a fence to keep my dog safe from others

Swinging On A Gate: Three Fun Uses For Extra Gates

As a fence contractor, you always try to get your purchasing orders right. Unfortunately, there is always going to be that certain percentage of human error, either on the part of the company that sold you fencing materials and gates, or on your own part. While you can always store a few extra fencing panels and materials for upcoming projects, an overabundance of gates is a little trickier. When it is the problem of the retailer, you can usually get them to take the extra gates back. When it is your error, it may be a little more difficult to argue that you did not want all the extra gates you accidentally ordered. Thankfully, there are a few fun uses for extra gates.

Playground Equipment

You probably remember swinging in circles on a gate on the playground when you were a kid. You can still do that for your own kids as well as your customers' children. For each extra gate in your inventory that you plan to install as a piece of playground equipment, you will need some quick set cement, a posthole digger and a heavy duty metal pole on which to mount the gate. (You already have the cement and posthole digger in your fencing supplies, so a project like this should be no trouble at all.)

Snow Hill Sliders

Gates are quite durable things. They take a lot of abuse in the wind and weather and still keep swinging open and shut. Now imagine laying a gate flat on the ground, attaching another handle on one side just opposite the handle that most gates already have. Wax the side of the gate that is on the ground. Voila! You have a snow hill slider that is big enough for three or four people and can swish downhill just as fast as one that could be purchased at a store. (Vinyl fence gates work the best, but if you provide a slick lacquer to one side of a wooden gate, it should work just as well.)

Garden Shields

Rather than rely on garden netting and wire plant protectors, why not enclose an entire garden with extra gates? You could install them in the same way you would install any fence, except the gates can all swing open or lock as needed. The best part about protecting a garden this way is that if you need extra room to hoe, till or pull weeds, your arms, legs and backside will have more room to work. Just open one of the "garden shields" and latch it open in the area of the garden where you are working and close it back up again when you are finished with that section.

If you're interested in re-purposing a fence gate, contact a business like Morris Fence Co to see if they have extras that you could put to good use.


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