2 mm wall thickness might be not quite beefy enough. How are you planning to connect the metal pieces together?: Welds, bolts, screws...?

I'm planning to weld the frames - I think I'll go with a double gate, so each half would be about 1.5m wide x around 1m high. Do you think the 2mm thickness would be tricky to weld?

Thanks, just been watching some youtube videos on welding 2mm square tube. Very informative about how to avoid burning through the metal, and definitely seems doable with practice. I hope to be starting the project in the next week or 2.

Good luck. Please post back afterwards.

Yea, that's my intention. Thanks.

Hi, it took a while but I'm in the process of making the metal frame for the larch wood gate.

It will be a double gate and I'm finishing the first of the 2 halves.

The dimensions are 150cm x 73cm, using hollow 2mm steel.

The larch boards will be about 1 metre long, placed vertically on the frame, with spaces between each board.

My doubt is whether to use a "Z" or "H" support tube, as in the photos attached. I thought the "H" would be better for fixing each board to 3 horizontal tubes - as the larch has a tendency to bend or twist a bit, but the "Z" would be better for supporting the structure? What do you think?

The "Z" idea

And the "H"

Will the boards cover the support member or will that Z or H be a visible part of the design?

The new gate, with the Z design would look similar to the photo attached - an all larch gate, but the new gate will have the metal frame, and be around 3 metres wide - a double gate.

So the frame would be more visible from inside the garden, and from the outside, parts of the frame would be visible between the vertical boards.

I've used the Z design on all-wooden gates as it helps prevent sagging over time. Since you're using steel, I don't think that's an issue. Go with what you find aesthetically pleasing. I think either will look good.

Yea, I'm inclined to prefer the 3 horizontal bars, especially thinking of the vertical boards probably being more secured, and hopefully less likely to move, or bend, etc. Thanks!

Sounds like a good choice :-)

Hi, I'm still working on the double metal frame gate project, and I have a big doubt :o(

I have one side of the gate installed, and my doubt is how much space to leave between the 2 halves of the gate.

I googled about it and some recommend a minimum space of half an inch (about 13 mm).

But, using an online thermal expansion calculator, based on mild steel, the expansion, due to a 20°c temperature increase for a 3 meter mild steel bar, would be less than 1 mm.

This is the calculator:

https://goodcalculators.com/thermal-expansion-calculator/

At the top I selected "Custom Material"

And at the bottom, "11" (mild steel),

Originally I planned for a mid gate clearance of 5mm. Any thoughts? Surely increasing the gap to, say, 10mm would be plenty? Thanks

My worry wouldn't be thermal expansion; it would be the potential over time for your post or whatever the gate is hanging from to move or tilt. How are you mounting the gates?

The gate will be hung on 2 pretty robust pillars, as in the photo above, each half hanging on 3 built-in hinges, as in photo below

Brick pillars covered with natural stone pieces, with around 30cm under ground level.

Hi Seanin,

In my opinion the space between the two halves of the gates depends on the system do you want to lock the gate. If do you plan to lock the gate with a deadbolt, this space should to be the minimum (about 5mm). But if your idea is to lock it using another system such as drop rods then I suggest to increase this space to 10mm.

Greetings

Toni

Well, one half of the gate will have a drop rod, plus a stopper to keep the other half closed, and there will be a stopper in the ground to prevent both halves from opening out. I'm thinking of a gap of 10mm between halves, just in case of any slight pillar or ground movement.

Thanks