Simple gate ideas?

[Mountaineer]

I'm looking for a quick and easy way to close off my 18' wide front entry. Right now I have 4 strands of barbed wire stapled to 2x4's strung up as a gate. A flimsy mess that dogs can get through and my free ranging poultry can get out.
I'd love to hear what others do. My gate posts are leaning and they're in rock fill- so it isn't worth putting up a mesh farm gate until I get around to re posting it all- which is NOT going to happen soon!

I'm hoping to incorperate 5' mesh fencing in my new gate....
Thanks!!!!

[PyroDon]

whats the rest of the fence made of ?
I use cattle and hog panels with chicken wire .
Of course a quick cheap chicken proof gate could be made using the netting off a big round bail attached to 2x4s . I use it to cover portable chicken runs , its no fun trying to turn a hawk loose thats swooped into it though.
If you use the netting you'll want the black heat welded type not the white woven.
Another option would be a seining net .
Ive bought large pieces of 1.5"x1.5" fish netting off ebay fairly cheap its tough stuff . the last one I got was 30ftx20ft made out of strong braided nylon.

[treefrog]

i have made several gates from cattle panels. i weld a pattern of tetrahedrons made out of pencil rod on one side of them. this makes them quite rigid but light weight. max size of cattle panels available here is sixteen feet wide by a little over four feet high.

pax
t.f.

[Mountaineer]

Thanks- yeah cattle pannels would be ideal. For some reason I can't get them here. They charge a stupidly huge sum just for the shipping. I've tried. I'd love some though!

[Mountaineer]

I strung 4' farm mesh along the opening. Then put a 2x4 at one end (where it opens/closes from). At that end I put a hoop on the bottom and top of the fence post (from where it opens/closes) so the 2x4 fits into the hoops- effectively and very simply closing the gate.
If it doesn't fatigue and snap off- I just saved myself the hassle of putting up one 8' and one 10' gate- which would have cost $500. They don't even make 9'...
I am happy now.

[Tabitha]

at the front entry you say.So you want it to look a little nice? we are in the process of making gates, we need 5 (I told husband we have the name for our place now, Five Gates. to practice we made two picket gates for the poultryhouse doors (in addition to the regular doors) to keep the goats from going in but not prevent the chickens from entering. we are very happy with the way it turned out. we are getting the materials for the bigger gates from the Amish sawmill. We make a gate on a slabfloor against a straight wall. There are two horizontal 1 by 6 (true 1x6) which are connected by a 1x 6 Z brace, we put vertical pickets the whole length, I am thinking alternating two 1x2s, then one 1x4, something to break the monotony. When that is done we put another 1x6 over the laterals on top of the pickets. We want to make the top either arched, well, a bit fancy if we can. The big gate will be made of two sections, one a walk through gate and a larger section if we need to drive through. right now we have cattlepanels where the gates are going to be. maybe we will get a couple of gates ready made, the typical farm gates but with mesh as it has to keep out goats.

[oldmanriver]

Do as the old timer did make a gap ... go out and cut you a cedar pole about 3 in around. put the wire or wires on the post then put 2 loops of heavy wire on the other post one loop at the bottom of the post to stick the cedar post in and one loop to slide over the top. To open slide the top wire off and pick the cedar post up out of the other loop. There where very few gates around here for years ..

[insanity]

How about just framing up two gates out of 2x4's and covering them with lattice.You could recycle it and use it some where else later.
Or just nail on some hog wire.