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 Temple Hills
A new gate installation in Temple Hills typically runs $1,800 to $7,500 depending on the gate style, width, operator, and what’s happening underground with your soil. Most driveway gate installs take one to two days once materials are on site, and we quote the full job in writing before any work starts. If you’re reading this because a gate post has moved again, or because you need power at the end of a long driveway where there’s no outlet, call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person who knows Temple Hills clay better than anyone answering from a call center.
Gatewood Fence & Gate has been owner-operated since 2001 with Hal Gatewood’s name on the shop and on every invoice. We work across the 20748 and 20757 ZIP codes, and we know the difference between a gate that needs a new panel and one that needs its post re-set past the clay. Around here, that distinction is everything.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Temple Hills’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Most of the gate problems we walk into in Temple Hills are not what the homeowner expected. They expected a new hinge or a bigger operator. What they got from us was a conversation about Marlboro clay, post depth, and why the gate moved in the first place. That’s the difference between a crew that installs gates and a company that has been fixing what other people installed for 29 years.
Hal lives and works in the area. His crew shows up in marked trucks, background-checked and uniformed, and the person who quotes the job is the same person who makes sure it’s done right. We don’t hand you to a different team halfway through. We don’t tell you seven to ten business days and then go quiet. When you call (877) 610-2993, a live person answers. Not a tree. Not a chatbot.
Our standing offer to Temple Hills customers is simple: no trip charge inside the county, $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. And every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. One call brings Hal back. No runaround.
Our Gate Installation Services in Temple Hills
Driveway Gate Installation
On long Temple Hills driveways, we lean toward heavy-duty operators and wider posts by default. A gate at the end of a 200-foot driveway off Brinkley Road takes more wind, more cycles, and more torque than a gate on a short suburban lot. We plan for that from the first measurement, not after the first service call. Most driveway gates we install run $2,400 to $6,800 with operator, depending on width and whether we’re setting new posts or reusing sound footings.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Side-yard pedestrian gates in Temple Hills are usually 36 to 48 inches wide and get daily use from homeowners, mail carriers, and utility workers. The hinge post is where they fail. We set pedestrian gate posts deep enough to bypass the active clay layer, because a 42-inch walk gate that sags shut or won’t latch is a security hole in a neighborhood where people still leave bikes in the yard.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates make sense on Temple Hills properties with slope or limited swing clearance. They ride on a track and a roller assembly that has to survive freeze-thaw cycles, and the track bed has to be dead level. If the concrete tends to heave, the track heaves with it, and the gate binds. We pour the track base with the same care we give a footing, because a sliding gate that drags or jumps off its rollers is dangerous. Typical sliding gate installs in Temple Hills run $3,000 to $7,500 with operator.
Swing Gate Installation
Single and double swing gates are the most common style we install in Temple Hills, and the most abused by clay movement. A double swing gate off a 20748 driveway needs both hinge posts perfectly plumb and set below the active clay. We typically see 12-foot single swing gates from $2,200 to $4,800, and double swing gates from $3,800 to $7,000, with operator depending on weight and duty cycle.
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 Temple Hills
We install and service gate operators from Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing, among others, and we’re certified on all of them. The brand conversation in Temple Hills usually starts with power: a Ghost Controls solar kit might be perfect for a pedestrian gate on the far side of the yard, while a Viking with a heavy-duty battery backup is the better call for a wide double swing driveway gate that cycles dozens of times a day. We carry common parts for these brands on the truck, so a service call isn’t a week of waiting on a shipment. And if we don’t have it, we tell you up front, not after you’ve paid.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Temple Hills Homes
- Gate posts tilted 15 to 30 degrees out of plumb. This is the signature failure of Marlboro clay. The panel is usually fine; the post has rotated from soil expansion and contraction. If the new post doesn’t go deeper than the active clay layer, you’ll be calling us again in two seasons.
- Long driveways with no mains power. Many Temple Hills homes have gates 100 to 400 feet from the house, and running conduit that far gets expensive fast. Undersized solar panels or a shaded panel from mature oaks leaves an operator that dies in winter. We size solar for the actual tree line and shade pattern, not the brochure.
- Wide farm gates with light-duty operators. A 16-foot farm gate weighs a lot more than a 10-foot suburban gate. Put a light operator on it and the gear strips or the motor burns out when the post heaves. We spec for the gate’s real weight, not the box rating.
- Rusted hardware from humid summers. The DC-area humidity eats exposed hinges and weld points. On a 50-year-old chain-link gate off Silver Hill Road, the pipe frame might be fine but the hinge barrels are gone. We weld and repair on site where it makes sense, which is most of the time.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Temple Hills, MD
Here’s what you can expect to pay for gate installation in Temple Hills, quoted and agreed before we start work. A basic single swing driveway gate with manual hinges runs $1,800 to $3,200. Add an automatic operator and you’re at $2,800 to $5,500. A double swing gate with a heavy-duty operator on a wide driveway runs $3,800 to $7,000. Sliding gates run $3,000 to $7,500. Solar gate openers run $700 to $1,800 installed, panel size and battery dependent. These ranges assume normal site conditions. If your posts need re-setting past the clay, or if we’re trenching conduit 200 feet, the quote reflects that before any work begins, not after you’ve written the check. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate. We measure, we write it down, and the number doesn’t move.
We Also Serve Cities Near Temple Hills
Our service area covers the communities around Temple Hills as well: Temple Hills itself, Hillcrest Heights, Marlow Heights, Fort Washington, and Silver Hill. If you’re just over the line and wondering whether we’ll come out, call. If you’re inside Prince George’s County, there’s no trip charge. Hal’s shop is local, his crews know these roads, and his name is on every job, not a franchise agreement.
Serving Temple Hills, MD - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Temple Hills 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 Temple Hills
Because the post was re-set in the active clay layer, not below it. Temple Hills sits on Marlboro clay, which expands when wet and shrinks when dry, then heaves during winter freeze-thaw cycles. A post set in a shallow concrete plug will rotate again within one or two seasons. The fix is to pull the post, dig past the active clay, and re-set it in a wider, deeper concrete collar. That’s what we do, and that’s why our Gate Installation work holds through seasons that wreck shallower jobs. If your post is moving, call (877) 610-2993 for a free assessment.
Yes, if the panel is sized for shade and the battery handles the cycle rate. On a long driveway with mature trees, an undersized panel is the number one reason solar gate operators die in winter. We calculate the actual sun exposure at the gate, not the theoretical rating on the box, and we add battery capacity for cloudy weeks. A properly sized solar setup on a Temple Hills driveway works year-round. We install Ghost Controls and Viking solar openers regularly, and we’ll tell you honestly if your tree line makes a solar panel a bad idea, then show you the mains power alternative with a real number. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come look.
Usually neither one by itself. The gate sags because the hinge post has moved, or the frame has racked over years of use. If we fix the panel without fixing the post, it’ll sag again. If we just hang a heavier operator on it, the operator burns out fighting the bind. Our crew welds on site, so we can true the frame and re-hang the gate in your driveway, then spec the operator to the actual weight. In Temple Hills, this is a repair before replacement situation in most cases, which saves real money. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you what’s actually wrong.
Yes. Any automatic gate operator installed in Maryland must have entrapment protection: photo eyes, contact edges, or both, plus force settings that reverse the gate if it meets resistance. This is not optional, and it’s not a markup. We install compliant safety edges and photo eyes on every automatic gate, because the alternative is a gate that can injure a child or a pet, and a liability you don’t want. We also test the reversal every time we leave the job. It’s part of the install, not an add-on.
A heavy-duty linear-screw or ram-type operator with a solid, deeply set post. On a 14- to 16-foot farm gate in Temple Hills clay, light-duty residential operators fail, plain and simple. The post moves, the gate loads unevenly, and the motor cooks itself. We typically spec Linear or Viking heavy-duty operators for wide gates in the 20748 area, paired with deep concrete collars that reach below the active clay. The operator matters less than the post it’s mounted on. Get the post right and almost any good operator will run. Get it wrong and the best operator on the market fights a losing battle. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll measure the gate, check the post, and give you the straight answer.
Local Conditions That Change How We Install Gates in Temple Hills
This page could end with a generic “call us for all your gate needs,” and Google wouldn’t care. But you should know something specific, because it’s the thing that separates a gate that lasts here from a gate that fails here. Temple Hills sits on Prince George’s County’s Marlboro clay, a high-shrink/swell soil that moves far more aggressively than the soils in neighboring Montgomery County or Washington, DC. When that clay gets wet, it expands. When it dries, it contracts. When it freezes and thaws, it heaves. The result, on gate posts, is a post that rotates 15 to 30 degrees out of plumb without the gate panel ever being touched.
On a long driveway off Brinkley Road in 20748, we replaced a rusted swing gate with a heavy-duty double swing and a LiftMaster operator. The original hinge posts had rotated from clay heave, so we pulled them, dug past the active clay layer, and re-set them in wide concrete collars before hanging the new panel. Then we added a solar opener because running mains power to the street end was impractical. That gate has held its plumb through two winters since. That’s the standard here. A gate installed without that knowledge is a gate that fails, quietly, until one day it doesn’t open at all.
If your gate post has moved in Temple Hills, or your operator is straining, or you’re planning an install and want it done once, call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, Hal Gatewood’s name is on the job, and the price is in writing before the first hole is dug.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Temple Hills since 2001.