The Tech Team® #734 Gate Brace Keeps Wood Garden Gates from Sagging

This is a quick tutorial on how to assemble and use the Tech Team® #734 Gate Brace Kit, the perfect cure for a sagging gate.

The gate we will be using for this demo is approximately 35” wide by 54” high so you can have some reference on what type of gate sizes you can use this product on. Generally speaking, the tools that will be most helpful in putting this together will be a drill driver with the number 2 Phillips bit, a number two Phillips screwdriver, pair of pliers, a drill index, an adjustable wrench, or if you’re a purist, you can use a 14 millimeter and a 19 millimeter open end or combination wrench.

The set consists of three 2mm thick steel bars that have been drilled through so that they can be connected to form different lengths to accommodate gates of different size. Also included is a bracket for the upper portion, appropriate nuts and screws for doing the rest of the assembly, one bar that has a 6 inch M12 threaded end on it (which is what you’re going to use to actually pull the gate into square) and an upper and lower bar. Tape measures, tools, etc. are not included in the set.

Under normal circumstances your gate is going to sag towards the lower end that’s furthest away from the hinge side. We’re going to mount our gate brace from the lower corner that sagging to the upper hinge corner. The first thing to do is to lay out the various parts of the gate brace. The L-shape bracket goes towards the upper corner near the upper hinge. The next thing to do is put about one inch of the threaded rod through the bracket. The reason for this will become obvious later. Now you take the center strap (the one with all the holes) and lay that out sort of in the middle and then you take your lower strap, which has the holes on either end and put it from the lower corner of the gate frame up to your center strap. This is going to define the length of your brace and the points where you need to connect the 3 straps together. Put one screw and nut connecting the top strap to the middle one. We’re going to do the same thing at the lower end of the middle strap. Now we have the basic layout for how the set is going to assemble and fit. At this point, you can take your 14 mm wrench, or take an adjustable wrench, and the #2 Phillips screwdriver and tighten the screws that hold the sections of the strap together.

Now that you know the locations of the bracket for the top and where the strap fits at the bottom, you can drill one eighth inch pilot holes approximately one inch deep then using your drill driver, if you don’t have one, you’re #2 Phillips Screwdriver to continue the installation. Only anchor the lower end of the bottom part of the brace first as you’ll need to be able to adjust and pivot the brace so that properly aligns with the L-shaped bracket that’s going to be at the other end. Now that you have the L-shape racket installed and the threaded rod end through the bracket. On the bracket located at the upper hinge, thread on one of the M12 nuts and then using your 19 millimeter wrench or your adjustable wrench, continue to tighten that nut until you pull the gate into square. Once you satisfied the gate is square, and the latch engages. Take the other large nut and thread that on and tighten it slightly because this nut will jam against the other nut and hold it in position and keep your gate square. Should the gate continue to sag it’s simply a matter of backing off both nuts and tighten the lower one and you can pull it square again and then tighten the upper nut to hold it in place.

Cables, turnbuckles, and eye bolts are great for a quick inexpensive fix for a sagging gate, shed door, or barn door, but they just don’t last, and they have a limited adjustment. By far the best way to get the sag out of a garden gate is to use a structural steel gate brace. These are made by several companies such as: True Latch, The Gate Brace, Adjust-A-Gate, Nuvo Iron, Homax, Stanley, National Hardware, and Tech Team. We happen to like the one made by Tech Team https://techteamproducts.com/  the best as this #734 is made from heavy duty 2mm welded steel construction with 6” of adjustment utilize a long M12 threaded rod https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Reinforce-Construction-Tech-Team/dp/B07X2LMXS2/ref=sr_1_32?keywords=gate+brace&qid=1581099336&sr=8-32. It is far superior to anything else available and does an absolutely excellent job.