Great gate idea

Hi slug haters,
Ive a field i bought a few years ago now but due to doing this place up so we have a home the fields had to wait,

The old lady i bought it off said for many years her late husband spent many hours there growing veg etc,
Its a few minutes walk from our home and its down a track 'no neighbours' just the odd field of cows and crops growing,

Ive been wanting to really get on and "once again" start from go and turn this back into an allotment,

The entrance is perfect as its just off the track and the entrance is wide enough to get a mini tractor and trailer through but the actual gate is just two pieces of string spread across the opening to keep the cows out.

Ive been thinking of verious gates to make but with the cattle walking past when they're moved from field to field i didnt really want a swinging open gate incase one day the gates get open and all the crops eaten via deer or cows,

Well i was walking passed the future allotment today with the dogs and it just hit me,
an old way the farmers errected their gates was to build the actual gate to size and instead of mounting the gate so it swings open & shut
They put two post just a little bit wider than the width of the gates metal and did the same idea at the other end of where the gate would close,

So now you've a gate that slides from the shut possion through these two opposit posts to the open possition,
In other words the gate never swings open but slides open,
Im thinking of putting a wheel at the bottom of the gate so the gate will push and support its self as it opens and closes
Well happy days

 

If it works for you then thats good, but nothing wrong with a swing gate and good catch too...farmers have used those for years...even a simple swing gate that is secured by a loop of rope will work.

Steve...

 

A sliding gate will have to be well engineered if you are to avoid it wobbling and sticking. As Steve has suggested a basic swing gate would be much easier to make and use. If you don't anticipate needing full-width access all the time you could split a swing gate to make one side smaller for when you just want to walk in. When our children were young I did that at the top of our drive by making one side of the gate about 7 feet wide that was kept closed apart from when I needed to get the car right up to the house and a smaller gate for pedestrian access.The larger side of the gate had a bolt at the bottom into a concrete slab and the smaller section was held closed by a U shaped snib that engaged with an upright on the end of the larger section - a bit of rope would have worked almosr as well.

I_________I___I

 

Hi Dave,
The sliding gate sits between two opposit metal poles there is another two "same idea poles opposit one another " at the furthest end,
the gate has a wheel fitted both ends to help take the weight when opening & closing the gate,
As the gate is pushed open the gate frame is stopped from leaning or falling via it being between two metal post, or even a third set of two post put for opening & holding the gate whilst its in the open possition,
these post are fitted so when the gate is fully open it still has enough post gap to not let it go any further then fully open or closed hence the gate wont fall over or come out of the gap of the two post and when open the gate rest against these post.

The problem im wanting to stop is a gate that opens via a swinging open action due to (a) to easy to open and once its off its lock the gate will open fully at will,

but if again the gates off its lock it cant swing fully open and it will need to be pushed all the way across its full opening width to have the full gate open,

(b) when the slide gate is fully open the gate is out of the way housed along the inside of the hedge area and whats left is an open space with no gates needing tobe secured while trying to get into the allotment and should for any reason the gate is closed but not locked with a chain & lock, animals (deer) cant push the gate open.
Hope this little lot comes over a little bit clearer.

 

That's clearer. Sounds feasible

 

Its a good idea, but lots of extra posts and wheels to fit (4 x large, 2 x small + 2 wheels) where a swinging gate just needs a couple of hinges, then secured.

Maybe you have an access problem where a traditional swing gate wont fit, you have not posted photo's so we cannot see. But you'll have extra maintenance to do to ensure the wheels dont bind up in undergrowth and pruning of the hedge too, to ensure your gate moves back and forth.

You'll have to remember to close the gate whichever method you decide upon anyway.

Steve...

 

Hi

Hi steve,
ref the hedge, it gets clipped every year so thats on going and the area for the gate is off the track hence ive dumped broken roof clay tiles and builders gravel in the area the gates going to be used, after this gate area a continued 15 feet wide by 40 feet long path will be made for the trailer and tractor to sit on and a wire fence will devide this pathway from the start of the growing area/the raised bed area and the fruit cage and lastly the shed and bbq and compost area,
its a full sized allotment approx half an acre and its got hedging all the way round it.

My plan is to safe guard against both deer getting in and cows passing by and the gate ever being open (even with a lock) if for any daft reason the gate should not be locked it can swing open, if how ever it needs to be slid across the opening i feel the chances are better at keeping the animals out.
Ive all the inside to construct, ie verious box hedge deviding bourders, one large section for deep root crops "spuds/carrot etc,

8 raised beds with wire top covers on them (rabbits are problem # 2)
the fruit area ie a full sized walk in cage for the soft fruit, (birds problem#3)
paths and an inner gate onto the large deep root section so the tractor (mini tractor) can get onto this plot with the plough att for the soil work in the late summer .
PLus water collection points (rain water) and the shed's going to built and again a patio area and the bbq built,

I'll be spending a lot of time daily down on the allotment and this is why its important that this gate cant be not secure by any visitors or her in doors and in no time cattle running all over the place or deer,

Have you ever tried to chase a deer off your land? They can cause lot of damage when they're in a feared state, So i'd sooner have a gate that even the daftest visitor cant just shut without it staying closed, Once a slide gate is closed even if its not locked its safer for this kind of use than one thats a chance of swinging open if not latched properly and me not seeing it.

I want a better allotment than the one i had on rent when i was in the uk,
and to me its an important part of my gardening,
Its one good thing about gardening you can do it as a lone hobby or as a team
but if your not willing to work at it to get it going!
Well who said gardening was easy?

 

Even so, it still has to be closed so swing or slide will work just as admirably. We have a nation full of farmer here in the UK all using latches and swing gates of some description...and no reported problems of livestock getting through them.

Maybe what you could really use would be a smallish swing gate, one with a spring fitted so it always closes...guaranteed.

I wish you luck with your sliding gate and look forward to seeing some photo's of it.

Steve...