feng_shui_house

I finally got the nerve up to open the self-closing gate hinge kit. ARRGH. (That was in instinctive ARGGH. But it is talk like a pirate day.)

First thing was that the directions *omit* interesting bits, like showing you putting it together with the cylinder and springs showing, and showing it complete with them covered by 'putting on the cover'. There was no separate cover. So I went through a trial assembly (no tightening, just arranging to match diagrams) and had it with a back plate and the cylinder & springs exposed. Finally I got brave and pushed and pulled at the 'back plate' and discovered it was put on the BACK by springclips and could be pushed off and turned around to put on the front. Ok.

Then it talked about removing a 'U-clip' after you attached it to the gate, but locating the U-clip didn't do me any good because I didn't see how it could be removed (I didn't try, figuring there was a reason you weren't supposed to do it ahead of time.) After about the 15th time looking at the diagram, it dawned on me that the 'packing screw' held the U-clip in place and would need to be removed first. NICE if they'd said!

Then I went to the sub-section for putting it on a wire fence. ARGGH. The hinge plate needs to be attached to a FLAT surface, so I need to either a) weld a plate to the round metal post and weld/drill & screw the hinge plate to that, or b) somehow flatten the post and drill/screw it to that.

Then I need a 1/8" thick by 2 inches wide, by the width of the gate metal strip which is to be either welded or bolted onto the gate....I don't think that would work, the mesh is quite large. I think I'd need *2* metal strips, and bolt them together, and then bolt the closer bar to them.

*SIGH* And this is without getting into the magnetic self-latch which again is meant to be 'adapted' to work on metal gates.

The EVIL fence people who sold me these gates ....I told them specifically, I need gates that are code-compliant for around a swimming pool, and they gave me CRAP. EEEE. I hope pirate giraffes poop on all their fencing.

*sigh* I wonder if I still have the phone number of the handyman the pool guy said MIGHT be willing to install this stuff...

EDIT: I called my friend the electrician, instead. I figure he's worked on a lot of projects & met a lot of people. He said he knows one guy who does fences-- he sounded doubtful that he'd do it, but when he gets back home (he and his family are on the sea in his boat) he'll get me the guy's phone number & I'll ask. It couldn't hurt.