Gate dropped

Hi guys,

Can any of you give advice on how to do a quick easy fix to this gate please? When installed a few weeks ago it closed and locked perfectly, it rained and now it's dropped meaning the snib on the gate is lower than the latch it locks into on the post.
Thank you

 

Well that kind of thing happens with timer outside, has the post moved?
I assume you are referring to the bolt not lining up properly.

I'd be inclined to get a piece of bent metal and make something like this, that allows up and down movement but still holds the gate closed.

 

I've done that with more than one gate where one side is a building (stable) and the other a post with a small foundation in clay soil (prone to heave).

But being a new gate with this problem occuring after heavy rain, another cause could be a poorly constructed gate getting soaked and 'sagging', in which case I'd check the diagonals were equal/corners square (plus the gap between gate and post is constant), and if not hoick it up on the latch side and stabilize it with lots of extra screws to keep it square.

 

Or just move the snib. I did this when my neighbour dropped a tree on my rear gate.

 

This is the 3rd gate it has happened to (all 3 built and hung by the same tradesman).
I thought about moving the snib but in drier weather it's slightly easier to snib it locked, so there seems to be regular movement.
I like the idea of a bigger piece that it locks into to accommodate this. I'll have a look into that.
Thanks everyone

 

I suggest moving on to another tradesman if things like this keep occurring

 

It is not necessarily the fault of the fitter here. Wood is affected by the weather and if it is not top quality and well seasoned, will move.

I have done exactly as Pete suggested, many times, and made my own to accommodate future movements. It is the solution.

Snowbaby, dont blame the tradesman but ask him to fit it if you feel you cannot

 

Nothing wrong with the tradesman , things do settle in and loose alignment . Realigning the snib or a bigger snib is a great solution. 3 gates fitted ? How many gates does one need

 

For a start, it looks like the 'T' hinges are odd sizes, the bottom one looking to be the smaller. The timber looks to be fairly heavy so I personaly would have use three hinges. Judging by the gap top to bottom of the closing edge, this suggests to me that the bottom hinge is the problem. Just an observation.

 

I kind of think both hinges are the same size.
It looks to me like it is the angle the picture is taken that is making the bottom one look smaller.

 

I've recently fitted a diy gate - painted to minimise the wood shrinking/expanding in dry/wet weather.

Easy fix - move the latch.

Longer term fix - replace those hinges with some which are heavy duty - my gate is a third of the size of yours and it's really heavy - stronger hinges with more robust screws will help to stop the gate from dropping under it's own weight.

The post that the hinges are screwed to doesn't look too robust to be honest - perhaps this is why the 'light duty' hinges were used.

It's quite easy to install a fence post - I've just installed picket fencing to the front garden - no previous experience - but found it quite easy to do.

 

clanless the thing is mate have you also fitted a spy hole

 

No problem Pete. As you say, the angle of the picture

 

Top tip - I find that purchasing knotty wood and then popping out the centre of the knots - is a quick and cheap way of forming a natural spy hole.

The last time I looked through a spy hole - I saw an eye ball on the other side - very disturbing

 

Hubbies doing mate ...in case we're down the back garden best thing about it I can't see through them

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