I made a gate last year out of a bit of fence, in-situ, and I was really chuffed with it. Then it dried out and shrank, and the mortice wouldn’t lock properly. Then it got wet in the winter, expanded, and wouldn’t open. Predictable, of course, I’m putting it down to experience.

However now it’s approaching the correct size, so if I stain it now is it likely to remain roughly the current size? Will Cuprinol etc help retain moisture AND stop it absorbing?

It’s wood, so not really. Given that you’ve used material that was a fence, the likelihood is that it’s been made from cheap fast growing timber, which has a tendency to absorb moisture more than say a slow growth hardwood.

Take wooden boats for example, very simplistically even though they are painted and antifouled below the water line, the inherent properties of wood make sure that the planks expand when immersed and prevent the boat from sinking.

The trick to your gate issue will be to make small adjustments when it is in both states and ensure that when it is swollen there is a small gap of say 1/8″ between it and the closing post. This will obviously increase when the gate has dried out, possibly by as much as 1/2″ and if this gap is a concern for you, consider fixing a cover strip to the gate.

It’s a bit of a black art,

Cling film it 🙂

In its dry state the gate itself still fit nicely, becaues it was made from the same vertical overlapping boards as the original fence so a bit of movement was invisible. The mortice lock was the only problem. If its going to expand again as much as it did this winter, I’ll have to shamfer the gate post and gate edges to allow it to open. Then faff about with the lock and hope for the best 🙂

I thought a wood treatment would allow water to run off rather than soak in – to an extent at least..?

I could gloss the whole thing 🙂

You need a hasp and staple or a bolt. A mortise on a gate? Destined to need constant fiddling.

Yeah it’ll keep moving, you’ll just need to leave a bigger gap to allow for it.

At my last house we had big gates two 6ftx6ft gates, at first we got wooden gates which just sagged\dropped, twisted, shank and expanded. Gave up with them in the end and welded up metal frames and clad them to look similar, hey presto no more twisting, dropping, swelling and shrinking. I pass the place occasionally and they same gates are still going strong 10 years on

Not just me then. My first gate attempt and I was chuffed to bits. Now it’s in & out (oh err!) of alignment all the time.

Chalked it down to poor wood. When it was the right size I varnished the hell out of it and the movement is far less but still noticeable.

I’ve adjusted the latch to allow for movement and put it on the growing list of DIY jobs that have not been done satisfactorily/taught me a lesson the hard way and will be revisited when I have cash/time/beer/sun in spades.

Your issue would appear to stem from wanting the closing gap being near invisible when it’s in a dry state. If you want that, you’ll either have to use something like Iroko or Brazillian Mahogany, but they will still absorb moisture and expand, just not as much movement as your current softwood.

If the expense of the above is not worthwhile for you, then I suggest you take the gate off and remove the excess 3/8″ or so off the closing rail with a skill saw, dig out the mortice for the lock by the same amount and re drill the handle spindle and key holes also. Chamfering the edges will quite honestly look like a bodge job, because it is.

Your issue would appear to stem from wanting the closing gap being near invisible when it’s in a dry state.

No, not really, I just want it to open and close when wet and the lock to work when dry.

The reason for the mortice lock was that I wanted the gate to be more or less invisible from the other side when closed, but I also want to be able to open it from the outside. With the mortice lock it just had a discrete keyhole.

these are pretty good;

they work through a keyhole but you’ve got a long throw bolt on there to allow for movement. Use them on my beach hut and they’ve survived a few winters (which is more than can be said for the beach hut which got washed away last month…) – I would make sure they have a small ‘overhang’ of wood above them to keep them out of direct rain, though.

http://www.easylocks.co.uk/enfield-garage-door-bolts-garage-door-locks-handles-p-4624.html

So, if I go beachcombing in your area I might find some of these washed up 🙂

Thanks for the tip.

help yourself 🙂

I normally move the mortice lock to one of two position every year, it has a winter position and a summer position. Although strangely enough this year it didn’t need the winter position and managed on summer settings.

Hm.. maybe I can construct some sort of adjustable lock carrier.. turn a screw to move in and out.. 🙂