DIY, how to build your own cantilever sliding gate (3) – Set the post with 4″ Dia. galvanized pipe by only one man

After collecting all the necessary materials for my cantilever sliding gate project, it’s the time to start the real work! Let’s begin with setting the post.

I chose 4 in. diameter galvanized pipe for durability. I was not sure at the beginning whether 4″ is overkill, but it turned out it is a must after you realized that all the weight of the gate was going to be supported by those two posts only, not to mention the center of its gravity is about 6 ft away from the first post. As I mentioned in the “plan” section of this series, the post pipe was 9′ long, of which 3 ft was going to be buried under the ground. So I dug two holes about 12″ in diameter and 3’6″ deep.

Use nylon string and leveler to line up the holes.
Use nylon string and leveler to line up the holes.

Digging up holes like those was nontrivial task, I only wish I could have dug them bigger and deeper. But it looks it is fine so far. Tips: dig a hoe with wider base and add some “anchors” to the post for more gripping.

Some methods to help secure the post in the hole with concrete.
Some methods to help secure the post in the hole with concrete.
Post anchor! I just used some scraps I could find and bolted them on the sides of the post.
Post anchor! I used some scraps I could find and bolted them on the sides of the post.

Time to set them up in the holes! It didn’t take long before I found out that the post are TOO HEAVY (80lbs/pcs)! And unfortunately I was working all by myself. Usually you would prefer at least two persons: one to straight the post up while the other could make measurements and do adjustments. I came up with a one-man-only solution in which I hung the post with tie-down strap on a piece of wood that sat across the hole. So I could easily wiggle the post around and make adjustment before setting up braces to keep it upright.

Hand the post with tie-down strap on a piece of wood scrap.
Hang the post with tie-down strap on a piece of wood scrap.

Another point in setting up the cantilever gate posts is that they must be strictly parallel to each other. You might think that individual leveling of each post seems to warrant the parallelism, but I don’t quite trust my lever manipulation skills. I would feel more comfortable if I have extra physical assurance of that. In order to achieve this, I cut two pieces of spacing wood for exactly same length and, again joint them with tie-down strap in lateral direction in the upper and lower positions.  A “rectangular” structure was formed this way to make sure posts are vertical and parallel to each other.

Space the post with two wood of same length to warrant parallelism.
Space the post with spacing woods of same length to warrant the parallelism.
Set up braces before pouring concrete.
Set up braces before pouring concrete.

Now the posts are set, and it’s time for pouring the concrete. Here is the photo after the concrete was cured, and I put some wall sealant for protection.

Post concrete is cured and applied with wall sealant.
Post concrete is cured and applied with wall sealant.

As you can tell from the photo that I couldn’t wait to see how the other parts are going to work together. I bought those nylon roller wheels from Hoover Fencing Co., they came in a box of four, and are really heavy!

Roller wheels for cantilever gate.
Roller wheels for cantilever gate.

Before setting my hands on to the gate framing, I temporarily set up the frame pipes for a quick test to make sure all the measurements are right. So I followed the same idea of the “spacing holder” by cutting another two 2 by 4’s of exactly the same length, and temporarily assembled the gate frames.

Two vertical spacing holder to temporarily  set up the gate frame.
Two vertical spacing holders to temporarily set up the gate frame.

Look like everything is right so far!

22 Replies to “DIY, how to build your own cantilever sliding gate (3) – Set the post with 4″ Dia. galvanized pipe by only one man”

  1. How far back from your original fence did you set the posts for the cantilever gate? 6″ or a 12″? Thanks for the great writeup!

  2. How far back from your original fence did you set the posts for the cantilever gate? 6″ or a 12″? Thanks for the great writeup!

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