How to Build an Outdoor Gate, Continued

• They began by drilling two holes completely through each joint.

• Next, they brushed wood glue onto pieces of dowel, inserted them into the holes, and hammered them in.

• The dowels, or pegs were intentionally left long so they were easy to work with. There were cut off flush using Ron's Japanese handsaw.

• With the gate frame completed, they were ready to put a piece of latticework in the center. To hold the latticework in place, they needed to install keeper strips. Lisa attached the wooden strips with a nail gun.

• After cutting out a piece of latticework to fit the frame, they dropped it into place against the keeper strips.

• They attached additional keeper strips on the opposite side of the gate the same way they were attached on the back side.

• Lisa painted the gate white.

• After the paint dried, Lisa used a cordless power driver to screw one side of the hinges to the fence post.

• They set the gate on 2-by-4s to provide the proper clearance underneath and then leveled the gate with shims.

• Finally, Lisa screwed the other side of the hinges to the gate.

• The final step was to mount the latch.

• The result had all the charm and beauty of a real New England garden. It was especially attractive the way the top of this gate reflected the arch that made it look almost like a complete circle.

A couple years ago, they filmed The Perfect Storm in Gloucester…now Lisa is convinced she has "the perfect gate" in Gloucester. With their new gate, Lisa and Mike have adequately beefed up security for Kashlyn. The customized design was not only a perfect compliment to the existing fence, but to the historic character of this old New England town.