Submitted by stinkinhardcore t3_zwq5ek in DIY
We run a shop out of our home and I installed a gate to keep things separate. Unfortunately the gate gets a lot of traffic and the latch takes the brunt of it. Because of where it’s positioned (see photos), I can’t put the screws in a stud. The front screws aren’t even properly in the wall, they’re just in the corner bead. The pressure of the gate closing is pushing the screws out of the wall. At one point I tried using a longer latch bar to put it into the stud but I get the same problem because the pressure of the gate on the latch gets worse the longer the bar is. What are some ways to keep the latch bar in tact while reinforcing it enough so that it won’t get pushed out by an aggressive swing of the gate?
solderfog t1_j1wdjrh wrote
You could make a wood plaque, and screw the latch to that. Hopefully the plaque can get screwed into some studs behind. You could make it somewhat match the gate. Or even a board that extends from the top of the step right up to the top of the gate. Maybe with some accent piece on top (like a post cap).