Gateway to Paradise

 I know that title may seem a bit extreme, but that is exactly what not having to mow the lawn with a push mower is to me, paradise.  Did I mention that I have a Construction Management degree from Louisiana State University?  Well I do.  I did some work refinishing older homes in the garden district in college where I learned a few things, that along with all the projects I helped my father and brothers with over the years, piqued my interest and thus my career choice was born.


 That being said, this project came about when we received a riding lawn mower from my brother–in-law.  He had a new house with some strange slopes and yard shapes and he was handing his riding mower down to us. Yay, thanks BIL!

 Now I needed a gate built, and forgetting my senses for a moment I went out and got some quotes.  We live on a corner lot, and I have 70 feet of chain link with a 3 foot gate on one side of the house and a 6 foot wooden fence on the other with no gate. The first company said they could drop in a 5 foot gate in the chain link for $485, or a wood gate in the front for $585.  The second quote was much crazier but did offer more bang for my buck with a $685 minimum on any chain link work.  This was crazy to me that they couldn’t leave their parking lot for less than almost $700, but because of the minimum and the condition of my current fence they quoted me all 70 feet of chain link, a 3 foot gate, and a new 5 foot gate along the side for the total price of $685.  Now that was a deal, except for the fact that I hadn’t really planned on spending that kind of money for the convenience of no longer cutting the back yard by hand.  Crazier than that, the minimum for wood fencing work was $785 and that length was less than 8 feet.  So while I do have plans to take them up on the chain link option later, both of these were a no go.


 I continued for another couple of months to store the riding mower under the carport cleverly disguised under a painting tarp and cut the back yard with my trusty push mower.  Then one weekend my husband asked me, “So what do you want to do this weekend?” He saw that wide eyed look on my face and knew he was in for a home project.  I ran outside with a tape measure and measured the width of the mower at its widest point, the width of the space between the fence post, and the width of the clearance between the HVAC unit and the fence.  All the numbers added up and I decided we were a go on the new gate.

 The items I purchased for this project were treated 2x4’s, pine fence boards, hinges, one 4 inch caster, screw shank nails, and lock hardware.  I used this video on the Home Depot website to get me started and then stared at the fence for a good long time before making my first move.  I got a few tools together including my reciprocating saw, compound miter saw, cordless drill, a hammer, a square and my trusty tool belt.

 I know the boards here have a few good years on them, but they were all sturdy despite their aged patina.  The fence posts have withstood several hurricanes and are very solid, but seeing as how the side closest to the house is not anchored to anything more than the post itself I decided not to remove all of the boards in this section and only remove the ones needed to construct the gate. Once I removed the two boards closest to the post I used the reciprocating saw to remove the section of fence.

 

 The dolly pictured here is how you haul off a section of fence without having to bug the hubby, ladies. I carefully measured the opening and determined the size of the gate I needed.  I then constructed the gate as shown in the video with a few modifications and dry fit it into the space. I checked the spacing and with some muscle help from the hubby attached the hinges.

 

 

 I then determined the cross boards' heights and screwed those into place.  My biggest hurdle here was trying to fit a square gate into an older not-so-square space. Fortunately I was able to wiggle this into the space and secure the cross boards to help it hold the shape I needed.  I hammered a couple of nails vertically into the existing boards and used a string level to keep my fence boards at the same height as I secured them with screw shanked nails.  I shimmed the gate to the height I needed to swing freely and attached the caster using some long wood screws. Voila, one working gate!

  Now I will say that because of the clearance problem due to the slope of the yard there is a gap just the right size for the dog to escape, but I am currently using a 2x4 and a couple of bricks to solve this problem temporarily until I can devise a more permanent solution.  I would also like to use a few concrete pavers to keep the ground under the caster’s path solid, but hey, another day another project.

  So there you have it, my “make my life so much easier” gate.  Look how happy the yard man looks.  By the way, don’t judge me I didn’t say I did the yard every week myself.  The yardman and I take turns; sometimes this momma needs a hand.

By the way if you live in the area and need a great lawn care provider email me, I'd be happy to give you his name. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back see what I’ve going on next.