DIY Garden Gates

We love our garden.  Love, love, love it!  When we moved to our new house last July, it was a hot mess.  We've been plugging away at it, getting it ready for some crops this spring.  One of the things that was a must-do was to make it dog proof.....and semi-bunny proof (those little suckers will get in no matter what!). 

 

There were already two gates in place, but a lot of unfinished fencing where animals could easily get in and out of the garden.  My handy hubby added more fencing and then, this past weekend, put up three more gates.  Now, the whole garden is enclosed. 

 

For one of the gates, he just used picket fencing that he bought at Home Depot to match the fence closest to that gate.  It looks great and we plan on painting it at some point.  I'm thinking maybe red????

 

 

 For the other two, we got creative!  For the first one, he used an old window that was left by the previous owners.  He knocked out the small amount of glass that was still in there and then, using a staple gun, stapled some wire fencing to the front.  The fencing was extra stuff his dad had laying around so, besides the hardware, it was free!

 

 

The second one was made with two extra pieces of split rail fence, an old trellis left in the garden and more of the fencing from my father-in-law.  This one was a bit more time consuming, but a collaborative effort between Jason and I.  And, it turned out awesome!  If I do say so myself.

And I do.

 

 

I was busy pulling up carpet out of the garden when Jason made the first one, but I watched and helped with the second one so I thought I'd give y'all a quick little guide on how we made our gate.  (Please excuse my shadows, photographer I am not!)

 

1.   Measure the wood to the length that you'll need.  You'll need to make a square (or rectangle) - one piece on top, one on the bottom and two sides.  Cut the wood.  (For some reason, Jason won't let me do that part!).

 

2.  Measure the trellis/overlay (if using - we had it on hand so we put it to use, it's not necessary) and cut to fit your gate.  Get out the hammer and nail that puppy together.  Some of our wood split when Jason nailed it (it's pretty old), so it took a few extra nails.

 

 

3.  Place the fencing over the side that you want to attach it on (we did the back side), cut to fit and staple on.  Chicken wire would work great for this too.  (that's what we were going to use, but then we got this fencing for free.  We love free!)

 

4.  Attach the hinges to the gate and then screw the gate to the post.  Add whatever type of latch you prefer and voila!  You've just installed a gate!

 

We absolutely love how both of our gates turned out.  They're so rustic and different.  And the fact that we only had to buy hardware for them.  We love that too! 

 

 ~ Sara :)

 

I'm linking up with Abby, Shelly, Katie, and Ariean for the Hit Me With Your Best Shot! Link-up party!