I am looking at making a sliding gate for my back garden driveway out of
square steel box section and cladding it with ply but I am unsure of the
strength of the box section, the gate will be approx 3.2m long X 1.8m high,
sitting on rollers on a track.

I was thinking of using 50mm X 50mm square section with a 5mm wall and
welded together - does anyone have any idea if this will be a suitable gauge
steel for this project ?

Many thanks for any input.

Franko

"Franko" wrote in message
...
I am looking at making a sliding gate for my back garden driveway out of
square steel box section and cladding it with ply but I am unsure of the
strength of the box section, the gate will be approx 3.2m long X 1.8m high,
sitting on rollers on a track.

I was thinking of using 50mm X 50mm square section with a 5mm wall and
welded together - does anyone have any idea if this will be a suitable
gauge steel for this project ?

Many thanks for any input.

Think 'outside the box' ...
I'm also presuming that you're intending to
double-skin the gate ... otherwise you'll
have the steel and ply expanding/contracting
at different rates over (say) -9 C ~ 30(?) C.
Presumably you're actually asking;- will
two sheets of ?? mm thick ply (Marine(?)/WBP(?)
separated by 50mm steel be stiff?
IMHO, the ply is forming 'the box' the 50mm square
sections are merely acting as spacers albeit
ones that add 'stiffness' to the project.
Have you considered how you are going to surface-treat
the (presumably) exposed ply?
For portions of the day one side will be exposed to
sunlight and the other to shade: unless the gate is
precisely oriented N-S ... .

If you've got access to welding equipment; have you
considered using steel-mesh to clothe the gate .
Just wandering around, I've seen lots of gates which
are all-steel; lots of gates that are all wood (apart
form hinges etc.); but I don't think I've seen a gate
formed from ply and steel ...


HTH

--

Brian

"Brian Sharrock" wrote in message
...

"Franko" wrote in message
...
I am looking at making a sliding gate for my back garden driveway out of
square steel box section and cladding it with ply but I am unsure of the
strength of the box section, the gate will be approx 3.2m long X 1.8m
high, sitting on rollers on a track.

I was thinking of using 50mm X 50mm square section with a 5mm wall and
welded together - does anyone have any idea if this will be a suitable
gauge steel for this project ?

Many thanks for any input.

Think 'outside the box' ...
I'm also presuming that you're intending to
double-skin the gate ... otherwise you'll
have the steel and ply expanding/contracting
at different rates over (say) -9 C ~ 30(?) C.
Presumably you're actually asking;- will
two sheets of ?? mm thick ply (Marine(?)/WBP(?)
separated by 50mm steel be stiff?
IMHO, the ply is forming 'the box' the 50mm square
sections are merely acting as spacers albeit
ones that add 'stiffness' to the project.
Have you considered how you are going to surface-treat
the (presumably) exposed ply?
For portions of the day one side will be exposed to
sunlight and the other to shade: unless the gate is
precisely oriented N-S ... .

If you've got access to welding equipment; have you
considered using steel-mesh to clothe the gate .
Just wandering around, I've seen lots of gates which
are all-steel; lots of gates that are all wood (apart
form hinges etc.); but I don't think I've seen a gate
formed from ply and steel ...

HTH

Brian

Very good points Brian and thanks for your input,
I understand what you're saying. I would rather have an all steel gate but I
feel that the mesh idea would not give me much privacy.

As for the all timber version - I am concerned with warping as the gate
rollers will need to sit on a track and the gate would have to sit into some
sort of parking bracket to keep it stable when shut.

Any other ideas please,

Thanks

Franko.

Franko wrote:
I am looking at making a sliding gate for my back garden driveway out of
square steel box section and cladding it with ply but I am unsure of the
strength of the box section, the gate will be approx 3.2m long X 1.8m high,
sitting on rollers on a track.

I was thinking of using 50mm X 50mm square section with a 5mm wall and
welded together - does anyone have any idea if this will be a suitable gauge
steel for this project ?

It should discourage ram raiders! You'll be able to
save on materials and weight, as well as making
replacement of sheets easier by a) making the gate
to a size which "fits" sheet materials easily; you
mention 3.2x1.8m, which looks like using three
8x4' sheets; you could construct the steel like
this:
________________
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
|____|____|____|

using 50mm all around, with 50mmx25mm for the two
inside uprights - then use steel angle welded to
the 50mm sq. stuff, and a bolted-on (to the inners)
"loose" piece of timber to pinch the panels in.
Anyway, you're the designer....

"Franko" wrote in message
...
I am looking at making a sliding gate for my back garden driveway out of
square steel box section and cladding it with ply but I am unsure of the
strength of the box section, the gate will be approx 3.2m long X 1.8m high,
sitting on rollers on a track.

I was thinking of using 50mm X 50mm square section with a 5mm wall and
welded together - does anyone have any idea if this will be a suitable
gauge steel for this project ?

The gate on my house in France is about the same width but probably no more
than 1.5m high. That was professionally made, using (from memory as I won't
be able to check it for a few weeks) rectangular tube about 100mm x 50mm x
5mm wall. The cladding is steel sheet with a very shallow X shaped fold in
each panel, presumably to stop it drumming. It closes against a post of the
same tube and the motor uses a worm drive, so no lock is required. Hope this
helps.

Colin Bignell

After serious thinking Franko wrote :
Very good points Brian and thanks for your input,
I understand what you're saying. I would rather have an all steel gate but I
feel that the mesh idea would not give me much privacy.

Then make an all steel gate and add some of those rushes you can buy as
a bundle, to provide the privacy.


As for the all timber version - I am concerned with warping as the gate
rollers will need to sit on a track and the gate would have to sit into some
sort of parking bracket to keep it stable when shut.

As Brian suggested, it will warp and probably not last long. 5mm would
seem to be quite a bit heavier than you might need, unless the gate is
a very large one.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.org