DIY Driveway Gates: What Ships, What It Costs and How to Hang It

People search for a driveway gate kit when what they want is simple: a gate that fits their opening, arrives ready to hang, and does not need a crew. That is what we make, with one honest difference from the word "kit": our gate arrives finished and welded, not as a box of parts to bolt together.

What you are actually buying

As the DIY installation guide explains, the gate ships by freight on a pallet or in a crate. Inside you will find:

• The gate panel or panels, powder coated, with the hinge points already welded on.
• Hinges, latch and the mounting hardware for the motion you ordered: swing hardware, or rollers and track for a slider.
• Posts, if you ordered them.
• Instructions with the hinge spacing, the post spacing and the gaps the gate was built to.

Sized to your opening

A stock catalog sells 10, 12, 14 and 16-foot gates. If your opening is 13 feet 4 inches, you either widen the opening, add a filler panel, or pay a custom premium that runs 10 to 30 percent at many suppliers. The custom size driveway gate guide explains why that premium makes no sense: a frame built to 160 inches takes the same steel, welds and coating as one built to 168.

We build every gate to the inch at the same price. The frame is cut to your numbers minus the hinge and latch clearance, the pickets are spaced to your width so the end pickets are not half-width, and a two-panel split is centered on your opening. The same order sets the motion, the panel layout, the top style, the picket pattern, optional ironwood boards, and the color: black or white satin powder coat over an anti-gassing primer, with custom colors on request.

What it costs

The driveway gate cost guide breaks prices down by material, gate type, width, automation and who installs it. For a typical 14-foot flat opening with a modern steel swing gate, a keypad and remotes, the numbers look like this:

Most customers who install it themselves land well under the low end of the contractor range. Freight is a separate line, charged at the carrier's cost and insured for full value.

The weekend install

The DIY guide plans the job over two days for two people with ordinary tools and a rented auger.

1. Day one: posts. Confirm the opening, mark the holes on a string line, dig at least 36 inches deep and 10 to 12 inches wide (deeper if your frost line is lower), add 4 to 6 inches of gravel, brace the posts plumb and pour.
2. Wait. Concrete needs 24 to 48 hours before it will take the load of a gate.
3. Day two: hang and align. Mount the hinges, walk the panel onto them with your helper, adjust until it hangs plumb with an even latch gap, then fit the latch or the opener bracket.

The mistakes that cause callbacks are setting the posts to the gate width instead of the post spacing on the instruction sheet, a hinge post out of plumb, no gravel under the post, a latch gap that is too tight, and running an opener before its safety sensors are installed.

When to hire a pro

Some jobs are not weekend jobs. Bring in a contractor for a cantilever gate, an opening over 20 feet, a steep slope, or trenching for power, which needs a licensed electrician for the run and the GFCI at the gate. Check permits before you dig: some places require one for any gate, and most require one for an automated gate.

Ordering and delivery

Each gate is handmade to order in San Jose and takes about 14 days to build and powder coat. LTL freight then typically takes 3 to 5 business days to anywhere in the US, or you can pick it up at our shop. Custom sizing adds no time. Set your posts while the gate is being built, using the spacing on the instruction sheet, and hang it when it arrives.

When the truck comes, open the crate before you sign. Note any damage on the delivery receipt and report it to us within 48 hours.