Quaker Oatmeal Solution

Last year we put a fence around our back yard. We love the fence. It created a safe place for our kids to go out and play without constant supervision. It also helped to increase our property value. The only bad thing about it was that my gates kept swinging open. Even though we had those pegs that stick down into the ground.

When we first put in the fence, the pegs in the ground worked very well. They created a small hole in the dirt that kept the gates in place. Over the year, that small hole turned into more like a narrow trench. The wind would push on the gates and drag the peg through the yard. Now, the gates would just swing open with even the mildest of wind.

So, I finally came up with a solution that didn't cost me a thing. In fact, it got rid of some stuff that I've had sitting around. I ended up using an empty Quaker Oatmeal container, 9 inches of 3/4" PVC and a little bit of concrete. I eat oatmeal every morning and I couldn't bring myself to throw out the empty containers. So, they happened to be lying around. I also had the extra PVC tubing from some plumbing work that I did a while back. The bag of concrete was left over from when we put in the fence that I knew would be useful one day.

The process was simple.

1. Dig a hole under where the gate peg was supposed to go. The hole had to be large enough to put the entire oatmeal container in and have the top level with the ground.
2. Place the oatmeal container in the hole and line it up so that the gate peg is centered.
3. Fill the dirt in around the outside of the oatmeal container to secure it into place.
4. Hold the 9 inch piece of PVC in place in the center of the oatmeal container and drop the gate pin down into it to keep it in place. Secure the gate so that it doesn't move/open.
5. Fill the oatmeal container with concrete and let it dry.

There is nothing ingenious about this little project. Just simple and effective. The end result is that you have a concrete footer in the ground that your gate pin will drop down into. I'd like the see the wind blow the fence open now!