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.
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Fraser
Gate installation in Fraser, MI takes real planning when the ground under your posts has been shifting for 50 years. A new driveway gate on Utica Road or a replacement swing gate near Garfield Park needs footings poured below the frost line, an operator sized for the gate’s actual weight, and hinges that won’t sag by next spring. That’s the work we do, and we do it in your driveway, not in a shop across the county. If you’re in Fraser and need a gate hung, framed, automated, or completely replaced, call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person who can talk through what you’re dealing with.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Fraser’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood has been owner-operating this business since 2001, and his name is on the shop and on every invoice. That matters in a city like Fraser, where most of the gates standing today were installed before the original owners sold the house. When we come out to a Fraser home, we’re looking at work that has to survive Macomb County clay, hard winters, and a homeowner who wants it done once. That’s the whole job.
Fraser customers call us because the person who answers the phone is the person who stands behind the work. No voicemail tree, no outsourced call routing. Hal or his crew shows up in the window they gave you, and every gate installation carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings him back. No runaround, no fine print.
We’re not the cheapest quote in Fraser and we don’t try to be. We’re the crew that welds on site, matches the existing fence line, and tells you straight when a post can be saved and when it can’t. Our Gate Installation work is repair-first: fix what’s sound, replace what’s failed, and don’t sell you a new gate when the old one just needs a footing and two hinges.
Our Gate Installation Services in Fraser
Driveway Gate
Most driveway gates in Fraser are swing gates mounted on posts set into dense clay. The post is the weak point, not the gate panel. We set new footings at 42 inches minimum, below the frost line, and we size the post for the gate’s full weight plus wind load. A driveway gate on a corner lot off 14 Mile Road catches wind off the open intersection, and an undersized post will lean by the first winter. We plan for that.
Pedestrian Gate
A pedestrian gate in Fraser is usually the one that gets slammed, kicked, and ignored until it won’t latch. We frame them with sag correction built into the hinge side, and we set the striker plate so it actually catches when the ground has thawed and shifted. If your yard gate swings free after every winter, the post has moved, not the gate. We fix the post.
Sliding Gate
Sliding gates are a good answer for Fraser driveways with a slope or a short setback from the garage. A slide gate doesn’t need swing clearance, so it works on the smaller lots common in Fraser’s tri-level neighborhoods. The catch is the track and the roller base. We set slide gates on a compacted base with drainage so spring melt doesn’t pool under the rollers and freeze the gate shut.
Swing Gate
Swing gates are what we see most in Fraser, and they’re the ones that fail the hardest. The uniform 1960s subdivisions around Fraser were built with chain-link and early ornamental iron swing gates on 24-inch or 30-inch post footings. Those footings weren’t meant for 50 years of frost heave. When we install a swing gate now, we either reinforce the existing post with a deeper footing and welded gussets or we pull the post entirely and pour new concrete below the frost line. The gate panel itself is rarely the problem.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Fraser
We service and install operators from DoorKing, Linear, and Viking, along with six other major gate brands. For Fraser customers that means we can usually match an existing keypad, remote, or loop detector without rewiring the whole property. We keep common control boards and edge sensors on the truck, so a repair in Fraser doesn’t turn into a parts run across town. If you’re replacing a dead operator on a 1960s gate, we’ll tell you whether the old brand still has compatible parts or whether a retrofitted Linear or Viking board makes more sense.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Fraser Homes
- Frost-heaved hinge posts: Fraser’s clay soil freezes and expands every winter, pushing gate posts up and out of plumb. By spring thaw, the gate drags the ground or the latch misses entirely. The fix is a deeper footing, not a shim.
- Undersized original footings: Gates installed in the 1960s around Fraser were set in shallow footings that were fine for a few years and then gave out. The panel may still be straight while the post leans. We replace the footing before we touch the gate.
- Legacy operators without entrapment protection: Many older gate openers in Fraser lack the safety photocells and reversing edges now required under UL 325. We can retrofit most operators, but some old boards won’t accept a clean safety input. In that case replacement is cheaper than forcing a retrofit.
- Corroded weld joints on ornamental iron: Fraser’s freeze-thaw cycle cracks powder coat and paint, then road salt from Utica and Garfield works into the steel. We weld on site, so a cracked frame joint doesn’t mean hauling the gate away.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Fraser, MI
A new pedestrian gate in Fraser typically runs $400 to $900 depending on width and material. A single swing driveway gate with a new operator, two posts with footings, and safety edges usually lands between $2,800 and $5,500. A sliding gate adds the track and base work, pushing costs to $4,000 to $7,000 for a standard residential install. A double swing gate on a corner lot, where both posts need deep footings and the operator has to handle two panels, starts around $5,500 and goes up with gate weight and access control.
Every job is quoted and agreed before we start. The price we hand you is the price on the invoice, and that’s a promise, not a tactic. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free written estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fraser
Our crew covers Gate Installation in Fraser and the surrounding Macomb County neighborhoods, including Roseville, Clinton Township, Saint Clair Shores, and Sterling Heights. If you’re anywhere in that area and need a gate hung or an operator retrofitted, call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll get you on the schedule.
Serving Fraser, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fraser 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 Fraser
Your gate drags after thaw because the hinge post has frost-heaved out of plumb. Fraser’s clay soil holds water, freezes hard, and expands, lifting the post up and over by an inch or more each winter. The gate panel hasn’t changed; the post has. The fix is a deeper footing poured below the frost line, which is why we set Fraser posts at 42 inches minimum. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you whether your post can be re-set or needs a full re-pour.
Usually yes, if the post is still plumb and the steel is sound. We’ve retrofitted dozens of older ornamental iron gates in Fraser with new DoorKing and Linear operators. The catch comes when the old post has heaved or the footing is undersized. In that case we re-set the post first, then mount the operator. We’ll weld a fresh mounting plate on site if the old one is rusted out. Call (877) 610-2993 for an honest assessment.
Yes. Any automated gate operator in Fraser needs entrapment protection to meet UL 325: a primary reversing mechanism plus a secondary device, typically a photocell pair or a reversing edge. Older operators without these are a liability and a safety hazard. We won’t install or leave an operator running without working entrapment protection. If your old board can’t accept the safety inputs, we’ll tell you straight and quote the replacement.
A loop detector is a wire loop buried in the driveway that senses the metal of a vehicle and tells the operator to open or hold the gate. In Fraser we recommend one for any automated driveway gate, especially on corner lots off 14 Mile or Garfield where the gate faces traffic. It keeps the gate from closing on a car waiting at the sidewalk. We install the loop, seal the saw cut, and tie it into whichever operator brand you’re running.
Sometimes it’s the smartest move on a Fraser lot. If your swing gate’s hinge post has heaved for years and the driveway slopes hard toward the street, a slide gate on a proper base eliminates the post problem entirely. The tradeoff is footprint: a slide gate needs run room along the fence line. On Fraser’s smaller ranch lots that room isn’t always there. We’ll tell you which option fits your property and quote both before you decide. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free measure.
How Fraser’s Soil and Housing Stock Change the Math on Gate Installation
Fraser’s residential streets were built out almost entirely between the late 1950s and mid-1970s. That means a large share of the chain-link and ornamental iron driveway gates standing today are 40 to 60 years old, and they’re failing on the same schedule. Combined with Macomb County’s dense clay subsoil, which frost-heaves gate posts out of plumb every winter, gate work here follows a predictable cycle: posts shift in February, gates drag and latches miss in April, and the repair calls start coming. This isn’t guesswork; we see it block after block in Fraser’s uniform subdivisions.
One thing that’s particular to Fraser: corner-lot gate posts take the worst of it. Exposed to open wind and full sun, the clay around a corner post dries and freezes harder than soil mid-block, so the heave is worse. The gate itself hasn’t failed; the footing has. When we install a gate on a Fraser corner lot, we plan the footing as if the post will be tested every winter, because it will be.
We ran a job in a Fraser ranch neighborhood near Garfield Road where a swing gate operator had stopped working. The hinge post had heaved 3 inches out of plumb over winter. The original LiftMaster board still worked, but the rack and pinion drive had stripped from the post shift. We poured a new 42-inch post footing below frost line, installed fresh hinges with sag correction, and added a safety photocell pair to meet UL 325 before reprogramming the loop detector. The gate had been installed in 1968. The operator was fine. The post was never going to hold.
The Fraser Gate Installation Difference
What changes the math on gate installation in Fraser isn’t the gate. It’s the footing, the post, and the soil under it. A new gate hung on a heaving post is a new gate that sags by fall. A modern operator bolted to a leaning 1960s post strips its drive gear in a season. We start every Fraser install by checking whether the post is plumb and whether the footing below it is deep enough for this soil. If it isn’t, we fix that first. Then we hang the gate.
That’s the difference between work that lasts and work you call about every spring. Hal has been at this since 2001, and he’ll tell you the same thing standing in your driveway that he’d tell you over the phone: show me the post, and I’ll show you where the gate is failing. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Fraser since 2001.