Convert chain link gate to wood gate

Question

I have a chain link gate with metal posts in ground with concrete and would like to turn this to wood. But I’m concerned about the structural stability and possibility of doing this.

1. The gate right now is a double gate with each gate measuring 70” wide and 4’6” high.
2. The posts for the gate are also metal and are in the ground with concrete. It feels very stable and sturdy.
3. We just built a new wood privacy fence that’s 6’ high and goes all the way to the gate, so the gate looks weird being metal with a pretty wood fence against it.

My Plan:

I’m planning on cutting all the chain link pieces off of the gate and bring it down to the bare metal frame. This way, what I’ll have is two rectangular metal frames attached to two metal poles with hinges.

On this metal frame, I am planning on screwing some 2X4’s along all 4 sides, then nailing the fence pickets to these 2X4’s.

concerns:

1. As mentioned, the gate is 4’6” high and the fence is 6’ high. Would I be able to make the frame just along the 4’ span of the metal gate and still have pickets that are 6’ high? This would mean that 1.5’ of the pickets are completely unsupported. Is this going to be an issue, if there are enough nails on the bottom 4 and a half feet?
2. The 2X4’s along with the pickets might make this too heavy for the possibly fragile poles and might start sagging. Is there anyway to prevent this?
3. The pickets themselves are very light. Would I be able to get away with some nice screws on the pickets and into the metal frame without the 2X4 frame? Will this be stable and help with the above two concerns?

Thank you

Update based on the answer:

Thank you for the suggestion. I used just pickets against the metal frame using self tapping wood-to-metal screws (4 for each picket) and it looks gorgeous. The gate does not seem to sag and it swings much more freely and smoothly. Excellent advise!

I did forget to add some gaps for wind to blow through, but it seems to be not an issue. If it becomes an issue in the future, I got a hell of a fix to work on!

Answer 1

Weight is going to be an issue. Wooden fence weighs a lot more than chain link, and your hinges (etc.) were only designed to support chain link. Wooden fence also catches a lot more wind force than chain link does. You may destroy your hinges, posts, and/or gate frames.

If doing this at all, skip the 2x4's and use self-drilling screws to mount pickets (preferably thinner/lighter than the usual, and perhaps with larger gaps as well, for lighter weight and less wind pressure) directly to the steel frame.