Deck gates: a simple wood working project how to!

How to build a simple outdoor deck gate! With our deck railings finally complete it was time to figure out how I was going to build the gates across the two entrances I have on our deck. My first issue was pretty obvious to me, I wanted them to swing entirely out of the way and remain open year around if I wanted them to be. I also wanted them to “match” the deck rails I had already made. So, I built my gate frames out of wood first!

Using 1×6 green treated deck boards I built two separate gates for the two entrances on to my deck. One of the entrances is over five feet wide but I decided to go ahead and make a gate big enough to span the distance anyway. I cut four boards per gate at a 45 degree angle. I almost used my jig kit for this situation but green treated lumber is pretty soft and forgiving so I just really carefully drove 3″ deck screws through the side and down the middle of my mitered corners. You could also use steel brackets like I did when I made my barn wood picture frame.

With them built I hung them first using outdoor hinges before adding the conduit. (I don’t know about you but finding inexpensive hinges is basically impossible. I can’t say I even really “like” these very much however I got a great deal on a set of six of them for less then $10 on Amazon! Check them out here.)

I made both gates just tall enough so the top of the gates hit just underneath the top rail both for looks and so that I could put a bracket there to grab and hold them so their weight would be entirely off of the hinges when not in use. I could only have one of the gates swing out like I wanted them both to because of the railing I had already built on one of the staircases. With both gates hung I then lined up my conduit to run exactly in line with the deck conduit and attached it with conduit straps.

I got a little creative with my latch situation because I didn’t want to have to buy extra latches. I bought three latches (these on Amazon) and then one gate got two tongues and one latch while the other gate got one tongue and two latches… Did that make any sense at all? It means both gates have a place to latch to whether they’re closed or open to take the weight off the hinges… and, in the end, I didn’t have any extra parts that I wasted money on.

I do plan on having dogs again some day so, when that day comes, I’ll be using the gates a lot more and be glad I have them! We’re finally there guys, next week I get to show you my completed deck!