How to fit a garden gate

Inspired by a helpful YouTube guide. This walk-through is based on the popular UK tutorial "How to fit a garden gate" from Wickes, which covers hinge positioning, hanging technique, and latch fitting clearly and without unnecessary padding. Recommended viewing before you start.

1. Check the posts are solid and plumb

Before you do anything else, grab the posts and give them a good shake. A gate on a wobbly post will sag or refuse to latch inside a year. If there is movement, sort that first — compact around the base, add concrete, or replace the post entirely.

Check plumb with a spirit level on two faces. A post that leans slightly can be packed back into position with hardcore before the concrete sets, but an obviously rotten or broken post needs replacing. No point hanging a gate on something that will not hold it.

2. Measure the opening carefully

Measure the gap between the posts at the top, middle, and bottom. Gate openings are rarely perfectly parallel. Note the smallest measurement — that governs how wide your gate can be before it binds.

Allow a gap of around 6 mm on the latch side and 3 mm on the hinge side as clearance. On timber gates this is also the amount the wood can swell in damp weather without jamming.

3. Mark the hinge positions on the post

Hold the gate in position at the right height — use a block of scrap timber as a packers to keep the bottom gap consistent while you mark up. Position hinges about 150 mm from the top and bottom of the gate.

Use a pencil to mark the hinge screw holes on the gate post. Double-check the gate is level across the top before you commit to anything. On heavier gates, a third hinge in the middle is worth adding.

4. Fix the hinges to the gate and post

Pre-drill to avoid splitting the timber, especially near the ends of rails. Use the full length of screw that the hinge allows — short screws in softwood will pull out eventually, particularly on a gate that gets a fair bit of use.

If fixing to a brick or block pier rather than timber, use suitable masonry anchors. Coach screws into brick are more reliable than wall plugs for anything load-bearing.

5. Hang the gate and check the swing

Lift the gate onto the hinges and check it opens and closes without binding or catching at the bottom. Stand back and check the reveal gaps look even. A small amount of adjustment is normal at this stage.

To be fair, most gates hang reasonably well first time if the measurements were right. That said, the ground is not always flat and the gate post is not always perfectly straight, so some fiddling around is par for the course.

6. Adjust for level and even gaps

If the gate is sitting slightly low on the latch side — which is common on heavier gates — you can pack the top hinge out slightly with a washer or two behind the hinge leaf. This lifts the latch side back up.

If it is catching at the bottom, check whether the ground is the problem or the hinge position. Plane the bottom of the gate only as a last resort, and treat the fresh timber afterwards to stop water getting in.

7. Fit the latch and a gate stop

Fit the latch at a comfortable height — around 900 mm to 1,000 mm from the ground works for most people. Line up the keep on the post so the latch clicks in cleanly without having to lift or push the gate to get it to engage.

A gate stop fixed to the latch post stops the gate swinging through past closed. A simple timber batten screwed to the back face of the post does the job and prevents the latch taking a hammering every time it is opened in the wind.

When to call a handyman

If the posts are rotten, leaning badly, or you need new posts set from scratch in concrete, that is a more involved job. Richard can handle the whole lot — post setting, gate hanging, and latch fitting — in one visit rather than you tackling each bit separately.