# Forum Home Renovation Fences & Screens  Side Gate Project

## jarod

Hi guys, I'm planning to DIY my side gate to my new house. As you can see from below, the 1.5 meter passage is on soft ground (clay-ish), a similar design I have in mind and it also shows the plan I have right now.      
I believe that a single 1.5 m gate would be heavy and inconvenient. Also, since I won't be able to put post in the middle due to the stormwater pipe underneath so I guess a smaller gate in the middle would be fine. 
Questions:
1.) Are there any mistakes on the plan that I have overlooked?
2.) I plan to have a 1.8m tall door with wooden slats. What's a lightweight outdoor wood alternative can I use to make the gate lighter with the same aesthetic effect?
3.) Can I use an aluminum gate frame or a metal frame is required for wood slats?
4.) I want the post to be strong enough so would a 100mm x 100mm be enough if I put a brace on top and dug 600mm inground?
5.) Can anyone suggest a Bill Of Materials (BOM) that I could use as a reference? I can only search through the Bunnings website for possible materials. 
Thanks in advance and I have more questions to come as the project progresses!

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## havabeer

why can't you just get a custom slat gate made up at 1200mm out of aluminum and just a 300mm infill piece down the side? 
at least that way you only need to cement 1 post in and its a wider then a normal gate (900mm) so getting larger more awkward things down the back is easier, how ever i'm not sure what the legalities are of dynabolting to your neighbors house, maybe rock up with a carton and ask if its ok

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## jarod

Thanks @havabeer! I greatly appreciate the effort of drawing the new gate  :2thumbsup:  
Silly question, am I allowed (by rules/law) to bolt that post into my neighbor's garage (red wall) by default? Do I need to ask for approval first and what if he say's no? 
Disclaimer: I haven't moved in yet and I'm not sure if the person living in the house next door is the owner or just renting it out.

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## PlatypusGardens

Pretty sure you can't just drill holes in your neighbour's wall without permission.....   :Shock:

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## jarod

Hi PG, I knew that was silly of me to ask.  
My question now is, what are my options if they decline to have anything attached to their brick wall? Is my original design good enough so I'll just make 2 narrow fences and bolt it into the posts to cover the opening on the sides?

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## PlatypusGardens

Well....depends on your budget, but a local screen/fence place should be able to make you a setup with two small aluminium screens to hang either side off the posts/door frame...
Even something like two posts with the screens welded to them like a q and p shape, if you like, to set in the ground with the gate in between 
It'll be expensive though, as anything custom made is, unfortunately...... 
The first step will be talking to the neighbour, of course.
You'd have to be unlucky to live next door to someone not allowing you to put up a gate between the houses......yet....stranger things have happened...  
eek

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## commodorenut

One of the problems with zero boundaries PG.  You technically own right to the dust on the surface of their bricks, but can't encroach over the boundary in any way - ie, like dynabolting into their wall.  You can dig down in your land & concrete a post in though, but you need to support it, so you'd probably want to give it 100mm clearance away from their slab to get a decent amount of concrete around it, so it can add stability to the next post with the striker on it. 
One of my mates down south was faced with a similar situation - except he was putting in a fixed panel, and concreted the posts up against each house.  On his one he had a tang to dyna-bolt into the house, but on the other house he couldn't.  After a few weeks of the dog jumping at it, the thing was wobbly on one side.  A big long glob of liquid nails, and propping the post overnight, and it hasn't moved since.  Probably not legal (or moral) but his neighbour wouldn't let him drill a 1" deep hole for a single chem-setted stud to support the top of the post.

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## jarod

Thanks for the sound advise PlatypusGardens and commodorenut. 
I will just opt to avoid drilling on any walls. After reading more about bracing/support, I came up with this revised model which will have both upper and lower braces. I will keep the upper brace just screwed in case something tall needs to go across and the lower brace can be wood or just a concrete bridge.   
The door will be 1m wide on 100mm wooden posts and I will have a manageable 150mm gap on both sides. Since I plan to put horizontal slats, I can just affix 250mm slat pieces on the posts leaving me an overhang of 150mm just enough for the side gaps. 
Now, for the materials I plan to use:
Posts - Cypress Post or Hurford Post. Please let me know if there are better alternatives and where to source them. Do I also need to apply protection like Diggers Timber Protecta?
Screening - Ekodeck Composite
Gate Frame - Fortress Gates 1650mm
Concrete - Australian Builders Concrete Mix 
I'll complete the list tomorrow, need some eye shut for now  :Cry:

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