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.
Fast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Ennis
A new driveway gate in Ennis typically runs $2,800 to $7,500 installed, depending on whether it is a single swing gate or a double sliding gate with automation. Most jobs take one to two days once materials are on site, and every install is protected by our written 90-Day Done Right Promise. If you live off FM 85, FM 879, or in one of the newer acreage subdivisions on the east side of town, call us at (936) 226-3481 and we will walk the site with you before quoting a single number.

We are the Gate Installation team at Ironworks Gate Co., and we have spent years learning what Ennis soil does to gate posts. That matters more than most people realize. A gate that gets planted without accounting for the black gumbo under your driveway will start dragging within six months. We build for that from day one.
Why Ironworks Gate Co. Is Ennis’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Ennis homeowners call us because we show up when we say we will and we do not leave until the gate closes square. Our crews know the difference between the tight driveways near downtown Ennis and the wide caliche entrances south of town. That local knowledge comes from jobs, not maps. When a homeowner off FM 879 tells us their pipe post heaved again after a wet spring, we already know they need Gate Repair - Ennis specialists.
Every technician who comes to your Ennis property is background-checked and uniformed. Victor Salinas leads our installation work, and he holds every crew to the same standard: measure twice, set the post deeper than code minimum, and do not pack up until the gate opens and closes without a fight. That is the Keystone Standard, and it applies to every swing gate, sliding gate, and double gate we hang in Ellis County.
We answer the phone. A live person picks up 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you call about a gate in Ennis, you are talking to someone who can actually help you, not a voicemail tree. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Dallas-Fort Worth office, and our crews serve Ennis locally with same-week availability for most installations, including our Gate Access Control in Ennis.
For a city where many homeowners have lived in the same house for twenty or thirty years, we know what you have been through with gate contractors. You want the job done once, done correctly, and guaranteed in writing. That is exactly how we work. After 42 years of doing gate work, we plan to be around for another forty.
Our Gate Installation Services in Ennis
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates are the most practical solution for narrow Ennis driveways where a swing gate simply will not arc. Many older lots near the downtown core have setback limits that make a swing gate impossible. A sliding gate runs parallel to the fence line and requires less clear space, which is why so many Ennis homeowners choose them for restricted frontages. We install cantilever sliding gates for heavy farm entrances and standard rolling gates for residential driveways, and we set the track and guide posts to handle the clay movement that comes with every wet-and-dry cycle.

Post Footing and Gate Post Replacement
If you live in Ennis, your gate posts are fighting the Blackland Prairie every single season. The expansive clay under the city swells after spring rains and shrinks in the summer heat, which heaves posts out of plumb and causes swing gates to drag and bind. We dig deeper footings than standard residential installations and pour concrete collars with rebar, techniques we refined through Gate Parts & Welding in Ennis, to keep the post anchored through the wet-dry cycle. A properly set post in Ennis clay needs to go below the active movement zone, which is deeper than what most out-of-area installers will do.

Double Gate Installation
Double gates are common on Ellis County acreage lots and shared driveways. Two leaves, two posts, and a center drop rod or electric opener: done wrong, the leaves drift out of alignment within months. Done right, with matched hinges, proper post depth, and a central support that keeps both leaves acting together, a double gate lasts decades. We install double gates on working ranches, newer subdivisions on the city’s east edge, and the mid-century ranch homes near downtown Ennis, and we build every one for the soil it will live on.

Pedestrian Gate Installation
A separate pedestrian gate next to a driveway gate keeps foot traffic from wearing out your main gate operator. In Ennis, where lots on the older streets can be tight, a pedestrian gate is often the only practical way to get in and out without opening the full driveway every time. We build pedestrian gates to match your existing driveway gate in style and metal, and we set them with the same deep footing standards as the rest of the property.

What happens when you call
- 1
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 Ennis
Our Ennis customers run a lot of different gate openers, and we are trained on the ones that show up most often in Ellis County. DoorKing operators are common on larger residential and light commercial gates in the area; Elite openers appear on a lot of the higher-end estate entrances; Ennis Mighty Mule service keeps those units running on working ranch gates all through the FM 85 and FM 879 corridors. We also work on Ghost Controls equipment. When we install a gate in Ennis, we match the automation to the gate type and the expected cycle count. Parts stocked in our DFW warehouse ship to Ennis quickly, so most opener repairs happen in a single visit.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Ennis Homes
- Post heave from black gumbo expansion. Ennis sits on the Blackland Prairie, and that deep black clay swells dramatically after spring rains. Posts set too shallow get pushed upward and sideways, which makes swing gates drag and bind within months of installation.
- Restricted working space on older downtown lots. Homes near the historic downtown core of Ennis often have narrow driveways with limited side clearance. A sliding gate retrofit that does not account for proper post setbacks will show rack and pinion misalignment within the first year.
- Shared driveways and rights of way. Many Ennis properties share a driveway with a neighbor or run along an easement. A new operator without proper safety photocells risks a vehicle strike and fails UL 325 entrapment requirements. We design for shared access from the start.
- Wood gate frames warping in North Texas heat. The summer sun around Ennis regularly pushes past 100°F, which bakes moisture out of wood gate frames and causes warping. In town, the UV intensity also degrades finishes faster than in areas with more tree cover. We recommend steel framing where the gate type allows it, and we build wood gates with bracing that accounts for the heat.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Ennis, TX
Here is what Ennis homeowners can expect to budget, based on the work we have done in this market.
- Single swing gate, manual, steel frame: $1,800 - $3,200 installed
- Single swing gate with automation (DoorKing, Elite, or Mighty Mule): $3,200 - $5,800 installed
- Double swing gate, manual: $3,000 - $5,500 installed
- Double swing gate with automation: $5,500 - $9,500 installed
- Sliding gate, manual, cantilever or track: $2,800 - $5,000 installed
- Sliding gate with automation and safety sensors: $5,000 - $8,500 installed
- Pedestrian gate, welded steel, matching existing: $700 - $1,800 installed
- Post excavation and re-set with deeper concrete collar (per post): $450 - $900
Every estimate is quoted and agreed before any work starts. The price we give you is the price on the bill, unless you change the scope mid-job, and even then we will put the change on paper before we touch it. Free estimates in Ennis, always. Call (936) 226-3481 and we will schedule someone to look at your site.
We Also Serve Cities Near Ennis
Our gate crews regularly work in Waxahachie, Red Oak, Wilmer, and Lancaster, so if you have family or a rental property in any of those towns, the same crew that serves your Ennis property can handle it. Same standards, same Keystone Promise, same Gate Installation team.
Serving Ennis, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Ennis 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 Ennis
Most posts in Ennis fail because they were not set deep enough or wide enough in the Blackland Prairie clay. The black gumbo soil here expands dramatically when saturated, pushing shallow footings upward and sideways, which cants the post and throws the gate out of square. The fix is a deeper excavation and a reinforced concrete collar that anchors the post below the active movement zone. We do this on almost every Ennis post replacement. Call (936) 226-3481 if your gate is dragging or the post looks off-plumb.
Yes. Sliding gates are our most common installation on tight Ennis frontages. A sliding gate runs along the fence line instead of swinging into the driveway, so it works where a swing gate cannot. We will need about the width of the gate itself in side clearance for the track or cantilever rollers, plus a small pad for the post. Many older lots near downtown Ennis were built with exactly this constraint, and we have installed dozens of sliding gates there. Call for a free site walk and we will tell you what will fit.
We leave one leaf of the double gate in place and operating until the new first leaf is hung, then we swap. If the gate is fully unusable, we coordinate with both property owners and keep a temporary chain or gate up during the work window. On a job off FM 879, we kept the shared driveway operational the entire time by staging materials on one side and setting the new post while the old gate still swung. If it is a shared driveway, tell us when you call and we will plan the sequence before we start.
Yes. Under UL 325, any automatic gate operator must have a secondary entrapment-protection device, which is a photo-eye, edge sensor, or both, depending on the gate type and operator class. This applies to private ranch gates on Ellis County acreage exactly as it does to residential gates in town. We install photo-eyes and edges on every automated gate we set in Ennis, and we test them before we leave. A gate without working entrapment protection is unsafe and should be corrected immediately.
Ennis gets the full force of the North Texas summer without much tree canopy to soften it. The heat regularly runs over 100°F, drying wood fast and unevenly, which causes twisting and sagging. The wet spring changes in the black gumbo then put extra pressure on a warped frame, and the result is a gate that binds constantly. We recommend steel framing for any new gate in Ennis, and if a wood look matters to you, we can face the steel frame with wood pickets that are replaceable without touching the structure. Victor Salinas and the whole Ironworks team can assess yours and give you a straight answer on whether to repair or replace.
Call Ironworks Gate Co. at (936) 226-3481 for a free estimate on gate installation in Ennis. We quote before we build, we stand behind it in writing, and a live person answers when you call.
Written by Victor Salinas, Owner at Ironworks Gate Co., serving Ennis and surrounding communities.





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