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 Friendly
Gate installation in Friendly runs $1,800 to $6,500 for most residential driveway and pedestrian gates, depending on style, material, and whether the existing posts need to be pulled and reset. We schedule installation work in 20744 within 3 to 5 business days, with a free measure and written price before any work begins. The honest truth about Friendly is this: the clay soil under this part of Prince George’s County heaves more than the sandy ground across the Potomac in Charles County, so the footing work matters as much as the gate itself. Hal Gatewood has been doing this since 2001, and his crew knows exactly what that soil does to a post set too shallow. Call (877) 610-2993 and a live person answers, day or night.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Friendly’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We’re the shop that shows up with a welder in the truck and Hal’s name on the invoice. Friendly homeowners call us because we publish our address and license number, and because the person who answers the phone at 2 a.m. is the same person who owns the company. Our customers in 20744 regularly tell us the same thing: they’d been burned by an outfit that quoted one number over the phone and handed them a different invoice at the door. That doesn’t happen here. The price we quote is the price you pay, in writing, before we touch anything.
We know the subdivisions off Fort Washington Road and Livingston Road, the 1970s colonials and split-levels built when ornamental iron gates were standard, and the HOA-governed communities that require a specific gate profile. A fence company that doesn’t know Friendly will hang a generic panel and walk away. We match the existing style and material so the HOA never has a reason to send a letter. And every job, from a single swing gate to a full double driveway gate with operator, carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. One call brings Hal back, no runaround.
Our Gate Installation Services in Friendly
We install, retrofit, and replace every type of residential gate found in Friendly, and we weld on site so your gate stays in your driveway. Here’s what we do most often for homeowners in 20744.
Driveway Gate
A new driveway gate in Friendly typically runs $2,200 to $6,500 including posts, hinges, and a manual or automated operator. On the 1970s and 80s lots throughout 20744, driveway gates often sit on original brick pillars that are still solid, and we can work with those. If the pillar has cracked from frost heave, the fix is a new concrete footing below the 18-inch frost depth, not a patch job on top.
Pedestrian Gate
Pedestrian gates in Friendly’s older subdivisions tend to be ornamental iron with steel posts that have been rusting from Potomac humidity for 30 years. A single walk gate runs $800 to $1,800 installed, more if we’re matching an HOA-specified profile or adding a keypad or intercom. We set posts in concrete that goes below frost depth so you’re not re-hanging the gate every March.
Sliding Gate
Sliding gates make sense on Friendly lots where the driveway slopes down toward the house and a swing gate would bind against the grade. A cantilever sliding gate installation runs $3,500 to $7,500 with an operator, and requires a concrete pad and roller track engineered for the width of the opening. We measure the slope, order the right hardware, and weld the frame on site.
Swing Gate
Swing gates are the most common style in Friendly, and the most common failure we see is a post that heaved out of plumb over two or three winters on the clay. A single swing gate runs $2,000 to $4,500 installed with posts; a double swing gate runs $4,000 to $7,500. The critical step is the footing. Skip deep concrete work and the gate binds against the latch post by the following spring. We don’t skip it.
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 Friendly
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and for Friendly homeowners the ones we install most are LiftMaster, Viking, and DoorKing operators on swing and sliding gates. We stock common parts locally so a failed control board or photocell on a Viking or DoorKing unit doesn’t mean waiting a week for a shipment. Hal’s crew carries replacement receivers, photo-eyes, edge sensors, and hinges for repairs throughout 20744. If you’ve already got a Ghost Controls or Elite opener and the gate panel itself needs replacing, we can often reuse the operator and save you the cost of a full new system. Show us what you have and we’ll tell you straight what’s worth keeping.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Friendly Homes
After 29 years in this trade, here’s what we find most often when we show up to a Friendly gate job.
- Posts heaved out of plumb from clay soil. The expansive clay under 20744 swells in wet winters and contracts in dry summers. A post set at 12 or 16 inches deep gets pushed up and tilted. The gate binds against the latch post, the operator strains, and eventually something breaks.
- Legacy operators without entrapment protection. Gates installed before UL 325 became the standard lack photo-eyes or edge sensors. An older operator with no safety reverse can be dangerous, and we recommend retrofitting before it fails entirely.
- Rusted hinge pins on ornamental iron gates. Potomac humidity doesn’t quit. Steel pins seize inside steel hinges, the panel sags, and the operator burns itself out trying to move a gate that won’t budge. We replace pins, weld cracked panels, and re-hang the gate true.
- HOA-matched styles swapped for generic panels. Friendly has subdivisions where the HOA specifies exact ornamental iron profiles. A generic replacement panel from a catalog is a citation waiting to happen. We match the existing material and profile, or fabricate to match.
We reset a swinging driveway gate on Fort Washington Road where the hinge post had heaved 3 inches out of plumb over two winters. The homeowner had re-hung the gate twice already. We pulled the old post, augered a new footing to 24 inches below grade, poured a rebar-reinforced concrete base, and installed a LiftMaster operator with a new safety photocell pair. The gate has held alignment through the next spring thaw. That’s the difference between fixing the symptom and fixing the footing.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Friendly, MD
A typical single swing gate installation in Friendly runs $2,000 to $4,500. A double swing gate runs $4,000 to $7,500. Sliding gates run $3,500 to $7,500, and pedestrian gates $800 to $1,800. A new operator adds $900 to $1,800 depending on brand and whether we’re adding safety edges or a keypad. If the posts need to be pulled and reset because of clay heave, add $600 to $1,400 per post for deeper footings. Every price is quoted and agreed before any work starts, and estimates are free. Seniors and veterans get a permanent 10% discount. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Friendly
While this page focuses on Friendly, our crew also covers Gate Installation in Friendly neighbors including Oxon Hill-Glassmanor, Oxon Hill, Glassmanor, and Fort Washington. If you’re in one of those communities, the same pricing, the same 90-Day Done Right Promise, and the same live-person phone answer apply. We’re local to this corner of Prince George’s County, not passing through.
Serving Friendly, MD - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Friendly 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 Friendly
Usually no. The sag is almost never the hinge itself. It’s the post underneath. Friendly’s expansive clay heaves with freeze-thaw cycles, and a hinge post set at a shallow depth tilts out of plumb. You can replace hinges every year and the gate will still bind. The post needs to be pulled, the footing augered to at least 24 inches below grade, and concrete poured with rebar. We’ve done exactly this on Fort Washington Road and it holds through the next thaw. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you straight whether your sag is a hinge or a footing.
Yes. We fabricate and weld on site, which means we can match the existing profile of ornamental iron gates throughout the HOA-governed subdivisions in 20744. We don’t hand you a catalog and ask you to pick. We photograph the existing panel, match the picket spacing and top rail profile, and build the replacement in your driveway. If the HOA has a written spec, bring it and we’ll follow it. Call (877) 610-2993 to schedule a measure.
At least 24 inches below grade, which puts it below Prince George’s County’s 18-inch frost depth. A shallower post will heave within two winters. We drill to 24 inches minimum, often deeper for wide driveway gates or sliding gates, and set the post in rebar-reinforced concrete. The clay soil along the Potomac corridor expands with moisture, so the extra depth is the only thing standing between a true gate and one that binds every spring.
Most don’t. Operators installed before UL 325 requirements lack entrapment protection like photo-eyes or contact edges, and an unprotected gate can hurt a child or a pet. If your Friendly home has a legacy operator on an ornamental iron driveway gate, we can retrofit photo-eyes and edge sensors without replacing the entire system, unless the control board is obsolete and parts are gone. We’ll inspect it and give you the honest answer. Call (877) 610-2993 to set up a free site check.
In most cases, yes, if the pillars are structurally sound and haven’t cracked from frost heave. We set new hinge plates into the brick, hang the new panel at the correct reveal, and mount the operator cleanly. If a pillar has shifted, we’ll tell you before any work starts. Parking a new gate on a cracked pillar means a callback by the following winter, and we’d rather tell you now than sell you a job that fails. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll inspect the pillars as part of the free measure.
If you’re in Friendly and need gate installation, a new operator, or someone to finally pull the post that’s been heaving since the 1990s, call (877) 610-2993. Hal will answer or call you right back, and the price gets locked before work starts. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Friendly, MD since 2001.