DIY sliding gates

Recommendation points

• Sliding gate device
• Installation of sliding gates
• Installation of the support structure
• Concreting of the door support structure
• Assembling the supporting frame of the door leaf
• Assembling the inner door frame
• Roller rollers: manufacturing and assembly
• Gate installation

Many people cannot afford sliding gates in the country or in a country house. In this article, we will describe the process of making and installing a sliding gate with our own hands. Simple design, minimal material costs and a minimum of time make homemade sliding gates available to almost everyone.

The advantage of sliding gates over swing gates is that they take up less space, but such gates cannot be installed in every opening. To move the sash, you need a strip of free space along the fence with a width of at least 40 cm, and a length equal to the width of the opening, plus 25-30% of this distance, but not less than two meters.

For the manufacture of gates, you will also need metal processing skills, in particular – the ability to work with welding.

During installation, you will have to pour the reinforced concrete base (you need 2 m³ concrete).

Important: at the time of installation of the gate, the opening must be clearly limited by two pillars aligned in the common plane of the fence.

Sliding gate device

The design and operating principle of sliding gates are quite simple: the door leaf is suspended and moves freely thanks to the rail. It is attached under the lower support beam of the canvas and is supported by rollers, two rows of which are rigidly fixed to a stationary frame. For vertical stabilization of the curtain, the upper rollers are used to prevent the roll of the gate..

In the closed position, the inner edge of the door is supported by a vertical counter beam with catchers. The second function of this beam is to attach devices for locking the gate..

So, manufacturing of sliding gates can be conditionally divided into four stages:

1. Assembly of a stationary support, which will require:

• a rolled channel with a width of at least 200 mm, a half length of the door opening and an arbitrary shelf height;
• reinforcement with a periodic profile 12–16 mm thick;
• studs M10 or M12 up to 200 mm long;
• profile pipe of square section 50×50 mm and wall thickness 3 mm or more.

2. Assembling the frame of the door leaf, for which you will need:

• two types of square pipe: 50×50 mm with a wall thickness of at least 3 mm and smaller standard sizes, for example, 20×30 mm;
• two channels with parallel wide flanges for the manufacture of a rail.

3. Making a counter beam – a vertical post from a shaped pipe up to 4 meters long (it is important that the pipe is solid).

4. Manufacturing and assembly of gate fittings. Includes two sets of support and support rollers, two gate catchers and a knurling roller. You can easily make metal brackets for them from a metal plate 4–5 mm thick, pipe scraps and channels. It remains only to purchase bearings of the corresponding standard sizes in the amount of 21 pieces.

Installation of sliding gates

Installation of the support structure

Dig a pit 35-40 centimeters wide and 2 meters long to the depth of freezing of the soil. Weld eight pieces of reinforcement about a meter long to the inner shelves of a 200 mm channel. They will act as embedded elements of the foundation and they need to be tied with jumpers from the same reinforcement, located in 2 horizontal rows.

Install the channel with fittings into the pit and align it to the level and plane of the fence. To do this, drive the pegs into the ground and pull the nylon thread. Install the channel close to the fence; on the back side, provide temporary fixation with small pieces of reinforcement. One side of them must be hammered into the wall of the pit, the other must be welded to the embedded fittings. As a result, a metal platform should be obtained, set strictly in level and in the same plane with the main road surface.

Concreting of the door support structure

Fill in two stages. First, half the depth of the pit, and a few days later, when the concrete set, the second part. Remove temporary fasteners before pouring the second layer: any steel element protruding from the surface of the concrete will greatly reduce its life. Further work can be carried out already after 2-3 days, but it is better to let the concrete harden within the four weeks prescribed by SNIP.

At the fence post, flush with the inner edge of the gate opening, install a vertical profile pipe 50x50x3 mm and weld it to the metal base plate. If the post is brick or concrete – additionally secure the pipe to it with anchors.

Attach the second metal pipe in the same way at the opposite edge of the support platform. In case of excessive “buoyancy” of the structure, strengthen the fastening with inclined metal ties, the so-called “kerchiefs”. You can also connect both supports with a horizontal bar.

On the opposite side of the opening, concrete a vertical mating beam or securely attach it to a stone post. It is recommended to retreat 10-15 centimeters from the edge of the opening. The height of the supports and the counter beam must be 15–20 centimeters higher than the door height.

Assembling the supporting frame of the door leaf

Structurally, the canvas consists of:

• bearing frame;
• inner frame;
• rail guide.

The assembly must be started from the supporting frame, it is made in the form of a rectangular trapezoid from a pipe 50x50x3 mm. The lower base is longer than the upper one by the length of the concrete channel plus 40–50 cm. The trapezoid also has a vertical crossbeam made of a pipe of the same size, it separates the rectangle of the door leaf from the triangular part with an inclined edge.

All parts must be made from one piece of pipe. Prepare the parts in advance, cut the ends connected at right angles at 45 °. Lay out structural details on a flat surface: it is very important to maintain a horizontal level to avoid distortions in the plane of the frame.

Measure the diagonals of the inner rectangle; they should be equal. A deviation of up to 2 mm per 1 m is allowed. When the parts are matched, weld each joint in 2-3 places. Then check the diagonals for equality again: welding can pull metal. Weld the seams along the entire length, remove metal build-up and scale with a grinder with a grinding wheel.

Assembling the inner door frame

Let’s start assembling the inner frame. Its obligatory part is a frame made of a profile pipe 20×30 mm, it duplicates the rectangle of the supporting frame on the inside of the canvas.

The second part of the frame is the lintels, which add rigidity to the structure. The number of vertical jumpers should be selected based on the total length of the goal: one for every 90-120 centimeters. Horizontal lintels are not necessary for door heights up to 250 cm, but you can weld them on for more convenient fastening of the cladding material. Fasten the frame flush to the side from which you plan to sheathe the gate.

To the underside of the support trapezium, two channels must be welded, placed on the edge. They will function as a rail guide. The gap between the ends of the shelves should be 10–15 mm more than the roller roller bracket thickness. You can also use not two channels, but a profile pipe with a rip cut along the entire length.

Roller rollers: manufacturing and assembly

To assemble the roller roller brackets, make two plates 150 cm wide and 250-300 cm long. Drill four holes with a diameter of 14-16 mm in the corners, based on the thickness of the studs selected. Mark the longitudinal axis of the plate and weld two metal lugs on the sides of it so that the gap between them is at least 6-8 mm. The holes in the ears should be located at the top and have a diameter of 12-14 mm.

The rollers themselves are assembled on a triangular plate of the same thickness as the bracket parts. At the base of the triangle, you need to drill four holes for the rods on which the bearings will stand. Select the distance between the holes so that a gap of at least 5 mm remains between the installed bearings..

Insert four rods into the holes made and weld them, observing a strictly perpendicular position relative to the plate. Take the length of the bars 2–3 cm more than the inner clearance of the rail. When the rods are welded, clamp the roller plate in a vise and cut symmetrically on both sides so that there is a gap of 2-3 mm from the side walls of the rail on both sides.

Choose ball or roller bearings with a cage closed on both sides with metal caps. The inner diameter of the bearing must be equal to the thickness of the rods. The outer diameter should be less than 3-4 mm less than the inner clearance of the guide. Shrink-fit bearings. Wrap each in plastic or plastic wrap and soak in boiling water for 5 minutes. Then pull out one at a time and install flush with the end of the bar.

To make the gate less noisy, you can pull PE pipe sleeves over the bearings. Cut the rings to the desired width and slightly smaller diameter than the bearing itself. Then heat them up with a construction hair dryer and pull them on the bearing, then let them cool naturally. Such an upgrade will increase the outer diameter of the rollers, which must be taken into account when marking the places for fixing the bars and choosing the size of the bearings.

In the lower part of the roller plate, you need to drill a hole of the same diameter as in the bracket ears. The two pieces are connected by a steel pin with cotter pins or bolt and nut. The roller roller must move freely when tilted relative to the bracket.

To manufacture the supporting upper rollers, cut off 15–20 cm of the channel, precisely mark and drill four holes in its upper shelf. The centers of the holes must have an equal distance from the longitudinal axis – the distance is equal to half the outer diameter of the bearing and half the width of the door frame. Thus, the upper frame beam is sandwiched between the two rows of bearings, which eliminates oblique vibrations.

Gate installation

A knurling roller must be installed at the end of the rail on the mating beam side. When closed, it will run into the shelf of the lower catcher and unload the gate when closed.

Extend the slit in the guide by 3-4 mm more than the thickness of the bearing, step back from the edge by one of its outer diameter and mark the center of the hole. Please note that the bearing should protrude 4–5 mm from the guide. Drill a through hole the same diameter as the bearing bore. Insert the bar into the hole by threading it into the bearing inside the guide. Secure the bar on both sides by welding and remove metal beads using a grinder.

It is necessary to install the carriages inside the guides and position the gate parallel to the plane of the fence. Move the carriages so that they are at the edges of the channel in the foundation. Mark the centers of the holes and remove the canvas.

Drill holes according to the marked marks, the diameter of which is equal to the thickness of the studs. Insert the studs with the screwed nuts into the holes and scald them, then you need to clean the threads from the traces of welding with a wire brush and twist the nuts. Install the carriages on the pins and roll the gate onto them, placing them in the middle of the carrier platform.

Adjust the horizontal level by turning the lower nuts on the studs. When aligning the rollers, secure them with the top locknut. Now the gate can be rolled up for the last time and the supporting upper rollers can be installed by welding the channel base to the uprights. It remains only to install two catchers on the counter beam. You can easily make them by cutting the profile pipe along the line of the ribs and bending the resulting petals.

In the next article we will tell you how to equip a gate of this design with an electric drive..