How To Prevent Or Fix A Sagging Fence Gate
An unsupported fence gate will sag, whether it's a wood board fence, picket fence, aluminum or ornamental fence, or even chain link mesh fence. When a gate is sagging, it is due to the weight of the opening side of the gate and could be due to heavy hardware or even a post that isn't strong enough to support it. Several methods prevent a sagging gate or reinforce a gate that has sagged due to insufficient support.
Why Worry About A Sagging Fence Gate?
A sagging gate on any type of fence system indicates that maintenance is required. Whether it's old hinges, unsupported weight, or weather conditions, it is important to repair the sagging gate before further damage occurs. Depending on the gate type, fixing or repairing a sagging gate can require minimal effort, hinge and screw replacement or more labor-intensive serious framework fixes like resetting the gate posts.
Sagging Wood Fence Gate
Most wood fence gates will sag over time from exposure to weather conditions but can be easily fixed by attaching hardware like corner brackets and a turnbuckle. Sometimes gate support hardware is sold in Anti-Sag kits that typically include a metal corner bracket for the hinge side of the gate and bottom latch, a turnbuckle that will attach to the corner bracket, and a steel cable that will attach to the turnbuckle and corner bracket with cable clamps. The turnbuckle needs to be turned or tightened up to the cable, which will remove the sag of the wood fence gate. This type of hardware is ideal for gates up to 6' high and 4' wide and can force a distorted parallelogram gate back into its proper square or L-Shape 90-degree angles.
High-traffic, heavy-duty wood fence gates experience sagging from worn-out gate hinges or loosened screws. Tightening the screws of the gate hinges or replacing the screws with longer ones is a simple first solution to see if it could solve the gate sag. If it still sags, checking the gate hinges for rust or bending is another budget-friendly solution that would generally only happen to extremely heavy, oversized gates. For these oversized wood fence gates, installing a steel frame to the back of the wood fence is the best way to prevent the gate sag before it happens.
Sagging Chain Link Fence Gate
Chain Link Fence Systems can sag over time despite how well installed they are. Discovering the cause of the sag is the first step, with many things to look for to see what the underlying issue is.
- Check The Tension Wire: Is it stretched or broken?
- Check The Mesh: Is the chain link material deformed or damaged?
- Check The Posts: Is the concrete cracked, or were the posts not dug deep enough?
- Misaligned / Sagging Swing Gate: Are the gate hinges shifted?
Fixing a misaligned chain link swing gate or a swing gate that is not latching properly requires an open-end wrench/pliers, a marker, and a small carpenter's level. Using the pliers, remove the nuts on the bottom of the tension band, and work your way up the post to remove the tension band. *Always start at the bottom to avoid adding pressure to the bottom of the gate. Mark the proper height's on the post with a marker in order to reconstruct, keep in mind that the gate may have sagged over time because the hinges loosened and dropped. Loosen and remove the hinges. Realign the gate hinges so that they are perpendicular to the latched gate, you may be realigning differently than before if they were not properly installed. Support the hinges and retighten the nuts. Place the gate back on its hinges and put the bolts back into the tension bands, and tighten. Use the carpenter's level to test if the gate is still sagging.
Sagging Heavy Metal Or Aluminum Gates
Adjusting a sagging metal gate has its challenges but there are several ways to make adjustments to the sagging gate to fix it or reinforce it.
- Tightening Or Replacing The Hinges
- Adding Additional Support Like Support Posts Or Brackets
- Adding Welded Diagonals To The Back Of The Gate (Reinforce The Structure)
- Install Brackets To Posts On Either Side Of The Gate To Distribute Weight Evenly
- Use Cables Threaded Through Posts To Support Gate Weight
- Make Sure Posts Are Evenly Installed And In Concrete At Least 2 Feet Deep
- Replace It (If Frame Is Beyond Repair)
Summary
Fence Gates of any material may distort, sag, or lean simply due to age, wear, and tear. Catching the gate sage early on can mean a quick repair or replacement focused on the gate hinges and screws. However, if the fence gate is sagging or leaning severely, or if the posts are also out of alignment, a deeper issue with the gate and fence system will require more extensive solutions. For major fence and gate issues, or if you're not sure what is causing your wood, metal, or chain link fence gate to sag after doing minor repairs like hinge tightening and replacement or installing anti-sag turnbuckles and cables, reach out to our fence and gate system specialists who will help provide solutions to getting your gate back to square and latching properly.