Side gate repair

M

Maserson

Active member
Anybody with experience repairing a side gate that doesn't close easily anymore?

The side gate was installed by previous owner. The swinging gate portion is attached to the dividing wall between ourselves and neighbor. The latch portion is attached to the side of our house. It appears the wall as "settled" so the gate rubs against the latch portion. I can still close it but there's enough friction that's it's starting to loosen the bolts.

I don't know the typical warranty's for side gates. House is about two years old.

Better off using homeowners insurance to repair?

Thanks.
 
Wood?  Metal?  Can you just move the latch?  Are the hinges not adjustable?  On the surface it sounds like a pretty minor thing for filing an insurance claim.  Pics would help.
 
Metal gate.  I can take some photos when I get home today.

Not sure if moving the latch will help.  The hinges are welded, I guess they can be adjusted by re-welding but that's beyond my DIY skill set.

I did try to tighten the bolts but the latch portion and the gate portion are pretty flush. Only ended up breaking off more of the cinder blocks.

 
Very common problem and very easy to fix.  One of qwerty's peeps will be able to fix it in less than 5 minutes.
 
Here are photos.

Photo 1: gate closed.
Photo 2: the top part rubs, you can see the wear on the metal from forcing it.
Photo 3: the left part is very flush
Photo 4: the right part is relatively flush

Edit: not sure why some photos are rotated. Not sure how to rotate back.
 

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This is from the wall actually taking a lean toward your house?  Or is the door moving?  In the 4th picture there is a small tapered gap, almost as if the channel was pulling away from the wall.  Even the mounting foot looks like it's bending a little.  It looks like the interference would go away if the channel was flush to the wall.

You can do a short term fix and take an angle grinder to the 2 areas that are touching, remove just enough material so it doesn't rub anymore, then clean with a rag and some brakleen, and touch-up with paint.  Make sure you have a close match on the paint before you begin (or plan to paint the whole thing).  For a long term fix you need to confirm what's actually moving, and figure out how to stop it. 
 
The neighbors gate sits on the other side of the dividing wall and has no issues.  That said, I'm guessing it's the wall that moved rather than the side of the house?

I have noticed on a rare occasion when we got some decent rain, it seemed like the gate closed much easier (with only a little rubbing). Not sure if that points towards the dividing wall as the culprit.

I'd rather hire somebody and spend a little more to "fix it" rather than band-aid it.  Maybe they can remove the gate side and bend the metal a little to create some give. I was hoping to avoid punching more holes into the cinder blocks.

Anybody have a referral for a good contractor for this kind of repair?
 
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