It really looks great for a first time diy project. The more you do stuff like this the easier it will get and with the right equipment you’ll be able to do this within a few hours. Congrats 👍🏻

Hi there. Looks great however there will be some tricks and repairs you may need to make come end of winter. As the winter thaws and the air gets humid during springtime, the wood expands and contracts. The apparent expansion and contraction you will see is very apparent in the direction parallel to the grain of wood. It is not so apparent perpendicular to the grain of wood. Basically wood planks are like grown adult men, They cant get taller but they can get wider. What you'll see in springtime is some board splitting because the boards are spaced too closely together and have very little gap between planks. since they cant expand to get wider, the planks start fighting with each other until they fail at the fixture points (where the screws are) You can see the apparent spacing on the older fence that is in the top right of the image. Spacing the planks apart is by design and not poor worksmanship. Hope this helps you in the future but otherwise looks great. Never stop DIYing :)

After reading this I might recommend not to fix it. It looks great and its not broke lol. Maybe just wait and see how things pan out. If it does happen to split, you know the issue. If it doesn't then 🤷‍♂️

Only a problem if you did this in the winter or on a very dry day I. The summer I would assume.

Otherwise you are at maximum width. I mean a IG summer fence build in Florida you could just bump those dudes right next to each other right?

I feel like I am missing some Master fence knowledge and this is a DIY I don’t know I don’t know moment.

Awesome work Forget what the armchair experts here have to say. If it expands, use a band sander or orbital sander to sand off the excess if it warps. Good job.

Damn this is impressive! My entire fence is rotting away and the gate is on its last rotten legs. Respect to you!

If he used green treated boards then they might contract a bit before next summer as they age and dry out. I bet he will be fine

Carpenter here whose build many fences/gates: redwood (cedar) is EXTREMELY weather resistant and has very little expansion/contraction, which is a good thing. Its the reason Cedar is used for siding, shakes, and decking. you shouldn't have any problems with it weathering down anytime soon.

Gate looks great, only nit-pick is the non-matching hardware but it w/e.

Little tip for board spacing (you might've used it and i overlooked and missed it) But the thick end of a speed-square is 1/4 inch thick and makes a great spacer.

Thanks for the input! That was a point I struggled a bit with. I'll keep that in mind in the future!

Appreciate the kudos man!

Thank you. I installed our dishwasher, hung some blinds, installed a new door handle and whatever other small misc items. But this was the first time I've ever built something. I definitely took my time and probably overthought a lot of it. Definitely enjoyed the process though and look forward to other projects!

As for the amount of time it took, I'm slow as well but am always amazed that my handyman (who I know is fast) still takes plenty of the time it would take me 1to get something done. You are probably in the same boat as me, don't even worry about it. Good job!

Something I recently learned with quikcrete, bag directions say not to mix. Pour it in and add water. It naturally pulls it through and cures hard. So I bet yours is completely fine.

> it's far from perfect

Pretty good for a first go. You may have a knack for this.

> The whole project took me about 5 days.

And you probably noticed a ton of stupid little time-burners in the process that you will now avoid. So next time, you'll be much quicker.

Kinda like how I spent the last week trying to get a section of drywall perfect, only to realize that some flaws actually do hide well under paint.

Sometimes you have to waste time now to learn how to avoid wasting it later.

Good work :)

Don’t worry about over thinking, it’s actually a good thing cause you can figure out different ways to do something.

Thank you! I definitely "wasted" a lot of time. But that time "wasted" was definitely used to learn. The gate on the other side of my house is also falling apart. I'm not going to replace the post because that concrete just covers my whole side yard area, but the wood is rotting at the top. Not sure what to do here. Might use wood filler and rot repair and try to get some more years out of it and just build a new gate. Excited to learn though!

Great job 👏👏👏

Thank you kindly.

Good to know! I'll keep an eye on it. Worst-case is the pickets split and I drill in new pickets. Quite frankly as long as I'm not digging a hole and removing concrete again I'm perfectly happy haha!

For the record, these are the pickets that I used.

I think you did a good job.

I like how you did the concrete embeds with sloped water shedding angles. Good choice.

If I were to critique anything (sorry, just my nature) - I would recommend you run a string line instead of using a level. Differences in heights can be seen easily (at least by me) in the top of the fence. The bottom looks straight but the tops vary by fractions of inches. Best to use string lines to keep things straight as opposed to 'level'. Taking a step back to observe the 'overall scene' helps too. Often it's better aesthetically to match existing than to 'do it right'.

If it bothers you with the difference between black decorative features and silver structural ones, you could hit those with black to match and/or painted wood color to match.

I'd also recommend a front side catch release (either string/cord)...someday your arms will be full and you'll be bothered how difficult to open the gate from the front side.

The only other appearance thing I'd critique is: The public side of the fence isn't 'flat'. The gate differs from the post and the pickets on the framed side are inset from the post as well. Perhaps thin spacers to keep everything flat on front would be helpful? Or perhaps a thinner piece on the post? That post just looks odd jutting out so proudly.

Lastly...something that is common is called a 'slam board' (that's what we call them) - it's where the gate slams against a piece of wood as opposed to depending wholly on the catch to stop the gate's momentum. It's a lot of force applied to a small area...and over time, expansion and contraction will loosen hardware.

I feel you should be very pleased with your results. They're very good for a first build.

If you ever do build another one...remember humans generally like 'straight lines' in non-organic designs and vastly admire 'symmetry' (like evenly spaced screws and screws in perfect alignment). There is nothing here in this build you should be ashamed of it's a nice build with good materials and wise component choices.

I don't wish to point out any other observations because I feel you'd think I was being overly critical! Ultimately, a fence needs to keep out what you want...or keep in what you want (whether that be people, animals, or visibility) - and you've managed all that. As well as have the option of adding security. Minimally I'd put in some sort of gate closing arrestor - as I believe that will be your first failure point).

Thank you for sharing this build. I don't mean for my eyes to see things or share them with you in a disparaging manner. This looks much better than my first attempt at a build!

Damn, that looks way better than mine does. And I do a lot of diy. Great job!

I appreciate all constructive criticism. Since I'm brand new to all of this, I'm happy to hear areas for improvement. With regard to the gate being offset from the fence - I noticed that when it was too late and noted it for next time. I like the idea of a slam board, I'll strongly consider adding it.

Thanks for the other input and advice too. My other gate is also in the process of failing although I don't think ill need to replace the post. I'll definitely keep this all in mind as I rebuild that one. Thanks for your thoughts!

Appreciate it mate!

No problem.

The only other 'future suggestion' I have is to look into cable/turnbuckle cross bracing.

As wood expands and contracts eventually all fasteners loosen. A cable cross bracing pulling in tension (which usually means you need X bracing as opposed to / bracing) can be a good long term solution. While it will expand and contract with temperature changes it won't with moisture changes...and as it's a turnbuckle it's much easier to tension or decrease as conditions/seasons change.

You're welcome, and be well. Keep building!

Edit: On the gate...as opposed to a wood 2x4 diagonal.

Not too shabby for a first go. Nice job. Good luck on the many other projects that come with owning a home

We all started somewhere and bonus for learning along the way

Great job man! I remember the pleasure I got from first building a gate. I work in IT, so it was insanely satisfying building stuff with my hands. It great just taking your time and doing a perfect job. I went on to building retaining walls, decks and even outdoor roofing. God it was fun.