Sun Gate Project

I designed and built a gate for access to the backyard on the east side of the house. I wanted a substantial gate for strength and security. I wanted to mount the unit like a door with standard exterior door hinges and to use a double sided keyed deadbolt as the locking mechanism. In addition to the gate, there was about 7 feet of fence to seal the area. The stiles and rails were made from treated 2 x 6 stocked ripped to 5 inches. The slats in the middle panels were 1 x 4 treated stock that was chamfered on all edges. All stock was allowed to dry approixmately 6 months before construction. This was to reduce moisture content and weight to make it easier to work with saws, reduce post-build shrinkage and to identify "bad wood" after it had dried and before it was milled.
Rails were attached to stiles with double stack of Dominoes. The center domino slot is the standard domino size; this indexes the location of the rail. The outer slots were oversized to reduce alignment issues. Rails and stiles had a 3/4 inch dado routed into the side at a depth of 1/2 inch. This allows the slats to float free in the grooves. Each slat also had a domino slot in the side about halfway down the slat. This will prevent the slats from changing their planes as they shrink and warp.
The rails and stiles were connected with exterior grade glue. All slats were floaters. Gate shown here in clamping, glue-up stage.
The following morning the gate was removed from clamps and got a quick sanding to remove glue and pencil marks.
The side fence sectiona were constructed with treated 4 x 4 posts with treated 2 x 4 rails.
Heavy duty door hinges were used to mount the gate to the post.