it. Otherwise, the unsettled gas molecules will take its toll on your regulators. 

Problem number one: On one side, both hinge brace posts were broken or cut off from the ground. This allowed the 12' gate to sag something terribly. Consequently, dragging was the only way to open it. Unacceptable!

For the back post, we hammer drilled in a length of angle iron to re-weld the post to. 

The front post already had a new anchor. However the gate clearance was too low for my standards. So we  jacked it up and welded on some good gussets. 

All worked well, until we swung the gate to the side. Though it has a wheel on the end (which I'm not a big fan of unless necessary), it still sagged and had too much pressure on the end. So we hammered in this diagonal brace post. Problem solved. 

The second hangup was this guy. It was more or less hung stought enough, but its range of motion was minimal. Making more trips in and out of the truck than were necessary. And as every cowboy knows, the fewer times you have to get out of the drivers seat, the better. To help save Dave's sanity, this gate needed to fold back tight on the fence. 

This knowledge was nothing new for Dave. He had pondered over a solution for years. My advice to all gate builders out there, make the brace post the hinge post also. Instant 345 degrees of motion. 

So we cut off the connecting point to the existing hinges and offset them toward the alley, jacking them up 2" as well. 

Doing so allowed the gate to fold back flat like we wanted. However, the other direction is now only limited to 90 degrees. Not a problem in this situation. 

Mission accomplished. The gates now hang well and swing well.

I could see the stress leave Dave's face as we shared a victory beer. 

I'm happy to help. In the spiritual life, we call this second level consolation. St. Ignatious was clear that our physical circumstances affect our interior disposition. What is the dysfunctional gate in your life? Fix it and life will suddenly look a lot better. Ranch on.