Fixing a Gate That Doesn’t Close or Lock
Many times over the years a fence gate will stop closing properly,
Gravity, over time will cause things like hinges to pull away, loosten and just overall sagging,
Often, latches will loosten or not line probably,
After determining what is causing the gate to not close or latch properly, make your adjustments accordingly,
In a case recently I came across a gate that had all these challanges,
A woman was having some work done to her moms house and the workman were using the gate,
They were not able to close the gate and as a result, her moms “little” dogs were able to get out,
The wooden gate had sagged, screws loosened in the hinges and the latch didn’t line up, causing the gate not to stay closed,
What to do……
A little tip to start with….Get a couple of your outdoor garbage containers to help support your door once the hinges are removed,
Once the hinges were removed, I found something to put under the door to elevate it to the desired height, such as a piece of wood,
Many times because the Gate has sagged, it will scrape on the ground,
*Note…. The hinges only need to be raised enough to clear the ground underneath, usually about a 1/2″ will do,
Since your gate maybe older and the wood has dried out, you may want to pre-drill the holes and use self tapping screws so the wood doesn’t split wile re- secureing the hinges,
Because the gate was raised, the latches needed to be realigned,
In my case, the latch I came accross was a sort of bar and latch design,
I removed all the latch hardware, eliminated a piece that the bar was connected and drilled another hole through the actual steel bar (this gave me two holes to secure the bar),
I also lowered the hardware, in order avoid screwing into the old holes,
I played with it a little untill untill I got the perfect placement of the latch and bar,
Throw a coat of fresh paint on it or a stain and poly combo and your sittin pretty with your gate facelift!
Gojoehandyman.com