Has anyone used these for fence posts that also support a gate? They
are the 24" or 30" metal spike with a socket on top that accepts a 4x4
(or other size) fence post, and screws tighten it down onto the wood.

My fence will be just the 4'x8' framed redwood lattice as found at
Home Depot, attached to the fence posts with the u-shaped fence
brackets. All it has to do is keep people and animals from wandering
into the backyard through an 11' space between the side of my house
and a sound wall. I think the post supports would be great for the
fencing in general, since the panels are so light. Probably wouldn't
work for a 6' solid privacy fence but that's not what I'm putting up.

But what about for the post on which I hang the gate? The gate would
also be light/simple and have a lattice panel for show over a gate kit
(because I doubt I could build a z gate from scratch) made with with
2x4's. I found a lot of posts by people who used the fence post
supports, but none mentioned *gates* specicially.

Carolyn






--
Carolyn Fairman
http://www.stanford.edu/~cfairman/

Carolyn Jean Fairman wrote:

...But what about for the post on which I hang the gate? The gate would
also be light/simple and have a lattice panel for show over a gate kit
(because I doubt I could build a z gate from scratch) made with with
2x4's. I found a lot of posts by people who used the fence post
supports, but none mentioned *gates* specicially...



The limitation on the gate supports is that while the posts in the
middle of the fence are supported on both sides by fence, the gate has
fence only on one side to support it. With time, the post holding the
gate may sag in the direction of the gate. This will misalign the latch
and give you problems opening and closing the gate.

The solutions a (1) install a pressure treated 4X4 buried at least 2
ft to support the gate or (2) provide a diagonal support for the gate
post. (2) is the easier method. All you really need is a wire and
turnbuckle from the top of the gate post to the bottom of the next fence
post. The wire is attached to a lag bolt which goes almost through the
gate post, either on the outside of the fence or the inside, so the wire
is pulling sideways on the lag bolt, not pulling along the bolt (it's
stronger that way, easier to attach the wire, and has less chance of the
wire slipping off). A similar lag bolt attaches to the bottom of the
next fence post. Install the fence, get the gate and latch aligned, then
install the wire as tight as you can with the turnbuckle fully extended.
If the gate sags, you can fix it with the turnbuckle.

Hi Carolyn,

Metapost to support a Gate? What you need to remember is, that no matter how deep the spike is into the ground, the post is only supported/gripped by 4 to 6 inches of metal clamp. This will be the weak point especially as some posts may be under the stated size and thus the clamp would not compress the post properly. if the gate is heavy, there will be movement. In short, if it is a light gate, try it. If a heavy gate, concrete a full post in place.

George