The Only Way To Brace A Gate

This is incredibly simple, but TONS of people get this wrong. Mess this one thing up and your gate brace is almost completely non-functional.

[LTVoyager]

Retired structural engineer here. There is nothing magical about 45 degrees and the physics doesn’t change with a bigger angle.

[SecondLifeDesigner]

My mom had gate that was about 15 years old and sagging. She had a handyman install one of those anti sag cables. It worked for about a year. So I bought about $20 of galvanized nuts, bolts and washers and replaced all the screws and nails one at at time. Each fence board had 3 bolts nuts and 6 washers. That gate was so strong you could stand on it. That was 20 years ago. It was still just as strong and sturdy 20 years later and never sagged again. It go another 20 years easily but my mom sold the house and the new owners tore down the whole fence to add a second garage. Nails and screws lost their grip and become lose as wood ages and some decay sets in around the holes nails and screws make. A bolt going all the way through the bracing and fence boards with washers on each side sandwitches everything together. Washers increase the surface area so much that even if the hole gets bigger from rot it will still hold the pieces together. If you ever have to replace the wood just reuse the nuts, bolts and washers.

[Ki-Lessons]

Best ad for a 2 screws and a wire I've ever seen.

Joking aside, I really appreciated how well this was presented. All ads should genuinely teach something like this one did.

I'm not sure why there is concern about going greater than 45 degrees, sure it is not 'as strong' but it is more than strong enough, and still the right direction.

Another trick to point out, you can build the frame for a gate, wrap a single wire all the way around it and tighten just that, and then throw your diagonal compression bar in.

FAST, SIMPLE, CHEAP and will last forever.

[JayCWhiteCloud]

FYI...and something you and readers may enjoy knowing (Timberwright here...so all wood joinery not "fasteners" or hardware in my work most often) the one that works in "compression" is called and "elbow brace" and the example working in tension is a "knee brace."..."X" bracing is just silly and adds unessary weight. These tradition "all wood joinery" doors, gates and stock gates are often built with green wood which is an added challenge in skill and understanding. Great video demonstration!!!

[tireballastserviceofflorid]

To be clear. This only applies to wood gates. Steel gates work vastly better under tension. As well as aluminum. I have built 60 or 70 as wide as 26 foot free span.

[landmarkcreations]

This is the simplest yet most effective video on gates. Most people need a visual and this was perfect for that

[Oberon]

Y'all crammed a ton of jokes AND good information into just a few minutes. Love the quick, no-fluff editing.

[maxenielsen]

@LTVoyager is right: nothing magical about 45 degrees. It’s just that the tension or compression gets more extreme as the diagonal element gets closer to horizontal.

Another point: the top horizontal member is in tension either way. Its force is carried by fasteners either way. So while having the diagonal member in compression is better, the other forces need to be considered as well.

Great video!

[SerifSansSerif]

Here because of the algorithm. I have no intention of needing to fix a gate or anything to do with fences or gates, but these guys are awesome, and I love the video.

The algorithm works in mysterious ways.

[alberthartl]

Built gates for 35 years. Ditch the cedar or redwood as those wood species are too soft to serve as structural support. For a personnel gate weld 1" square aluminum tubing into a rectangle with one cross brace. Weld on a piece of flat plate to secure a latch. Then attach your fence boards directly to the aluminum with short deck screws. There, the gate will never rot, twist or sag. For driveway gates use 1 1/2 or 2" tubing and a little trigonometry for additional bracing. In and around Pasadena CA you can find over 200 of these gates which I built.

[traveling.down.the.road]

I admit I didn't watch the whole video, but for my wooden gates, I installed two diagonal threaded rods with a turn buckle in the middle, and eye hooks at each end, so I can adjust the gate at any time it gets out of alignment at the latch. It works great and won't wear out. Rust protection is required, but since you rarely need to adjust it after it is set up correctly, I just painted the threaded rods and turn buckle to match the wooden gate. You can always touch up the paint if it gets scuffed off during any of your adjustments. For this application, the brace is installed in tension, like the position of the wood brace when he first tried it.

[FrederickDunn]

There must be a lot of people out there bracing gates. Over a million views in 6 days? Thanks, guys, we'll be seeing straight and well-braced gates everywhere now :) You've got to love engineering, you picked up a new subscriber. :)

[ruralan]

I had no intention of watching this video, but the thumbnail was interesting to me. I watched the whole way through too. KEEP IT UP!

[marktalku]

Very clear video. Only thing would be to switch your use of “less than” and “greater than” 45 degrees.

[rofllcats]

I’m currently working on a timber framed bridge design project for my school. It’s more of a conceptual drafting project than anything else because we’re not focused on the physics side of things just the hand drafting aspect, but this explains so much about historic wooden bridge designs it’s hilarious to think I had this element explained so well in a recommended video about fence integrity.

[ABCDFish]

So glad I saw this before replacing my gate (that I braced wrong) this spring. Thanks.

[johnmatlack]

It’s nice to see you explain the right way to build fences!! Not the usual on YouTube!!
I WORKED for NW fence in Spokane Valley /Idaho fence in Post Falls. Not an easy job NWF was 6days a week 10 hours a day 30 years ago work for the railroad these days…run my train past 5 fences I built that are still standing and makes me appreciate my engineer job more every time I pass them! Keep up the good work!

[donsmith]

On iron gates its best to do the opposite of wood because metal will bend easier than stretch.

[wynottgivemore]

I've built gates now for over 25 years knowing the right place to put the brace, and the once all of the fasteners are in place it's solid. As long as the post or whatever the hinges are attached to is solid... I've also adapted the brace laying flat, so the fence boards have 3 1/2 " of area to fasten to and it's a lot less chance of flexing. I also cut both ends of the brace into a point so it rides both side and top and bottom of gate. Not sure if this is followable but I thought I'd give it a shot. I also have never had any issues with sag when building six by six foot gates, and just having the one brace corner to corner. Yet! But I'll keep that anti sag cable in mind thanks. Usually just have a wheel on the bottom 😏

[doctorstrangepants]

I don't have a gate. Great video. Good personal dynamics, well structured video, no useless info, explanations of why the physics matter, and solutions for different scenarios. 10/10