Question regards tongue & groove gate making...

JustAnotherSaver

I've done it a bit !!!!-eyed (as per usual) & ended up piecing the strips together & gluing them before cutting the required off each end (side). I also don't have a guide for my circular saw in order to do a perfect straight cut & even if i did, the circular saw i have isn't a very good one anyway.

As it stands, the gate width is currently perfect ... the only thing is there's a tongue on 1 end & a groove on the other.
I have 1 strip spare which was to put on & then cut down to size but the sash clamps i have wont grip another strip. I'm currently maxed out.


I'm not overly bothered about it looking perfect (each end cut down).

My question is - aside from simply not being a 'proper job', is there any negative effects of leaving the tongue & groove in place on either end & hanging the gate like that?

The panels are tanalised & will be either painted with that ducks back paint or creocote. I haven't decided yet.

flashg67

Sounds like how I would have ended up doing it! Personally apart from the aesthetics, can't see it being a problem. Handsaw it if you can bothered...?

leveller2911

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I've done it a bit !!!!-eyed (as per usual) & ended up piecing the strips together & gluing them before cutting the required off each end (side). I also don't have a guide for my circular saw in order to do a perfect straight cut & even if i did, the circular saw i have isn't a very good one anyway.

You shouldn't glue the boards together. They should just be slotted together and leave a space between each board of 2 mm to allow for expansion. Timber shrinks and expands with the seasons. The job of the top/bottom rail (ledges) is to keep the gate together and each board should be fixed through to the rails.

My question is - aside from simply not being a 'proper job', is there any negative effects of leaving the tongue & groove in place on either end & hanging the gate like that?

Its not a problem............

JustAnotherSaver

leveller2911 wrote: »

You shouldn't glue the boards together. .

I was just following the guide from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92GH2MXM2o0

5:45 in if you want to skip

The annoying thing is while my gate is level top & bottom, one of the ends the T&Gs didn't all slot up super tight.
So for example - the top are all nice & snug with the tongue as far in the groove as it'll go, but the bottom, some are nice & snug but others have a couple mm gap. I couldn't even rubber mallet it in or even sash clamp them together.

It's not much of a difference but it's a difference.

And good to know that it should be ok. Wont look the best but so long as it functions ok then i suppose it'll have to do.

SailorSam

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

The panels are tanalised & will be either painted with that ducks back paint or creocote. I haven't decided yet.

You can't buy creosote now, the EU took it off the market. Maybe when we leave the shops will get it back in again.

casper_g

SailorSam wrote: »

You can't buy creosote now, the EU took it off the market. Maybe when we leave the shops will get it back in again.

Creocote - it wasn't a typo!

Norman_Castle

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

My question is - aside from simply not being a 'proper job', is there any negative effects of leaving the tongue & groove in place on either end & hanging the gate like that?

Presumably you mean either side. The tongue or groove sides will be more prone to damage than a solid edge. Its not difficult to remove them with a plane. I would hinge the groove side and remove the tongue.

leveller2911

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I was just following the guide from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92GH2MXM2o0

5:45 in if you want to skip

Anyone with a camera can post a video on Youtube. The guys who posts under the name of "Ultimate handyman" should give you a clue to his competance. He may be very good at replacing a tap washer,or put up a fence panel but thats the limit of his knowledge.

The fact that he has the nerve to make a video claiming to know how to make a T&G ledged,braced and boarded gate is a bit of an insult. I can't lay bricks any sense so I certainly wouldn't be making a video on how to lay bricks and wouldn't recommend anyone watches more of his videos.

The annoying thing is while my gate is level top & bottom, one of the ends the T&Gs didn't all slot up super tight.
So for example - the top are all nice & snug with the tongue as far in the groove as it'll go, but the bottom, some are nice & snug but others have a couple mm gap. I couldn't even rubber mallet it in or even sash clamp them together.

Pine T&G in particular can twist and warp quite a lot so it may well take some fitting. As I said, you shouldn't clamp the boards up really tight because they need to move with the weather (hence you don't glue them together,but I see why you did) so leave a 2mm gap between then to allow for expansion. As long as the one that didn't clamp up tight is still in the slop it may be ok. You may find over thr Winter with the wet weather the board will bow ( cup) and try and push off the rails. Not a lot you can do apart from plenty of stain etc. Preservatives don't tend to make timber water proof, just insect,fungus resistant.

And good to know that it should be ok. Wont look the best but so long as it functions ok then i suppose it'll have to do.

Well the good thing is pine T&G isn't that expensive so you could have another go if the current one doesn't last that long.

Life is a learning curve and we all make mistakes. I have a window thats been sitting in my workshop for the last 8yrs which is 100mm too tall and I've been doing this job for over 30yrs .. :rotfl:

JustAnotherSaver

Like you say, it wasn't really expensive. I think the total came in at about £30 - that was about 11-12 lengths of the T&G & then some 4x1 tanalised rough sawn for the rear supports.

With a bit of luck it'll come down to another one of those internet doom-&-gloom stories where I get told it wont work & then x-years later it's still going strong Either that or this one actually wont work.

Only one way to find out.

leveller2911

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

With a bit of luck it'll come down to another one of those internet doom-&-gloom stories where I get told it wont work & then x-years later it's still going strong Either that or this one actually wont work.

Only one way to find out.

In 21st century Joinery we still use motice and tenon joints because they have been around for thousands of years. Its that old saying of "If it aint broke ,don't fix it". With all the modern computerised technology we now have in the industry we still use many of the old techniques because they work.

A real Joiner will never,ever glue all the boards together because we know that timber expands and contracts with the Seasons and we need to allow for this movement when we make windows,doors,conservatories etc so the boards and door panels are left to "float" (no glue ) so they can move and always allow for movement by leaving expansion gaps. If you try and stop them , you won't do it successfully and one of 2 things will happen. They will expand and split the boards or they will literally break the gate.

I saw a hardwood floor that was laid a few years ago where they didn't check the moisture content of the sub floor. They laid the flooring and within 4 weeks the floor had expanded and where it met the blockwork wall it actually cracked the wall , it forced the whole bottom coarse of blocks to move sideways. Its a extreme case but it does show the force that a material can experience when expanding through the rise in moisture content.

The thing is with Youtube video's is that people upload them for various reasons but generally its to get enough views so they can be paid by youtube for promoting advertising or people promote their own business. I don't think Youtube is all bad, in fact I have picked up a couple of useful tips in the past but much of the DIY stuff is terrible.

JustAnotherSaver

I know exactly what you're saying & agree with it.

The flipside of that is that (the same YouTube guy) i didn't know how to drain down the central heating system. I checked out numerous videos including the one he uploaded. He actually went a little more detailed than the other videos i saw but they were all basically the same. Just my 'lightbulb' came on after seeing his video.

Followed the video & drained down the system ok.

But before it's said - i know you said that not ALL YT DIY videos are bad.

I do it enough times - follow a guide & then someone (in this case yourself) comes in & says XYZ & then i'm like oh yeah, of course, i should've thought of that it makes sense (the expanding of the wood in this case).

The old gate that was in place was just 4x1 rough sawn sort of butted up against each other with thin slate batten covering the gaps. A very DIY job by the previous house owner but i guess that'll be why.

Anyway i'll stick it on & see how we go. Hopefully it works out, but if not then i know what to do next time round.