Garden gate advice!

[Wilfage]

Hi all,
I was looking for a little advice with regards to some garden gates I'm making. I've made two iroko gates for the front of my house and am questioning whether or not to put a cross brace in. I should have planned ahead a little more to be honest but I was never quite sure and planned to add them if needed be at the end. The problem I have is I'm aware that anything less than a 45 degree brace isn't going to help but because of the shape I have made the gates when test fitting one it looks a little awkward (see images) and I'm not sure if it's going to add anything or not. I'm planning to use pretty heavy duty adjustable band and hook hinges so is a cross brace necessary?? Thanks in advance !!!

 

[bjm]

I wouldn't fixate too much on the 'angle' - corner to corner looks like it would be ~40 degrees? It's the triangulation that keeps it in shape.

 

[Ollie78]

If worried about the angle or appearance you could do it so the brace is morticed a little into the ledges. This preserves the angle at 45 and looks quite nice.

Make the brace a bit long, lay it over the top at 45 degrees and then trim the ends so they go into the rails a bit, do 90 degrees cut about a quarter the width of the brace then return the angle to the overlapping corner so it looks right where it meets the rail. Draw around it and router out the rails to the shape, then glue them in.

I can`t remember the name of the joint, its in a book I have about door making.

Ollie

 

[TheUnicorn]

I think the brace needs to go from a horizontal to a vertical, essentially as a shelving bracket does on a wall, as the vertical is the most solid (hinge side of course). If that would look odd, I'd put a second brace running in parallel.

 

[Mike Jordan]

Nice looking gates. The bracing you show will be adequate if soundly fixed. Notching the ends into the rails is a good method. I'm assuming that you are bracing from the bottom rail on the hinge side up to the clapping side.
Ready made gates are often supplied with the braces loose, it's not uncommon to see them braced the wrong way!

 

[TheUnicorn]

I think the brace needs to go from a horizontal to a vertical, essentially as a shelving bracket does on a wall, as the vertical is the most solid (hinge side of course). If that would look odd, I'd put a second brace running in parallel.

sorry, looking round it seems that isn't how it's done

 

[powertools]

Nice looking well made gates. In my opinion with the type of hinges you are going to use and how sturdy you have made them you will not need to brace then

 

[Mike Jordan]

If they are made with through mortise and tenon joints with wedges and glued with epoxy glue that is fair comment.

 

[Doug71]

That is a nice solid looking gate, looks well built so I can't see it sagging.

If you do want belt and braces I would just put the brace in as in your photo, looks fine to me.

I think the brace needs to go from a horizontal to a vertical, essentially as a shelving bracket does on a wall, as the vertical is the most solid (hinge side of course). If that would look odd, I'd put a second brace running in parallel.

People sometimes do butt the corner of the brace/sag bar up against the vertical stile but others think it's bad practice because water runs down the brace and gets trapped between the end of the brace and the stile causing it to rot, that's the theory anyway!

 

[TheUnicorn]

People sometimes do butt the corner of the brace/sag bar up against the vertical stile but others think it's bad practice because water runs down the brace and gets trapped between the end of the brace and the stile causing it to rot, that's the theory anyway!

that's not a factor I'd taken into account

 

[Jester129]

Can't advise you, but they are nice-looking gates.

 

[Wilfage]

Thanks for taking the time everyone and giving me advice. Very much appreciated.