Last year we put up a fence around the area that we wanted to have our garden in. We used 6ft tall metal fence posts and galvanized fencing. The fencing sits higher than the posts by a bit so it deters deer from jumping it. Having lived in communities for most of my life, I never thought I would have to build a 7ft high fence to keep out deer and moose. When the fence went up, Chris left a large gap where the future gate would go. All last summer we just had mesh deer fencing that we strung across the gap and unhitched one side to go in and out.
Well, sometime during the winter, a moose chewed a fair sized hole in the mesh fence. We did a temporary fix on it but made a wooden gate one of our priorities of things to get built this spring.
This gate was one of the last projects to get made with leftover wood from taking down the big shed and 48” strapping that the previous owner had left. Chris decided to make the top 48” using the strapping and creating a birdhouse look. Here it is lying down before I spent a few hours painting it.
Chris cut tiny little roofs for the top of the birdhouses. We thought we organized the correct pieces going with the right board when he spray painted them. There was some confusion when he went to put them on because I wanted a certain colour order. Anyhow, it all worked out in the end.
To make the gate tall enough he added three boards height in barn wood to the bottom section of the gate. It does look a bit out of place so it may get painted at some point.
The wheels for opening and closing were taken off a portable battery that we used to have. The handle was from a play structure that we deconstructed at our house in Russell ON. We also added a door latch to help keep the gates to stay closed.
Chris dug the two wooden posts down about two feet then filled them with gravel and the clay he dug up. They seem to be holding up well. Unfortunately, because the ground is not flat, the wheels move with the wind. We had some strong 70km/hr winds on Thursday and one of the gates hinges ripped right out of the post. My guess is that we need some longer screws and/or a larger hinge. We also need to leave something for the gates to hit when they start to roll. I managed to move the downed gate far enough to lean against the house and out of the wind for now. The mesh deer fencing is back over the one half until it can get put back up.
The fixing of the gate will have to wait until Chris is home. He is away helping with the wildfires that are north and south of Slave Lake. The way I know that a project was worth the time, effort and sometimes money is that it makes me smile when I walk up to it. This gate makes me smile every time I enter the garden. The only thing left to put on the gate would be some adornments; maybe a sign or some metal decorations.
The gate is super cute! Love it!