Swinging gates are the most common option to enter the cottage, the yard of a private house or a garage. This design is very convenient, practical and versatile. The gates are easy to manufacture and easy to install, the main thing is that they are made of high-quality and durable materials. For the products to last as long as possible without malfunctioning, it is necessary to properly monitor them - clean the mechanisms from contamination, lubricate and adjust the system. But over time, minor failures are unavoidable, even with perfect care, various parts of the sturdy construction begin to wear out.
Swing Gate Arrangement
Before proceeding to repair the gate, it is necessary to understand how this construction is arranged.
Absolutely all varieties of swing structures do not do without the following elements:
- supporting pillars;
- gate leaves;
- hinges;
- locking mechanisms.
Some designs are also equipped with a special rocking mechanism, which is fixed at the bottom of the sash.
Breakdowns in swing structures are not too many, and repair you probably can do yourself with your own hands, you only need to know how to handle the basic repair tools.
Breakage options and their removal.
The most common breakdowns in hinged structures are misalignments of supports, sagging of sashes, jamming and breakages of hinges, malfunctions of the locking mechanism.
Repair of hinges
Breakdowns of these elements are quite common, which is associated with constant high loads on them.
Damages may be as follows:
- there may be a displacement of the hinges;
- the fasteners can come loose;
- the piston rod can break;
- the hinge could become deformed;
- The hinge may be damaged by corrosion.
A hinge can also break, which occurs when it has not been properly secured to the support post. Another cause is a factory defective hinge. To fix the breakage, you will need to remove the gate leaves and replace either only the hinge mount, or install a new hinge (in the case of a factory defect).
If the hinge or piston rod is deformed due to sufficiently high pressure of the metal leaves, it is also better to replace them completely, as reassembling these parts will take a long time and will not guarantee that the breakage will be corrected.
The problem of jamming the system is not uncommon. It is most often caused by a long "idle time" of the gate - the period when they are not used at all. Precipitation could fall on the hinges, condensation due to temperature changes, as a result of which the hinges can lose their property of smooth rotation, and they begin to jam. This can be eliminated by pouring liquid solideol or machine oil into the hinge mechanism, at the same time the sash should be gradually rocked so that their movement is fully unblocked.
Repair of pillar posts
In situations where the gate leaves are left open for a long time, it may cause the supporting pillars to warp. In order to prevent this from happening, you need to install protection - to hammer a wedge between the ground and the edge of the swinging gate leaf.
If the skew of the supporting pillars has already occurred, to correct this defect will be difficult. To do this, you will need to remove the gate leaves from the hinges and reinstall the supporting pillars, strengthen the soil and re-cement them.
Repairs of sagging sashes
This malfunction is common in metal gates. It occurs due to the deformation of the structure, which, in turn, is caused by the lack of crossbars on the frame of the sashes.
In order to eliminate the sag of the sashes, you will need to remove them from the hinges, disconnect the frame from the leaf, align and strengthen it, then install the crossbars. Then you can reassemble the leaf and install the gate leaves.
Repair of the locking mechanism
This breakdown is quite rare, but still gives a lot of inconvenience.
In cases where the gate lock is a construction of an eye and a latch - the repair will not be very difficult. The problem in such cases is the distortion of one of the elements. Therefore, it will be enough only to straighten the deformed part.
If the swing gate has a mortise locking mechanism, its repair will require more effort and time. It will be necessary to remove the mortise mechanism and give it for repair, if it is not repairable - replace it with a new one.
Preventive measures
If you have a private house, cottage, garage or any other place with a swing gate, do not forget that the term of their serviceable operation will directly depend on the frequency of opening and closing of the gate. Operate them as infrequently as possible, let alone leave them open for a long time. This advice is universal for all types of systems.
It is also very important to take good care of the hinges of the system - lubricate them with special products that prevent corrosion.
To summarize, we can conclude that most of the breakdowns of swing gates can be solved quite easily, and you can cope with it yourself. In the case of more serious failures, or if you use complex swing structures, which include automatic systems Nice, it is best to seek help from professionals to make repairs.
