Price it
A few questions, a range in about a minute. The calculator uses the rates we quote with — a site visit pins the exact number.
Instant fence & deck estimate
01 / 09Walk and double drive gates with a diagonal brace from the bottom hinge to the top latch corner, so the frame cannot rack into a sag.
A gate is the only moving component in a fence, so it is the only part with a real mechanical life. Almost every sagging gate in the GTA failed for the same reason. It was framed as a rectangle. A rectangle is not a rigid shape. Put a hinge on one side and gravity on the other and it slowly racks into a parallelogram until the latch side drops and scrapes the walkway.
We build every fence gate with a diagonal brace running from the bottom hinge corner up to the top latch corner. That turns one rectangle into two triangles and takes the sag out permanently, because the brace works in compression rather than relying on a cable and turnbuckle that needs tightening every year. Hardware is adjustable, so when the posts do move a few millimetres over a winter the gate is re-squared with a wrench instead of rebuilt.
Walk gates at three to four feet wide for a side path. Double drive gates for a laneway or a trailer pad, where each leaf is braced independently and a drop rod seats into a concrete-set receiver so the leaves stay aligned and the latch has something solid to close against. Gates matched to an existing fence are also routine work, and we match material, picket spacing and rail height rather than bolting on a generic panel that reads as an afterthought.
A gate post is doing a different job from a line post. It takes a cantilevered load every time the gate swings, so it is oversized, set deeper, and concreted below the 1.2 m frost line with more concrete than a line post gets. On a heavy double drive gate we upgrade to a 6x6. Installing fence posts for a gate opening is the step where cutting the cost costs you the gate.
Where the gate forms part of a pool enclosure, it must be self-closing and self-latching under GTA municipal pool by-laws, with the latch positioned out of a child's reach on the pool side. Toronto requires a Pool Fence Enclosure Permit before excavation for any structure holding water deeper than 600 mm. We fit compliant hardware on request on any material we build in.
If the fence gate frame is sound and only the hinges have worn, re-hanging with adjustable hardware is a short visit. If the frame has already racked into a parallelogram, it gets rebuilt, because a racked frame cannot be pulled square without splitting the joints. We tell you which one you have before quoting.
| Frame | Diagonal brace from the bottom hinge corner to the top latch corner, working in compression |
|---|---|
| Walk gates | Three to four feet wide for a side path |
| Double drive gates | Each leaf braced independently, with a drop rod into a concrete-set receiver |
| Gate posts | Oversized, set deeper and concreted below the 1.2 m frost line, upgraded to 6x6 on heavy drive gates |
| Hardware | Adjustable, so a gate is re-squared with a wrench rather than rebuilt |
| Pool compliance | Self-closing and self-latching, latch out of a child's reach on the pool side |
We are an installation contractor, not a manufacturer or a materials retailer. We build decks and fences on your property across the Greater Toronto Area: layout, footings below the frost line, framing, boards, railings, stairs and gates, finished and inspected. Composite boards are a surface option we install, alongside pressure-treated lumber and western red cedar, and the boards themselves are made by manufacturers we do not represent and whose brands we do not resell. If you already have material on site we can build with it; if you do not, we specify and source what suits the deck and include it in the written fixed price. What you are buying from us is the build and the crew that stands behind it, not a product off a shelf.
