How to Frame a Gate

Determine the size of the gate you will construct. Make the gate in a size that gives the finished gate 1/2 inch of clearance on both sides of the gateway, and clears the ground by at least 4 inches.

Cut 2-by-4-inch stock lumber for the main frame of the gate. Use a handsaw or a circular saw to saw two boards of equal length for the sides of the gate. Then saw two more pieces of 2-by-4-inch lumber into two boards of equal length for the top and bottom of the gate.

Lay the pieces out on a flat surface. Place the top piece so that it covers the ends of the two side pieces, and place the bottom piece so that it covers the other ends of the two side pieces.

Pre-drill holes down through the top piece into the ends of the side pieces, then insert wood screws. Drill through the bottom piece into the other ends of the side pieces, and then insert wood screws.

Measure the gate diagonally in both directions. If the measurements are the same, the gate is square. If they are different, shift the frame by pushing it in one direction or the other, until it measures square.

Lay the final 2-by-4 on top of the gate. Orient the 2-by-4 so it runs diagonally from the bottom of the hinge side to the top of the latch side. Mark the diagonal board with pencil from below, transferring the angles from the upper corner and the lower corner. When these angles are cut out, the cross brace will fit into the gate frame and stabilize it.

Cut the cross brace along the pencil lines you drew in Step 6, using a handsaw.

Attach the cross brace to the gate frame by drilling holes through the frame into the top and bottom edges of the cross brace, and then driving in wood screws.

Apply the decorative fencing material to the outside of the frame, connecting them to the gate frame with fencing nails.