Customer Questions: What hardware to use for a double out-swinging gate?

Dear 360 Yardware,

I have a double wooden gate that swings out toward the street. Can you recommend hardware for us?

Much appreciated,

Rob

Rob’s question is a great one. What I told him is that he’d need hinges, a gate latch, a gate stop, and a cane bolt (also called a drop bolt). The choice of hardware should be guided by style, material (choosing an appropriate material for your location), and budget.

Double gates have a ‘functional’ gate and and a ‘fixed’ gate. The fixed gate can be opened and closed as needed, but it stays closed the majority of the time.

With an out-swinging gate, the latching hardware must be installed on the outside of the gate.

What you’ll see on the outside of the gates: the barrels of the hinges on both gates. On the functional gate, you’ll see the latching side of the gate latch, and the catch for the latch.

What you’ll see on the inside of the gates: on the fixed gate, you’ll see the cane bolt/drop bolt and the gate stop. On the functional gate, you’ll see the non-latching side of your gate latch.

What we’ve drawn below is the most typical out-swinging gate hardware layout. It includes:

6 Heavy Duty Ball Bearing Hinges (Brass, Bronze, Stainless, or Steel)
1 Gate Latch (Bronze, Stainless)
1 Gate Stop
1 Cane Bolt/Drop Bolt to hold the fixed gate in place

Additional Considerations

On a double gate, the fixed gate acts like a “post” for the functional gate to close against; the strike plate or catch for the gate latch will be installed to the fixed gate. It’s important to provide as much stability and rigidity to the fixed gate as possible. That’s where the gate stop and the cane bolt come in. The cane bolt connects the gate firmly to the ground. The gate stop, installed to the edge of the fixed gate, will catch the functional gate as it closes–it will stop the gate from overclosing and stressing the hinges or damaging the latch-arm of the gate latch.

We often see folks using two cane bolts, one on the inside of each gate. The cane bolts provide stability to the gates by anchoring them to the ground when the gates are closed. But they also allow you to anchor the gates in the open position, so that you don’t have to prop them open or risk them slamming closed due to wind.