Tips for Hanging a Behlen Gate (Video)
One of the staples around any farm or ranch is the gate. One of our favorites at Coastal is the 12-foot Behlen collared hinge gate with a premium powder-coated finish. Today, the crew with Creekside Fencing are working with Coastal to show you how to properly hang a gate of this size and get years of use from it.
John works with Creekside Fencing to properly install a 16-foot Behlen gate.
Hanging a Gate
John and the crew at Creekside Fencing to hang a Behlen gate with 8-foot posts already buried in the ground.
Materials Needed:
- Gate (and hardware kit)
- Brace poles
- Level
- Drill
- 7/8” drill bit
To start, we drove our posts 4 feet into the ground. This gave us a solid start without the wait. If you don’t have an automatic post pounder, you can dig a hole using an auger or shovel.
Behlen gates come sized to fit. We simply made our opening 32-feet wide for the 2 - 16ft. gates.
It’s a good idea to set these in concrete, if possible. Then level both of them straight up and down.
The next step is marking a straight line up and down on the post where the gate will hang.
We then do a little math to mark and drill our holes using the line we drew earlier to keep everything centered. Be sure to leave some clearance from the ground up.
All Behlen gates come with a hardware package. It’s everything you need to install your gate, including either lag bolts or these bolts that go all the way through the post.
The bottom bolt has a tab on it. Install it from the bottom up and turn it to lock it into place.
The top bolt goes in from the top. Again, turn it and lock it into place.
Mount your bottom hinge on the second rail up...right against the bottom rail. Mount the top hinge below the second rail down.
Once you have those mounted, slide the gate into the holes.
On the other side, install washers and bolts and tighten them down.
To level the gate, just thread the top or bottom gate bolts in our out. For example, threading the bottom bolt out will raise the gate up. Once your gate is level, tighten the inside bolts until they’re flush against the post.
On the other side, install washers and bolts and tighten them down.
Coastal Has Gates, Fencing, and More (a lot more)
When you’re ready for a new gate on your property, your Northwest owned and operated Coastal has everything you need to get the job done right. That includes power tools, bits, and more. You’ll even find a huge selection of boots and workwear to stay comfortable and safe while you work.
