Excellent and good luck. Yes, it's normal. If you haven't ever build a gate, you might want to get a copy of the NOMMA DVD, making the garden gate. It's a bit dry, but provides a solid baseline to gate making. I've a copy you can borrow.

Gerald Boggs

Congrats on your first comm. You do great work! I am sure these gates will be even gater.. eh greater! Can't wait for some photos......

a little fear is good. that means you'll go out of your way to do a great job.....as far as biting off more than you can chew?......look at it this way....you are expanding your horizons
Paula
Guthrie, MN

Yep, all their DVD's a bit pricey, but worth it. There's nothing fancy about them, just simple, clean methods. Along with the Garden gates, I have curved railing and straight railing.
If you decide to borrow instead of buy, just send me somewhere to mail. I live two hundred yards from my post office. Here's my web site, my e-mail is in there somewhere. www.wayfarerforge.com
Gerald Boggs

Hi Mele,
Congrat's on your Comm.
This is no fluke I find your work exceptional.
I too am just begining the journey, I'm very happy for ya!
I'll wish it but you don't need Luck.
Congrat's again!

Chuck

Hi Mele,
All that nervousness is quite normal, but you`re lucky to have all these people on this site many of whom will help make things easier for you. First relax, everything is gonna be fine. I`m going to give you some tips (two cent help) that together with the other guy`s, should amount to some money. If you can take a pic of the places where the gates will be installed,that would help us help you. Anyway, if the place where a gate will be installed is already defined by brick, stone, cement, steel fence or what have you, then obviously you don`t have much room for mistakes. Namely, the gate cannot be larger nor smaller than the whole is supposed to fit, and to fit well.Well, it could be smaller and supplement with steel plates on the hinge side, but that`s not a desireable situation asthetically speaking. First, you should define how many hinges to use and how to attach them to the existing foundation. 2-3 hinges would do the job Mele. All depends on weight of gate and hinges size.The middle hinge,if you`re using 3, should be placed not at the dead center between top and bottom, but rather a few inches closer to top one for better work distribution lets say. One important detail is how the hinges will attach to steel fence, cement, brick or whatever they got already built. If you`ve got steel then you coul easily weld the hinges on, at the end when your done with your gate. If you have brick, or cement, or stone, then you may want to attach a piece of steel plate with a piece or rebar to act as a hook into the cement you`ll put in the previouly dug hole, at distances you plan to place hinges.Remember this simple math though, hinges thickness (when they^re closed) + rectangle horizontal measure (gate frame) + some clearance = total horizontal length where the gate will fit into. The thicknes of the round (or square) stock to make the gate frame will depend on design,budget, and gate weight. A 3/4" would give you a better margin in case you oveheat a bit while welding, and the frame won`t go out of shape. Got to take in consideration the locking side, that`s the opposite to hinges, where you may need either a hole on cement or brick, etc. or a plate that has a hole in it. That plate would have to go into the cement foundation if that`s the case, at the locking device height. So take in consideration anything you ad on either side for that simple math, and always consider a few milimeters of slack. Mele the overall idea is to make a rectangular shaped gat-in your case,that you`ll be filling in with twigs, leaves, an any elements in your design. Try welding at various points, or cool off welds, the idea is not to concentrate heat, or the frame may warp out of shape. If you give the guys here some info as to your design, etc, they may tell what thickness material could ne better. Draw your design withing that 3`x 4` rectangular gate size (the actual gate would be smaller...), define where the hinges could go on that design, then the first thing would be to make and install your hinge plates on the cement, brick, and the lock plate on opposite side depending on device you put, and after that you have the actual measure for making your gate frame. Remember the hinge plates should be as vertical as possible, and the frame could even have round corners but always with square angle inside. Check out a hand drawing I`ll post to ilustrate a bit. Hope this serves some help Mele, I`m not to good explaining... Nelson.