I was given some bad advice on installing vinyl gate posts with aluminum stiffeners in them. I’m installing a drive through double vinyl gate and was told to put a good lean on the posts holding the gate to allow for sagging. I asked how much and was told about 2 1/2” on both sides. This seemed excessive so I went with 1 1/2” lean on both sides. After the post were cemented and dried I started installing the gates. I could tell the drop was going to be way to much to have the gate sit level. I can make the gate appear level by adjusting the hinges all the way out on the top and all the way in on the bottom but it’s very apparent the posts are not plump which looks horrible. Other than starting from scratch is there any good way of fixing the over lean of the posts? They are both in 3 bags of concrete.
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Hey there,
I would suggest digging around your posts and concrete footings allowing you to tweak the posts back to plumb. If the post is plumb, and the gates ate square, then they will sit level. If they don't, obviously some part of the system is not rigid enough for its intended use. In that case, I would consider the gates to have a design flaw. This may be a case of "getting what you pay for" if they are inexpensive. Was it the manufacturer that suggested countering the sag by leaning the posts? That would have been a red flag to me. Did they expect the gate itself to deflect or the post? The hinges can make up slight differences, but a post set inches out of plumb is excessive.