Fence - want your opinion

[Aaron]

This is how I have been doing my gate braces. Just wondering if I should add a 2nd opposing brace wire (in pink) to help support the gate or am I going against myself with too many directional forces. I haven't had any issues up until now with shifting, even with frost/thaw over 4' down. Just always thinking about how to improve future builds.

Also, I have been using 3 wraps of 9 gauge wire for the diagonal, wondering if I can get away with just a quick brace cable kit with the jumbo Gripple.

I use these on 4 strand hi tensile and 5 strand barb wire fences. End and brace posts are 6-7" diameter and strut is 5-6" diameter.

 

[CCCowman]

This is how I have been doing my gate braces. Just wondering if I should add a 2nd opposing brace wire (in pink) to help support the gate or am I going against myself with too many directional forces. I haven't had any issues up until now with shifting, even with frost/thaw over 4' down. Just always thinking about how to improve future builds.

Also, I have been using 3 wraps of 9 gauge wire for the diagonal, wondering if I can get away with just a quick brace cable kit with the jumbo Gripple.

I use these on 4 strand hi tensile and 5 strand barb wire fences. End and brace posts are 6-7" diameter and strut is 5-6" diameter.

From a structural engineering perspective....... the gray wire does nothing for you. The pink wire is what you need. When the gate sags, it pulls on the top of the post. Which in turn pulls on the bottom of the second post. That's where you get you strength.

 

[Aaron]

This is how I have been doing my gate braces. Just wondering if I should add a 2nd opposing brace wire (in pink) to help support the gate or am I going against myself with too many directional forces. I haven't had any issues up until now with shifting, even with frost/thaw over 4' down. Just always thinking about how to improve future builds.

Also, I have been using 3 wraps of 9 gauge wire for the diagonal, wondering if I can get away with just a quick brace cable kit with the jumbo Gripple.

I use these on 4 strand hi tensile and 5 strand barb wire fences. End and brace posts are 6-7" diameter and strut is 5-6" diameter.

From a structural engineering perspective....... the gray wire does nothing for you. The pink wire is what you need. When the gate sags, it pulls on the top of the post. Which in turn pulls on the bottom of the second post. That's where you get you strength.

I would think you would still need the gray wire to combat the lateral pull from the 5 wires of the fence. Or are you suggesting the weight of the gate negates the pull of the fence wires? 5 wires with 200+ lbs of the pull versus a 180 lb gate?

 

[Lucky]

For direction of wire pull the gray line is in the correct place. To easily strengthen what you have run a wire from the top of each post 3 wraps then twist it like you would the angle wire and leave twist stick against horizontal brace post. Be careful and have some help if possible, once it gets tight it can be a bugger bear on the last few twist. Of course if you want the brace to be really stout it needs to be a double H. Running the pink wire like in the drawing will work but over time one or the other usually loosens up.

I'm sure Fence will chime in and his advice is generally spot on.

 

[CCCowman]

This is how I have been doing my gate braces. Just wondering if I should add a 2nd opposing brace wire (in pink) to help support the gate or am I going against myself with too many directional forces. I haven't had any issues up until now with shifting, even with frost/thaw over 4' down. Just always thinking about how to improve future builds.

Also, I have been using 3 wraps of 9 gauge wire for the diagonal, wondering if I can get away with just a quick brace cable kit with the jumbo Gripple.

I use these on 4 strand hi tensile and 5 strand barb wire fences. End and brace posts are 6-7" diameter and strut is 5-6" diameter.

From a structural engineering perspective....... the gray wire does nothing for you. The pink wire is what you need. When the gate sags, it pulls on the top of the post. Which in turn pulls on the bottom of the second post. That's where you get you strength.

I would think you would still need the gray wire to combat the lateral pull from the 5 wires of the fence. Or are you suggesting the weight of the gate negates the pull of the fence wires? 5 wires with 200+ lbs of the pull versus a 180 lb gate?

Lucky is right below. I was only talking about gate sag.

 

[Dave]

From my days of writing up specs for fences when I worked at a conservation district I would say your horizontal rail is too high. There is a relationship between the length of that rail and how high is should be off the ground. I can't remember that stuff off the top of my head and I left those reference books in the office when I retired. But I am pretty certain that 5 feet is too high.

 

[Aaron]

From my days of writing up specs for fences when I worked at a conservation district I would say your horizontal rail is too high. There is a relationship between the length of that rail and how high is should be off the ground. I can't remember that stuff off the top of my head and I left those reference books in the office when I retired. But I am pretty certain that 5 feet is too high.

About 3/4 the height of the fence.

 

[callmefence]

The gray wire is of course required
The pink wire not so much. If the line wires are truly tight that gives you support for the weight of the gate. The pink wire as shown will do little. And if overtightened can work against the very important gray . Now if you go with the double H you can bear down on the pink wire enough to do some good. Plus something very few realize is it also provides down pressure to the end post. That helps with the jacking of the brace where the end post lifts up.
I hope that makes sense.

Your brace certainly looks sufficient, but it's not possible to over do one.the brace makes the fence.

And the gripple is the only way to go.

 

[Aaron]

The gray wire is of course required
The pink wire not so much. If the line wires are truly tight that gives you support for the weight of the gate. The pink wire as shown will do little. And if overtightened can work against the very important gray . Now if you go with the double H you can bear down on the pink wire enough to do some good. Plus something very few realize is it also provides down pressure to the end post. That helps with the jacking of the brace where the end post lifts up.
I hope that makes sense.

Your brace certainly looks sufficient, but it's not possible to over do one.the brace makes the fence.

And the gripple is the only way to go.

Thanks Fence! Appreciate you sharing your wisdom.

 

[greybeard]

I've done them exactly that way, tho my horizontal brace posts are rarely that high, (just because that's how I was taught as a 16 year old..not saying it's the right way) and I omit the brace wire from top of hinge post to the opposite end of the gate..especially on a gate that is just 12' long. I no longer use cables and wire clamps...have gone to using gripples and HT wire.
I also tie my diagonal brace wires higher up on the posts..within a few inches of the top.
The fence to the left is only about 100' long..if it had been a longer run, I would have used a 10-12' long horizontal brace post in there.



This is the only gate i have that has a support to prevent sag, but it has it for a reason. Looks like a tube gate but is completely home built by my father out of solid 1" cold roll. It's heavy but has been in this same location 100' from the river since 1966 and has been under water scores of times and has been run into by vehicles 2-3 times when people that wanted to fish in the river pulled down in there and couldn't get back up the grade. In this pic, the river is just beginning to go into flood stage..


Here's how it was made, more or less...


I, under tutelage from my Father, learned to weld on this gate. I was 15 or 16 yrs old.

 

[DCA farm]

Might not be right or pretty but this is how I do mine