Building a DIY Garden Gate Trellis

A garden gate trellis is the perfect addition to any farm or neighborhood yard. This spring we tackled the DIY garden gate trellis, and you can build one too! As you know the Stenner Farm Herd grew this winter. In February we were blessed with triplet baby goats. Our herd grew from three to six goats overnight. It was time to build another goat fence and add a walk through gate. We have the perfect spot for the trellis gate at the end of our grape vines.

Of course we needed to keep those sweet goats away from the grape vines. Gus, Lily and Kid Rock love grapes and apples. They will gobble them up, if they have access to the sweet fruit. CJ had a couple of days off from the fire station, so it was time to get these little stinkers fenced it.

The Stenner kids helped their Dad run the new goat fence line. It was not their idea of a fun day, but we appreciated their help. Cheers to raising up the next generation with a work ethic and skills. Goats can get out of anything, so we had to take extra precautions with a tall and secure fence. Once the fence was done, it was time to start the fun DIY project!

Our garden gate trellis began with four 4×4″ posts in the ground. Our gate project was two gate doors that latch in the middle. The posts were cemented into the soil, making sure it was level. We placed two posts in the ground 73 1/2″ apart. That left us with some wiggle room between the frame, post and gate doors. We placed the final two posts two feet in front of the others to start the trellis frame.

We purchased the lumber and two gate hardware kits from Home Depot. The gate kits gave us the four corner braces and built in hinges. We used 2X4 treated lumber for our garden gate frame. The dimensions of each frame were 36″X60″ for the lower portion of the gate. The frame was screwed together with coated screws. The body of each gate panel was made up of 6″X60″ cedar fence pickets. Once we completed the gate frame, the empty frame was turned over and pickets laid out across the frame. CJ predrilled pilot holes on the top and bottom of each picket, so the wood didn’t split. He screwed pickets to the frame with coated screws.

We wanted to add a decorative metal design to the top of each gate door. Oh the treasures we find in our old barn. We had discarded tent poles, so we cut them to 9″ length with a hack saw and spray painted them black with Rust-oleum.

The frame of the upper decorative panel was 12″X36″ treated lumber, using the same method and screws as the lower frame. We drilled holes in the top and bottom frame to hold the painted tent pole pieces. Once the decorative frame was assembled, we mounted it to the lower frame using coated screws.

We loved the metal gate kit hardware so much that we decided to use the bracket side as the front of the gate, and the plain side as the back of the gate. Yes, it’s a bit strange, but it was what momma wanted!

Next we added the top portion of the garden gate trellis with two 8ft 2×6 boards. They were screwed to the face of the posts. When it was time to hang the gates, we left a gap at the bottom, so the doors had room to swing. A 2×4 block worked great for measuring the gap. We used coated screws in the hinges.

We then cut nine 2×4 boards 40″ in length and notched them out to fit over the top of our trellis. For decoration, we cut an angle at each end of the nine boards. These pieces were screwed to the top boards, equally spaced apart. Our two lattice pieces were 2’X6′ and screwed to each side of the trellis. At this point we did decide to add a diagonal decorative accent to the front of the gate, to give it the barn door look.

After much debate, we decided to stain the garden gate trellis a light grey color. After asking our Instagram friends what they thought, it was an overwhelming yes to the grey. We agreed! We used Stonehedge grey Behr waterproofing stain and sealer from Home Depot. The feature gate will blend in beautifully at the end of the grape vines.

We love how it turned out, and can’t wait to start some plants growing up the trellis. Although a single door would be a bit cheaper and easier to build, I’m glad we decided to go with the double door. It allows us more space to bring through equipment when needed.