Free on-site gate assessment - hinges, posts, and your LiftMaster or Nice gate operator checked before anything is quoted
The assessment is free and the quote is the invoice.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Davis
A new driveway or pedestrian gate in Davis typically runs $1,800 to $6,500 installed, and most jobs in 95616, 95617, and 95618 can be completed within two to four days of the free on-site measure. We’re Gatewood Fence & Gate, and Hal Gatewood has been running this shop since 2001. When you call (877) 610-2993, a live person answers, not a recording. You’ll get an upfront price before any work starts, and Hal’s crew builds gates that hold up to Davis’s bike traffic, summer heat, and tule fog winters without a second thought.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Davis’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Davis homeowners put up with a lot of companies that show up late, quote one price on the phone and another at the door, and hand work to a new face every time. That’s not how we operate. Hal’s name is on the shop, his shop is down the road in Sacramento, and you can drive there and look him in the eye if you ever want to. We’ve been fixing and installing gates since 2001, and we answer the phone around the clock with a person who actually knows gates.
Our reviews from Davis customers mention the same things over and over: the person who showed up was the person who said he’d show up, the price matched the quote, and the gate opens and closes without fighting it. That’s the bar. We also put the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing on every job. If something’s not right within 90 days, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no fine print.
Because we dispatch from our Sacramento office and serve Davis daily, we’re on your street without the lag you get from companies that don’t normally work here. We know the neighborhoods, the housing stock, and the way Davis’s bike culture changes how a gate wears. That local knowledge saves you money because we don’t guess. We measure, we look, and we tell you what’s actually needed.
Every job includes upfront pricing with a free measure and written estimate. No trip charge inside Yolo County. Seniors and veterans get a permanent 10% discount. And if you have a written estimate from another company, bring it to us. Hal will give you a free second opinion on whether it’s honest.
Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a real person. That’s the whole point.
Our Gate Installation Services in Davis
We install every type of gate you’d find on a Davis property, from bike-path pedestrian gates near campus to full driveway gates on Mace Ranch lots. Here’s what we do most.
Driveway Gate
Driveway gates in Davis have to handle two realities: summer heat that makes steel bind and seasonal fog that corrodes unprotected hardware. We set reinforced post footings and use sealed, rust-resistant hinges and hardware so the gate swings true through every season. On shared driveways and tight lots like the older grid streets of Old East Davis, we’re careful to keep vehicle and neighbor access working during the entire install. A driveway gate here isn’t a decoration. It’s the thing between your property and the street, and it fails loudly when someone installs it on a shallow, rotted post.
Pedestrian Gate
Davis is one of the most bicycle-dense cities in the country, and that changes everything about how a side-yard pedestrian gate should be built. Student-rented homes near UC Davis see near-constant daily cycling traffic through these gates. Hinge posts get torqued. Latches get slammed. Standard residential hardware gives out fast. We install reinforced hinge posts and bike-friendly latch geometry as the baseline on Davis pedestrian gates, not as an upgrade. That’s the only way a gate survives here.
Sliding Gate
Sliding gates are the right call for narrow front yards, shared driveways, and rights of way where a swing gate would block the sidewalk or a neighbor’s access. Davis has a lot of these situations, especially in the older neighborhoods and on lots where the driveway runs tight to the property line. We install rack and pinion slide operators from LiftMaster, DoorKing, and other brands, with properly sealed track and rollers that resist tule fog corrosion. If your current setup is a swing gate that doesn’t have room to swing, a sliding conversion often solves it cleanly.
Swing Gate
Swing gates are still the most common choice for Davis driveways, especially the ornamental iron and aluminum gates you see in Mace Ranch and Covell Village area homes. The key to a swing gate that lasts is the hinge post. Most failures we see in Davis start with a 4×4 post set in shallow, rotted concrete decades ago. We set new posts in proper depth with concrete and hardware rated for the gate’s weight, then adjust the latch so it holds through seasonal expansion and contraction. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that’s where we start every time.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Davis
We’re certified to install and service nine major gate brands, including Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, and Elite. That means when we install a DoorKing slide operator at a Davis property, we’re using the right parts and the right programming the first time. Because we stock common parts for the brands Davis homes actually use, we don’t have to order and wait when something needs swapped. If you already have a gate motor you like, we’ll work with it. If you need a new one, we’ll recommend what fits your gate and your street, not whatever we happen to have on the truck.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Davis Homes
- Post footing failure in Old North and Old East Davis. Many 1950s and 1960s ranch homes still have original 4×4 hinge posts set in shallow concrete that’s now crumbled and rotted. Installing a new gate on that old post means the gate starts sagging within one season. We pull the old post, dig a proper footing, and set a new one that holds.
- Sliding gate track binding from tule fog. Davis winters bring days of dense radiation fog that leaves iron hardware wet for hours at a stretch. Unprotected steel track and rollers corrode, then the gate sticks or derails mid-travel. We use sealed bearings and rust-resistant track on every slide install.
- Non-standard sizing at Village Homes. The original 1970s common-area gates in Village Homes were built to a community design spec, not off-the-shelf dimensions. A stock replacement panel leaves gaps or forces post resets. Custom fabrication is the only way to make these look and work right.
- Accelerated hinge and latch wear on student rental bike-access gates. Near campus, pedestrian gates see more open-close cycles in a month than a typical suburban gate sees in a year. Standard hardware fails fast. We spec heavier hinges and a latch design that’s easy for cyclists to hit without breaking stride.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Davis, CA
What should you actually budget? A straightforward pedestrian gate in Davis runs $800 to $2,400, depending on width and whether we’re replacing the post. Driveway gates start around $2,200 for a basic steel swing gate and climb to $6,500 or more for a custom sliding gate with an operator, safety loop detector, and reinforced footing. Sliding gate conversions on tight shared driveways usually land between $3,500 and $7,500. Village Homes custom-sized gates with non-standard dimensions fall in the $1,200 to $3,000 range, depending on the wood and hardware. You’ll get a written price before any work starts, and that price is the price. No trip charge inside Yolo County. Seniors and veterans take 10% off every job. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free on-site measure and a number you can actually plan around.
We Also Serve Cities Near Davis
In addition to our Gate Installation in Davis work, we regularly install and repair gates in Dixon, Woodland, West Sacramento, and Winters. If you’re on the edge of town or outside the Davis city limits, call and ask. The no-trip-charge policy applies across the county, and we’re on the road to these areas every week.
Serving Davis, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Davis area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Gate Installation in Davis
It means the hinge post and latch have to be built for thousands of cycles a month, not a few dozen. On Davis side yards serving student rentals near campus, we use heavier hinges, a deeper post footing, and latch geometry that a cyclist can hit cleanly without snagging. Standard off-the-shelf hardware will sag and strip within a year under that kind of use. If your gate serves a bike route between the house and the street, tell us that on the call, and we’ll spec it accordingly. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free measure.
In most cases, yes. We’ve installed sliding gates on East 8th Street in Old East Davis where a swing gate would have blocked the sidewalk, the driveway, or a neighbor’s access. The main requirements are enough side room for the gate to slide into, a reinforced post footing for the operator, and a track or trackless slide system that stays clear of debris. Our Gate Installation team handles the entire conversion, including safety photocells and a loop detector so the gate reverses for bikes and pedestrians. A free on-site look will tell you if your layout works.
Because Davis drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians interact with gates differently than in most cities. A loop detector buried in your driveway senses a vehicle and tells the gate to open or stay open. On properties near bike paths or shared driveways, a poorly adjusted loop can miss a bicycle entirely, closing the gate before the rider clears it. We set loop sensitivity and placement on every Davis automatic gate install so it reads bikes and cars without false triggers, and we add photocells across the gate path as a backup. Does it matter? Show me the gate closing on its own and I’ll show you where it’s failing.
Village Homes common-area gates were built to a 1970s community design spec, not modern off-the-shelf dimensions, so a stock panel won’t fit. We measure the opening, match the existing wood species and style, and build the gate to the original dimensions. We’ll also check the shared-pathway access points, because many of those original gates are now 45 to 50 years old and the hinge hardware has had it. Custom fitting costs more than a prefab panel, but it’s the difference between a gate that looks like it belongs there and one that leaves gaps and looks like an afterthought. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come measure.
Davis gets weeks above 100°F in summer, which warps unfinished or thin wood and makes steel hardware expand and bind. Then winter tule fog sits on everything for days and corrodes unprotected iron. What you do about it: use sealed bearings and rust-resistant hardware on every moving part, seal or paint wood frames with UV-resistant coating, and check the latch alignment twice a year as the seasons change. We build Davis gates with these conditions in mind from day one, so you’re not paying for a repair in eighteen months that a smarter install would have avoided. If you’ve got a gate fighting the weather right now, call (877) 610-2993 for a free look.
Key Takeaways
- Gate installation in Davis runs roughly $800 to $6,500 depending on type, size, and whether we’re converting a swing gate to sliding.
- Davis’s bike-dense side yards need reinforced posts and heavy-duty hardware, not standard residential parts.
- Village Homes gates are custom-sized and require custom fabrication, not stock replacement panels.
- We install and service DoorKing, LiftMaster, Viking, Ghost Controls, Elite, and four other major brands.
- Every job comes with the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing, plus a free measure and upfront pricing.
Ready to talk about your gate? Call (877) 610-2993 now. A live person answers, and we’ll schedule a free on-site measure at a time that works for you. Hal has been building and fixing gates since 2001, and he’ll tell you straight what your project needs and what it costs before any work begins.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Davis since the shop’s founding in 2001.