Gates that swing true for thirty years.
Single or double cedar gates, mortise-and-tenon joinery, mortised hinges, traditional latch hardware. Sized to your wall, your fence, your house. Hand-built one at a time.
— Why most gates sag within a season
Gate hardware does not save bad joinery.
A garden gate is the most-used piece of joinery on most properties. Built without proper mortise construction, the gate sags inside of one summer.
Lap joints with screws.
Faster than mortising. Racks within months under daily use. Gate ends up lopsided.
Galvanized strap hinges instead of mortised.
Surface-mount hinges concentrate load on a few screws. The wood splits at the screw points within two seasons.
Wrong stock thickness.
1-1/2″ cedar for a heavy gate is undersized. Should be 2″ minimum for the frame, 1-1/4″ for infill panels.
Latch and strike misaligned with gate movement.
Gate sags 1/4″, latch no longer engages, owner rigs a hook. Cycle continues.
— Gates, by the numbers
— What’s included
A gate built like furniture.
Whether a single garden gate or a pair of driveway gates, every gate follows the same construction standards.
Site measurement + design
Opening measured precisely; gate sized to fit existing hardware or new posts.
Cedar frame, mortised
2″ or 2-1/2″ cedar frame stiles and rails, joined with mortise-and-tenon, pinned with white oak.
Custom infill
Vertical or horizontal pickets, board-on-board, slat, lattice — your choice, milled to fit.
Mortised hinge installation
Hinges set into the post and gate frame. Load distributed across mortise, not concentrated on screws.
Brass or wrought-iron hardware
Latch, strike, drop-rod (for double gates). Self-adjusting where possible.
Stand-off post bases (if posts included)
Where new posts are needed: frost-line concrete piers with stainless stand-off bases.
Two-winter inspection
Spring of years one and two, we check swing, alignment, hardware. Re-tighten as needed, no charge.
— How a gate gets built
Four steps. Three to six weeks.
Most single garden gates install in 2–4 weeks total. Custom double gates with new posts take 4–6 weeks.
Site visit
Two-hour walk with the architect. We listen, you talk. We measure light, slope, drainage, and existing material. No PowerPoint.
Design
Hand-drawn schematic, then full construction documents. Material specs, sections, footing detail. Two reviews built in.
Quote
Fixed-price proposal, line-itemed by trade. You see the math. Change orders signed before any change happens.
Build
Our in-house crew on site every working day. Weekly progress photos. Architect at every milestone. We don’t leave until the punch list is empty.
— Recent gate work
Three recent cedar projects.
Lakefront master plan, 2½ acres.
Three terraced rooms stepping down to Lake Champlain. 240 ft of dry-laid stone wall, cedar pavilion, native pollinator beds.
Read project →
Seven-terrace hilltop garden.
Re-grading a north-facing slope into seven dry-stone-walled terraces of perennials, fruit trees, and a 60-foot meditation walk.
Read project →
1,400 sq ft contemporary courtyard.
Bluestone paving, cedar slat screening, a small reflecting pool, and three Japanese maples for autumn color.
Read project →Standard pedestrian gate
$2.5K–$8Kcomplete install
Most single garden gates run $2.5K–$5K for the gate itself; add up to $8K for new mortared stone gate posts.
Pair of gates with hardware
$8K–$28Kcomplete install
Double pedestrian or driveway gates with matching posts and hardware. Add for automation.
— Gate questions
What clients ask.
Can you match an existing fence?
Yes. Send photos. We’ll match the wood, joinery style, and hardware language so the gate reads as part of the fence rather than added on.
What about automation for driveway gates?
We build the cedar gate and stone (or cedar) posts. Automation electronics are installed by a low-voltage contractor we coordinate with — typically a half-day job after our work.
Will the gate sag over time?
Properly built mortise-and-tenon gates with mortised hinges should not sag noticeably for 20+ years. The two-winter inspection catches any early settling. After that, gates are essentially zero-maintenance.
Brass or wrought-iron hardware?
Brass weathers to a soft patina that complements silvered cedar. Wrought-iron is more substantial, matches industrial or farmhouse aesthetics. We carry both — the choice is style.
Do you do internal garden gates between rooms?
Often. Smaller gates between distinct garden rooms, mounted to existing walls or fence sections. Same construction standards, smaller scale.