How do I close a gap in outdoor fence

[vng]

How do I close a gap between the fence post and latch ? Outdoor gate has gotten too far from the hole in the fence post over time.

I was thinking of adding a piece of wood to fill the gap so that it's closer to the latch. 

Questions:

- What kind of wood ? I've read about H3 & H4 but don't know the difference between them

- What kind of screws ?

- Will it be too heavy and drag the rest of fence down ? Gap is about 47mm wide and height is 1.7m (could shorten the piece)

  

[EricL]

Hello @vng

Thank you for sharing your question about closing the gap in your fence. I suggest using 70 x 45mm L/M Outdoor Framing MGP10 H3 Treated Pine. The treatment of H3 means that it is ok to use this timber outdoors. But it must not touch the ground when installed. I recommend using  Zenith 10 - 8 x 75mm Galvanised Countersunk Rib Head External Timber Screws - 10 Pack to screw the timber in place.

The timber is light enough and will not affect the position of the gate. Please make sure to drill pilot holes in both the timber and the post to prevent snapping the screw heads off. I've placed a drawing below for your reference. 

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric