We have ordered and now installed 2 of these. The first is a double that spans 12 ft. The second I had to modify because I needed one that would span at a minimum 73 inches. But I ordered a 60 and had to modify it to fit. I would have preferred to order 1 of 2 boxes like came in my first order, but was unable to locate that option. I made the second gate work, but it is not ideal because the metal expandable bar in the middle does not cover the full expanse on top and lower crossbar. However the 2 x 4's work just fine so all is good.

I think the concept is great, the major parts seem well made (the hardware, latch, screws, etc."¦ not so well made), and assembly was mostly straightforward. As for the instructions"¦ They were fair "“ not the greatest, but far from the worst I've ever seen. Having pretty good basic carpentry (and logic) skills I was able to fill in the gaps. It appears that this set of instructions was produced for multiple models of gate; but the differences aren't clearly spelled out in the instructions. The instructions also left out things; like including some sort of saw in the "tools needed" section, how to measure the 2x4's, and how to plumb and level the gate.

When finished my gate felt very solid and swung easily; but my gate is on the small side of the widths this kit makes, results may be different for larger gates. My opening is 40" and located between a block wall and a stucco house. My old gate had two 2x4's attached to the wall and the house to act as jambs; without realizing that it would cause problems with the Adjust-A-Gate hinges I replaced them with the same prior to purchasing the kit. Consequently I couldn't use the supplied screw-in hinges and I replaced them with bolt-on hinges (NATIONAL MFG/SPECTRUM BRANDS HHI N131-409 Gate Pintle, 5/58-Inch, Zinc) that had to be modified to work with the gate frame.

Other changes I made were replacing the supplied screws with coated deck screws and upgrading the latch to one that could be operated from both sides. I considered changing out the truss cable kit for stainless steel parts but decided to wait and see if the supplied kit rusts first.

I did some cosmetic things to the gate. All the wood parts were primed and painted prior to assembly and the metal Adjust-A-Gate frame was spray painted to match (using Rust-Oleum paint per the manufacturer's recommendation). A diagonal hole was drilled through the center crosspiece for the adjustment wire to pass through. Handles were added to the front and back of the gate (A29 Hardware Door /Gate pull, Cast Iron , Black Powder Coat Finish, 2-Pack). Gate boards were secured with three rows of 1/4" x 1 1/2" lag screws and washers spray painted black to add some visual interest to the street side (yes, this is overkill when it comes to fastening "“ it was mostly decorative). The gate boards were allowed to run long at the top and were cut into an arc with a jig saw after the gate was finished. The last board on the hinge side was allowed to run wide of the gate by about 1 1/2" to leave a gap matching the gap on the latch side. Because the new latch interfered with its original location the gate stop was relocated towards the bottom of the gate and attached with a 5/16" x 2" carriage bolt.

I am very pleased with the finished gate and would definitely buy this again if I build another gate. I gave it four stars rather than five because of the instructions and hardware. I would be willing to pay an additional $25 and give it five stars if they improved the instructions, upgraded the hardware, and added a label that read "Union made in the USA."

To summarize:
PROS:
- Simplifies the process of building a gate.
- The fully assembled gate is very sturdy.
- Allows the builder to customize the appearance of the gate with his/her choice of materials.
- Is relatively quick to assemble.
- A turnbuckle allows the gate to be pulled back into square if it begins to sag.
- Works for a variety of opening widths.

CONS:
- Incomplete/unclear instructions.
- Poor quality hardware.

TIPS:
- Consider upgrading the hardware.
- Keep track of which Adjust-A-Gate side piece is which. Pay attention to the positions of the predrilled holes to tell them apart and which way is up. Once you've figured it out put a piece of tape on each piece with something like "latch side, top" or "hinge side, top" on it.
- Use the straightest 2x4's you can find.
- During assembly measure the gate diagonally from corner to corner (and adjust if necessary) to insure that the gate is square.
- Before screwing in the 2x4's use a level to check the sides of the closed gate for plumb (side to side and front to back) and the top for level.
- Use a scrap piece of wood taped the latch side gate post to act as a temporary spacer to maintain the gap between the post and the gate frame when attaching the 2x4's. (I left a 3/4" gap to accommodate my upgraded latch "“ the thickness of the stack of five Home Depot paint stir sticks I was using as a spacer "“ if you want you can probably go narrower if don't have that sort of constraint.)
- It is easy to overtighten the turnbuckle and pull your gate out of square when you first screw down the turnbuckle.
- When attaching the boards to the gate put a scrap piece of wood under the gate to act as guide to keep the boards even. Don't do this if you are matching the height of your gate to the height of your fence.
- If you're going to paint your gate frame do it before assembly using spray paint and be prepared to touch up.
- If you attach the gate frame hinges with the nuts toward the back side of the gate you will need to make countersink holes in the back of one the boards to accommodate them. If you face them toward the front side you won't.
- I used Locktite® on all of the screws on the gate itself because some of them would become inaccessible once the boards went on and I was concerned about them being loosened by vibrations from closing and opening the gate.
- In addition to the tools listed in the "TOOLS NEEDED" section of the instructions you'll also need a saw (a circular saw is a good choice), a tape measure, and a level.
- When installing the wood post hinges into your 4x4's you can use a large crescent wrench for leverage by putting the pin on the hinge through the hole in the wrench's handle.

I purchased two Adjust-A-Gates to create a double-door entry to allow storage of my trailer within my fenced in yard. They were purchased and installed in May 2012. I wanted to wait a few fonths to see how they held up before reviewing.

To ensure the gates were not extended to their limits I spaced my gate posts about 9'-6" apart. I am glad I did. At that spacing I had to cut the 2"x4" braces to about 54" long. At that length, the gate was near it's limits. I do not see how you could effectively get a 60" gate without having gaps in the intermediate member and gate end members. Therefore I give the gate a rating of 4 stars.

That issue aside, installation was relatively simple for one person. The boxes were slightly damaged upon arrival but all contents were there and the coatings in perfect shape. I found that laying all the components out at the job site to be extremely useful. The instructions are adequate as once you see the gate laid out installation would become obvious to most. The hinge pin installation was the most difficult part. Unless you have forearms of steel, ensure you have a length of pipe that will slide over the pin giving you a mechanical advantage when turning it into the post. I did not...a crescent wrench barely did the job the last few turns.

TIP: Place a liberal amount of grease on the pins before setting gate on hinge pins

The rest of the installation was a breeze. Install hinged gate end, attach top and bottom 2"x4" members, slide in intermediate steel members, attach opposite gate end to 2"x4"'s, center intermediate steel and screw into place, install center 2"x4", add anti-sage cable and tighten, check level, and install pickets. In all, it took me just over an hour to get both gates installed.

Two months and half later in the hot south carolina sun and random afternoon thunderstorms, the gates have held up remarkably well. However, they will still sag no matter how tight you get the cable/turnbuckle. Therefore it is critical that you DO NOT IGNORE THE SPACING requirements in the instructions. The instructions recommend 1" clear, in my case, between gates. I think I had around 3/4" perfectly level along the height ot the gate. the top corners of the gates now just barely touch. It is not a problem for me and appears to have reached maximum sag. I did hang these gates on 6"x6" posts which I recommend everybody do. Gap/sag problems can be compounded by unfavorable warping of the more slender and susceptible 4"x4" posts resulting in 1" gap not being enough. Just some food for thought.

In short, I think this is a great product worth of consideration when building a fence. Having built a custom gate for my fence in another location I can personally say this product makes the job faster and easier. I am confident my gate will hold up for years to come and recommend this product to all.

I drilled into the frame and added 2x4 on the outside to allow for framing with galvanized roofing sheets to match my raised garden beds. I also added a combination lock to the outside for secured access. Very pleased with the results.

Having fought my sagging fence gates for a number of years, when it came time to replace the my rotted out fence these gates were chosen as replacements. The reviews available at the time were sort of a mixed bag. To reviewers of earlier dates, I would offer the following: the hardware pack I received was of decent quality and I was impressed that the tension wire was plastic coated to slow down rusting (although for how long it's not known). For people snapping off screw heads, two words--pilot holes. I used pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine in place of cedar and would not have driven any screws without first drilling a correctly sized pilot hole. Only takes a few seconds per screw and viola-no broken hardware ! As far as sizing the width of the gate, disregard the instructions supplied. Hang the gate bracket on your installed J-bolt, measure to the strike side of the gate, and subtract whatever you need for clearance. No shims needed, and no need to play muscle man holding a partially assembled gate. As far as the flanges for the 2 x 4s go, they end up being too small because of the high moisture content of the lumber, be it treated SYP or natural cedar. A 1/16" pass through my planer and they were a perfect fit for thickness. To those worried about
scratching the powder coat with the screws, head to the hardware store and buy a handful of nylon washers (they even come in black to match the powder coat). Place them under the screw heads and no scratches on the paint. The finished job is both solid and square and I expect it to stay that way. A good gate at a good price.