Gate Installation and Repair in Jackson, TN
Driveway gates, walk gates, and farm gates built to the opening, plus repairs for gates that sag, stick, or quit latching.
A gate is the part of the fence that moves, so it is the part that wears out. Every time it swings, the whole weight of it hangs off one post and pulls. That is why gates sag, stick, and stop latching while the rest of the fence looks fine. We build new gates and fix existing ones in Jackson, across Madison County, and out through West Tennessee.
Driveway gates, walk gates, double gates wide enough for a tractor or a mower, and farm gates on pasture openings. Wood, ornamental iron, aluminum, vinyl, and chain link. If you want the gate to open on its own, that is automatic gate installation, and we do that too.
Get a free estimate
Call or text Greg at (731) 555-1234, or use the form. Photos of your yard help.
Free on-site estimates in Jackson & West Tennessee.
How we build and hang a gate
The hinge post is most of the job. Everything else follows from getting that right.
We walk the opening with you
We measure the actual opening, check whether the ground is level across it, and figure out which way it should swing. Uphill swing, a drainage ditch, a truck that has to get through, a mower that needs a certain width. All of that changes the answer.
You get a written quote
Gate width, height, material, frame, hinges, latch, and post size, all spelled out. If the opening is wide enough that it needs a double gate or a drop rod, it says so on the quote instead of coming up later.
811 before we dig
New gate posts mean new holes, and Tennessee law requires a call to 811 at least three full business days before any digging, hand tools included. Locators get 72 hours after that to mark, and the ticket is good for 15 calendar days. We make the call.
Set the gate posts heavy
A hinge post carries the whole gate and gets levered on every single swing. It goes in bigger and deeper than a line post, in more concrete, and it cures before anything hangs on it. Cutting this step is the single most common reason a gate sags within a year.
Build the gate to the opening and hang it
We build the frame square, brace it diagonally so it cannot rack, and hang it with hardware sized to the weight. Then we swing it, adjust it, and swing it again until it latches clean without being lifted.
Cleanup and a walk-through
Scrap, old gate, and concrete spoil go with us. We show you how the latch works and what to snug up if it ever loosens. If the ground settles and the gate needs an adjustment, call us.
Types of gates we build
Sized to the opening and the traffic going through it.
Driveway gates
Single or double leaf, ornamental iron, aluminum, or wood on a steel frame. Width is the decision. Too narrow and you are clipping a mirror every week. These are also the gates people most often want automated.
Walk and privacy gates
The everyday gate in a back yard fence. Built to match the run so it disappears into the fence line. Self-closing hinges and a latch a child cannot reach are worth asking about, especially anywhere near water. See privacy fencing.
Farm and pasture gates
Wide openings for a tractor, a trailer, or livestock, hung on posts set for the load. Tube gates, wood gates, and wire-backed gates that match the fence they sit in. More on split rail and farm fence and farm and horse fencing.
Gate repair and rehang
Sagging gates, racked frames, broken hinges, stuck latches, and posts that moved. We square the frame, brace it, and reset the hardware. If the hinge post is the real problem, we replace it, because bracing around a bad post buys you a season at best.
West Tennessee conditions and gates
Loess is the reason gates move here. The silt that covers the West Tennessee uplands holds water and then shifts as it dries, and a hinge post sitting in that with a heavy gate levering on it is the first post on the property to go out of plumb. It does not take a storm. It takes a few wet-to-dry swings and a gate that gets used every day. That is why the hinge post gets more hole and more concrete than anything else in the fence.
Wind is the other load. Jackson has a real tornado history, and a solid privacy gate is a sail with hinges on it. A latched gate is fine. A gate left standing open in a spring storm is what tears hardware out of the post. If you have a driveway gate, close it before the weather comes in.
Humidity is why the latch works in January and fights you in July. Hot, wet summers swell a wood gate, and a gate built with no clearance at all will bind once the wood takes on moisture. We build in the clearance on purpose. If your gate is doing this seasonally, that is a hardware and clearance adjustment, not a rebuild. And keep mulch and grass clippings off the bottom of a wood gate, because the bottom rail is where rot starts. See fence lifespan in West Tennessee.
Permits and placement
Inside the City of Jackson a fence permit is required for fence installation, and the ordinance says the finished side of a privacy fence has to face the neighbors and any public right-of-way, which applies to the gate in that run too. The city also restricts what can block sight lines in a required front yard, and that is worth thinking through before you put a driveway gate near a corner. In unincorporated Madison County a building permit is not required for a standard residential fence 7 feet or under. We confirm the current rules with whichever office has jurisdiction over your address before we quote. The permits and rules guide covers it, and a gate on a shared boundary is worth reading property line and fence disputes in Tennessee about first.
Common questions about gates
Can you repair a gate somebody else installed?
+Yes. It does not matter who built it. We look at the post, the frame, and the hardware, and tell you which of the three is actually causing the problem.
How wide should my driveway gate be?
+Wider than the driveway, and wider than you think. Factor in the biggest thing that has to come through, whether that is a truck with mirrors out, a trailer, or a delivery truck, plus the turn it has to make to line up. A gate that is technically wide enough for a straight approach gets scraped constantly when the approach is angled. We measure the actual approach, not just the pavement.
Can an opener be added to a gate I already have?
+Often. It depends on whether the gate is square and rigid, whether the hinge post can take the extra cycling, and whether there is power nearby or a run to make. We will tell you honestly if the existing gate should be rebuilt first, because automating a sagging gate just breaks it faster. See automatic gate installation.
Why does my gate stop latching in certain seasons?
+Wood swells in our summer humidity and shrinks back in winter, so a gate with tight clearance binds in July and swings free in January. Ground movement does it too. Most of the time it is a latch or hinge adjustment. If it gets worse every year instead of going back and forth, the post is moving and that is a different fix.
Do you build gates to match an existing fence?
+Yes. Wood matches easily on profile and height, though a new gate will read newer than a weathered fence for a while. Vinyl and ornamental aluminum depend on whether the manufacturer still makes that style. Send a photo when you call and we can usually tell right away.
Where we work
We build and repair gates in Jackson and across Madison County, plus Medina, Three Way, Brownsville, and Lexington. Gate work often comes with other repairs, so it is worth reading fence repair too, and fence installation if the whole line is going in new.
Get a free estimate
Call or text Greg at (731) 555-1234, or use the form. Photos of your yard help.
Free on-site estimates in Jackson & West Tennessee.