Need to replace my gate. DIY vinyl?

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joseywales

LifeTime Supporter
Jun 11, 2009
278
Exton, PA
A relative installed our deck, splash deck, and pool gate. The self closing gate was made out of pressure treated lumber. It weighs a ton and even the strong hinges couldn't keep it level. it works, but... Also, the lumber is twisting and it looks terrible. I'd like to make a simple vinyl or lattice gate. The measurements are odd, so off the shelf aint gonna happen.

The actual gate now is 46.5" wide, 39" tall, and 3 1/8" thick. The gate wasn't thick enough for the lock to connect, so he added an 1 1/2" spacer - not a big deal to handle.

I've seen lattice parts and that's easy enough to make, though the gate would be thin. The caps are an inch thick, so that's well short of 3 1/8". So I'm thinking maybe making a gate out of vinyl fencing, but I'm not sure the actual panels come in the size I need, or can be cut.

Thoughts?
 
I figured that. you're talking to a guy who installed a ceramic floor in a bathroom, using a 7 1/4" circular saw with a mason blade to cut and shave the tiles. The curves for around the tub were especially interesting... But the vinyl gate kit I saw online says you can't cut the height of the gate, because the gate ends are designed to fit int he tracks. Cutting them ruins that. I'll have to check them out in person. Thanks
 
Couple of thoughts on why they say you can't cut to size:
1. If the pieces lock together with "tabs" notched into the vinyl, you can recreate those notches with a modest amount of effort.
2. Or, if the issue is that the vinyl is reinforced with wood, you can always insert new wood reinforcing blocks after you cut the part to size. Again it may take some work to size the pieces so they fit, but especially with the right tools it wouldn't be too bad.
If there's some other reason they say it can't be cut, you'll need to further evaluate.
Good luck!
Pete
 
You could always just make the gate from scratch. If you are looing for a non-wood solution, and don't want to go down the road of a custom aluminium, then you can go with plastic.

You could make a frame from Azek or similar materials and fill the center in with a vinyl lattice - just liek a kitchen cabinet door - build a face frame, and insert a panel.

You can also buy sheets of PVC, if you wanted a solid center panel.

Keep in mind that PVC material (trim, lattice, sheets, etc) are a bit pricey.

As for the gate being too heavy, something is designed wrong there. With the right hinges and posts, you can support a heavy gate with no problem.

-dave
 
kimkats said:
Nice job! That looks great! Does it swing good?

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...

Thanks. Swings like a freakin' champ! The hinges were already installed and I didn't want to remove/reinstall them. Attached was a...80 pound? gate. It was completely made of pressure treated lumber and weighted a ton. Also, the wood was warping in all directions. That was REALLY ill-conceived and not done by me. The hinges are nice though and adjustable for tension.

I was sitting on my deck. The family was out and I thought, "I need to bang this out, now." I ran to Home Depot and grabbed an 8' piece of vinyl fence, then to my garage for the scrap lumber my wife hates, and a bag load of tools. There's few a things I'd do differently, with more thought and they are numbered below

I started by only wanting to use one half of the fence. The plan was to cut it to size, then add a piece of plexiglass on the pool side, to keep small hands from reaching through and opening the latch, safety code and all that. But as I got into it, i thought, why waste the other half of the fence and if I stagger them, I can stop the hands from coming through. Unfortunately, I had already cut the fence. # 1 - If I hadn't I might have been able to line the halves up a tad better. Only the tiniest of hands, probably a child too small to walk, could get in there. I'm more concerned about a stuck hand than anyone opening the gate. But we have no toddlers here AND we're not oblivious people.

I had also cut the door to perfect length, then installed it. # 2 - What I forgot is that NOTHING in or around my home is level. I kid you not, I hang pictures at an angle, so they look straight! I'm really weird about screw holes and try to only use them once, so no removing screws, reinstalling them, etc. It's weird, I know. So, on my knees, I dremeled and hacksawed each rail of the fence, rather than remove it and cut it on a table. To be fair to my "condition", this fence does not have the internal support it should, so it's a gamble to begin with and retapping the scrap wood I used would have been pushing it. # 3 - I would have planned the internal wood framing, so that the pieces would have made a complete box frame inside the vinyl. Right now, there are scraps that I slide inside the vinyl and then screwed in to.

Wow. That felt like a therapy session...
 
Do you know you should NOT re-use a screw hole if at all possible??? so that just means you "follow the best case" rules. I so feel you on that!

Well done! LOL on the scrape wood.........you and my husband :roll: So long as it is stacked neat AND out of the way it gets to stay is the compromise we came up with.

Kim:kim:
 

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kimkats said:
LOL you are such a dude! YES move it from her side.........remember "Happy wife, happy life"!

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...

OK, but kayaks and trailer are staying there. She wanted those! In my defense, I requisitioned a shed 10 years ago and the "boss" only approved it last month. We moved 11 years ago and I had a 10 x 20 shed at my last house. It's really all I miss about that house.
 
kimkats said:
LOL I get ya! Yeah you do need a shed but make sure it has LOTS of shelves and such with a walk way in and out!

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...

I see you don't know me very well. I have a sketch showing where every large item goes, where the rakes will hang, etc. In fact, the placement of the door is the quandary. I don't have a riding mower, so no need to put the door on the end, plus putting it on the end means an isle down the entire middle and that takes up space. A door on the front makes sense. Maybe have more often-used items on one side and the rest on the other. After some thought, I realized I don't have too many often-used items for the shed, so an off center door makes the most sense. Now I can use the "short" side for often-used items and store seasonal items on the other, larger side. Plus, if I dare try, putting the kayaks in there with the off-center door will be easier than a center door.

Other than that, I haven't put much thought into it :)
 
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