To get a shed into my backyard, I need to have a wide gate. I live on a corner lot and have an existing fence. I'll reuse the pickets (slats) on the fence to maintain the same look. I first sketched out a plan on paper. ![[20260119_100803.jpg]] and then updated it based on a lumber estimate: ![[20260119_100336.jpg]] This was the design I worked out in Maya, using dimensional lumber and snapping it together for accurate measurements. The compression angles should not be greater than 45 degrees, so that meant having more vertical slats than the original drawing. The middle slats here overlap a bit, so I did not build them. I could still put them in, if they become necessary. But, there exclusion means less lumber and less weight! ![[2026-01-18 22_34_40-g103_westgate_ShortMIddle.ma_ - Autodesk MAYA 2024.1_ D__Projects_MayaProjects_S.png]] ![[2026-01-18 22_34_53-g103_westgate_ShortMIddle.ma_ - Autodesk MAYA 2024.1_ D__Projects_MayaProjects_S.png]] From here, I proceeded to build the bottom part of the gate in two streps. One was the first quadrant to test using just one 8' board to cut all the pieces and to see how the connectors would fit. Would the connectors create a firm gate? What kind of clearance did the screw heads need and the divot in the middle of my corner-connector hardware? phase one: A few days later, I completed the bottom construction, leveled the ground, and mounted it to the pole. Then, I placed the wheel to test it opening! phase two: After building the bottom of the first gate, I determined that the top should be shorter. This was because I lifted the gate by 4" to mount the 8" wheel and clear the ground. Allowing for the pickets to be moved from the old gate to the new gate, I wanted the picket to extend above the top rail. First, I sketched the new design on paper: ![[20260119_100346.jpg]] Then, made the updates in May to get the actual lumber dimensions: ![[2026-01-18 22_29_07-g105_westgate_pickets.ma_ - Autodesk MAYA 2024.1_ D__Projects_MayaProjects_Sketc.png]] ![[2026-01-18 22_29_21-g105_westgate_pickets.ma_ - Autodesk MAYA 2024.1_ D__Projects_MayaProjects_Sketc.png]]