Driveway gates - Part 7 - cladding

The western red cedar cladding was fitted next. This was premade tongue and groove cladding from a local commercial wood dealer. The only thing I had to do was fit the tongue into the groove I had milled in the stiles. It is crucial that a spacer of about 4mm is used when fitting each board to provide room for expansion/contraction. Each board was fitted with a series of stainless steel screws pilot drilled into the iroko.

Several coats of Sansin exterior weather seal was applied. This is a beautiful waterborne finish that build up a nice satin appearance with a deep colour after many coats. It can be applied with a foam brush or sprayed. I opted to use a foam brush.

Next all the hardware was fitted. 3 banded hinges, 3 shoot bolts, and a vertical drop bolt into each leaf. Fitting of the stays was left until final fitting on site.

The job was now completed. The old gates were sawn up and became firewood having served their purpose for the best part of 30 years