Planning, execution and more

Which wood is suitable?

Native woods are prepared for the Central European climate and can be purchased inexpensively. You should therefore use one of the following types of wood to build your garden gate:

• Douglas fir: naturally resistant and durable
• Larch: one of the hardest and most valuable native softwoods
• Pine wood: medium-weight softwood with first-class properties for processing

Bargain hunters use pressure-impregnated spruce wood. Thanks to a pretreatment, the weather resistance of spruce wood is strengthened, so that it is suitable for the construction of wooden gates and fences at an affordable price. The same applies to ash. If the wood is subjected to a heat treatment, it counts as thermal ash in durability class 1 and is still cheap in price.

Material and tool list

The following materials and tools should be at hand so that you can assemble your garden gate without any annoying interruptions:

• 1 wooden lath (150x10x5cm) for the diagonal bracing
• 2 wooden slats (140x10x5cm) for the frame
• 2 wooden slats (100x10x5cm) for the frame
• 2 strips (120x8x3cm) for decoration
• 2 strips (115x8x3cm) same as above
• 2 strips (110x8x3cm) same as above
• 2 strips (117.5x8x3cm) same as above
• 2 strips (112.5x8x3cm) same as above
• 2 bars (120x12x12cm) as goal posts
• 2 drive sleeves for the goal posts
• 2 hinges for fixing
• 1 peat trap as a door opener
• Stainless steel screws, nuts, bolts
• Wood glue
• Wood glaze and brush

The following tools are required: spirit level, screwdriver, hammer, carpenter's pencil, tape measure and saw. If you invest a little more when buying the cut-to-size strips for the decoration, you will receive shapely profile heads in semicircular, pointed or corrugated form.

Build your own frame - this is how it works

Use the 10 x 5 cm thick slats to build the frame for the garden gate. To do this, cut the two 140 cm and 100 cm long pieces of wood at the ends 2.5 cm deep and 10 cm wide. After you have applied the wood glue to the cut surfaces, put the wood together in such a way that at the end the format of 10 x 5 cm is restored at the corners.

A diagonal bracing now ensures stability. The 150 cm long wood fulfills this task. Cut the batten at the ends so that it can be pressed flush into the frame. Two stainless steel screws on each side fix the cross frame. Now mount the door hinges and the door latch on the back and fasten them with bolts. Nuts secure the bolts on the front of the wooden gate.

Set goal posts correctly - you should pay attention to this

So that the garden gate does not have direct contact with the ground, it will later be hung between the two gate posts. The distance to the floor should be such that no moisture gets to the wood. At the same time, small animals should not be able to gain access to the garden under the gate. To install the posts correctly:

• Align the drive sleeves with the spirit level and hammer them into the earth
• Position the two 12 cm thick wooden beams on top and sharpen them
• Secure using the bolts and nuts
• Place the prefabricated wooden gate against the post
• Mark the places where the counterparts of the door latch and the hinge are to be fixed

After you have screwed on the hinge and the door latch, you can hang in the garden gate you built yourself. Please check beforehand that all right angles are observed so that the door does not hang at an angle later.

Beautifying and finishing the garden gate - tips for decorating

After the compulsory part, the do-it-yourself construction of your garden gate now follows. The 8 cm wide and 3 cm thick strips are used to give the gate an attractive appearance. You can give free rein to your ideas for the arrangement of the decorative strips. You can choose to mount the boards as strips of equal length in a row. A nice look is created if you attach the pieces of wood in a length that increases from the outside towards the middle.

It is important to note that there is a gap of less than 5 cm between the individual decorative strips. Otherwise, uninvited guests like marten and other small animals through the garden gate do not prevent you from visiting your property.

In the last step, you impregnate your new garden gate with wood glaze. We recommend using a glaze with the 'Blue Angel' eco-label, which guarantees a low content of ingredients that are harmful to health and the environment.