Getting a Custom Steel Gate Quote: What to Prepare

To get an accurate metal gate quote, prepare the clear opening width (measured at the top, middle and bottom), the height you want, the gate type, what the gate will hang from, the infill style, the finish, and whether it will ever be automated, plus a few photos. Custom steel gates are built to the opening, not pulled from a catalogue, so the quality of what you send decides how close the first estimate is to the final price. This guide walks through each item and what to check on the quotation you get back.

Why gate quotes need more than a width

A gate looks simple, but a fabricator pricing it has to answer several questions that a single "12 feet wide" doesn't settle:

• Is it one leaf, two leaves or a slider?
• What carries the weight: new steel posts, existing masonry piers, a building wall?
• Is the ground level across the opening and in the swing area?
• How heavy will the infill make the gate, and how much wind will it catch?
• Will it be locked, latched, automated, or all three?

Each answer changes the frame size, hardware, posts and installation. For the bigger design choices on vehicle gates, read steel driveway gates: swing vs sliding. This post focuses on getting your information ready.

Step 1: Measure the opening properly

Take these measurements and write them on a simple sketch:

1. Clear width at the top, middle and bottom, between the faces the gate will hang from and close against. Differences tell the fabricator the posts or piers are out of plumb.
2. Height you want for the gate, and the height of the fence or wall on either side.
3. Ground profile. Note whether the ground rises or falls across the opening and in the area where a swing gate would travel. A hand level and a string line are enough to find out.
4. Space beside the opening (for a sliding gate) and inside the property (for a swing gate), clear of cars, steps, trees and meters.
5. Post or pier sizes and material, if the gate will hang from existing supports.

Measure in millimetres or inches, but say which. Take photos straight on from both sides, plus close-ups of the posts and the ground.

Step 2: Decide the gate size from what passes through

People searching for "steel gate sizes" often expect a standard chart. For custom work there isn't one. The size comes from the opening and from what has to pass through it:

• Walk gates (pedestrian or "man" gates) need to clear people, plus whatever else uses the path: bins, wheelbarrows, a lawn mower or a stroller.
• Driveway gates need to clear the widest vehicle that will use them, with room to turn in without clipping a post. A double swing gate keeps each leaf shorter, which is easier on hinges and posts.
• Commercial and industrial gates are sized for trucks, forklifts or equipment, and usually set by the site plan.

Once the opening is fixed, the fabricator subtracts the gaps needed for hinges, latch hardware and swing clearance at the bottom. That is why you give the opening and let the fabricator set the gate dimensions, not the other way round.

Step 3: Choose the type and hardware

If the gate encloses a pool, check your municipality's pool enclosure by-law before ordering. These by-laws commonly require gates that close and latch on their own, along with set heights and opening limits.

Step 4: Posts, mounting and footings

What the gate hangs from matters as much as the gate itself:

• New steel posts are typically HSS sections with welded hinge or roller brackets, set in concrete footings or bolted to piers with base plates. See embedding steel posts in concrete vs base plates.
• Existing masonry piers may not be strong enough for a heavy swing leaf. Say what they are built of and send photos.
• Building walls need suitable anchors into the structure, not just the cladding.
• Footings need to resist frost movement and the overturning load from a swing gate. Your installer or designer sets the depth for the soil.

Tell the fabricator who will do the concrete work. If posts are in the quote, ask whether footings and anchors are too.

Step 5: Infill, design and the by-law

Infill sets the look, the weight and the wind load:

• Vertical pickets or bars: lighter, see-through, the most common choice
• Flat bar or decorative patterns: more layout and welding time
• Solid panels or privacy infill: heavier and catch more wind, which affects hinges, posts and any operator
• Mesh or expanded metal: for security and commercial use

Front yard fences and gates are usually controlled by your municipality's fence by-law, which can limit height near the street and require open construction close to a driveway for sight lines. Our driveway gate guide gives an example from Toronto's by-law. Check yours before you settle on height or solid infill. If you are still choosing a material, compare steel vs iron vs aluminum gates.

Step 6: Finish and automation

Finish. Outdoor steel needs protection. Hot-dip galvanizing, galvanizing plus paint or powder coat, and a primer and paint system are the usual options. Say what you want, or ask for a recommendation for your exposure. Road salt and snowmelt near a driveway are hard on the bottom rail.

Automation. If the gate might be automated now or later, say so at the quote stage. An automated gate needs a rigid frame, smooth hinges or rollers, positive stops, mounting points for the operator and space for safety devices such as photo eyes and safety edges. Building those in from the start is far easier than adding them later. Choose an operator certified for use in Canada and have it installed by a qualified installer.

Your gate quote request checklist

Copy this into your email or quote form:

• Site address and type of property (house, multi-unit, commercial, industrial)
• Gate type: single swing, double swing, track slider or cantilever slider
• Clear opening width at top, middle and bottom
• Gate height, and fence or wall height on each side
• Ground slope across the opening and in the swing or slide area
• What the gate hangs from: new posts, existing posts or piers (size and material), or a wall
• Infill style, with a photo or sketch of a gate you like
• Latch, lock and any self-closing requirement
• Finish: galvanized, galvanized and coated, or painted
• Automation now, later or never; operator model if chosen
• Supply only, or supply and install
• Photos from both sides and close-ups of posts and ground

Reading the estimate you get back

A useful gate estimate states what it includes. Check for:

• Gate dimensions and number of leaves
• Frame and infill members
• Posts, base plates or embedded posts, and footings
• Hinges, rollers, track, latch, lock and stops
• Finish system
• Provision for an operator, and whether the operator itself is included
• Delivery and installation
• Exclusions, such as concrete work, electrical work, permits and repairs to paving or landscaping

If two estimates are far apart, line them up item by item. One may include posts, galvanizing and installation, and the other may not. For the factors behind the number, see custom steel gate cost.

Get a custom steel gate quote from Procut

We fabricate custom steel gates, along with railings, stairs and ladders, in our shop in Erin, with CWB certified welding and shop drawings prepared in house. We deliver across the GTA and Ontario, and quotes are free. We can prime or galvanize your gate to suit the job, and installation is by your installer or contractor.

Send your measurements and photos for a quote, or see the miscellaneous steel we make.