Thread: spacing dilemma

The only option I can see would be to rip a board or two, then have whatever spacing you desire..... If the ripped boards are at the ends and symmetrically placed, it won't look out of place - and nobody but you will see it in any case.... ripping one board back to 120mm would give you an extra 2mm per gap approx....
A 21mm gap would look a bit dicey I think....

Guy on the corner has a "window" in his front gate for his dog - just a framed hole about 150 x 150 mm. Bob, the dog, spends hours with his head out the window communing with the neighbours.

Fair Winds

Graeme

We once had a fence done between our house and the neighbours. The neighbour really wanted a truly private fence as it was a rental, and apparently real privacy helps rent a place. The guy doing the fence said that you need to leave a gap to allow the palings to expand/contract a bit. What he did was two layers of palings. The first layer had a traditional spacing, and then he did a second layer to cover the gaps. Obviously that means you need more material though, and the gate would be heavier.

thanks for the reply guys, I think im gonna go with 5mm spacings and then i'll rip down the far end pieces to suit, it is what it is at the end of the day. Ha the dog view panel sounds cool!

The big question here is how dry is the timber? If the moisture content is still quite high the 3mm spacing will be fine as you will probably end up with 5mm gaps later down the track. As the timber will be vertical, it will not respond to moisture fluctuation as much as a deck with large surface area to retain water. If the gates are to be painted or oiled, moisture content variation would be minimal and the probability of shrinkage would be far greater than expansion. I would be happy with the 3mm.

i agree with rustynail 3mm looks great i have done many fences gates and decks with 90mm merbau and my opinion is that it looks fantastic and i imagine this time of year it will have a high moisture content.

To be honsest im not really sure how to tell if it has a high moisture content or not, I work with aluminium and glass and dont have to worry about that sort of stuff!
However, the timber does look fairly "rich" and 'wet" in colour, so im assuming it isnt too dry, plus I got the stuff from bunnings (before I discovered a Merbau supply joint nearby, always the way!), so it may be pre oiled or something? not sure. The only issue with the 3mm spacing is that even the slightest bend in the timber shows up big time whereas 5mm tends to trick the eye a little more, if that makes sense. One things for sure, once the gates are up, im gonna leave it for a few months and hose it every few days to let it bleed, cant believe how much stuff comes out. I gotta make sure I do this cause later on im sealing the driveway so any stains will be washed out when I acid wash the driveway before sealing.