How to Measure a Gate Opening

1. 1

   Clear opening — post face to post face

   Hook the tape on the inside face of one post and read it at the inside face of the other. Take it at the top, the middle and the bottom; posts lean, and the smallest number is the opening. If the posts are not in yet, measure where their inside faces will be, or tell us the opening you want and we will spec the post spacing.

   Do not subtract for hinges or a latch. That allowance depends on the hardware, and we take it off in the shop.

2. 2

   Height — grade to top of fence

   Measure from the finished ground (driveway surface, not the dirt beside it) to the top of the fence panel next to the opening. Gates are normally built to match the fence height; if you want it taller or shorter, say so.

   A gate needs about 2″ of ground clearance closed. We take that into the leaf height, not you.

3. 3

   Slope — across the opening and on the swing side

   Set a 4′ level on the ground across the opening and note how much one end has to lift to read level: that is the rise over 4 feet. Do the same in the direction a swing gate would open. A rise of more than about 1″ over 4′ on the swing side is where we start steering people to a cantilever.

   A photo down the driveway from the street, and one from inside looking out, tells us more than any number.

4. 4

   Side run — only for a cantilever

   A cantilever gate parks beside the opening, and it is about one-and-a-half times the opening long. Measure the straight fence run on the side the gate would slide to. A 14′ opening needs roughly 21′ of straight run with nothing in it — no tree, no meter, no garage corner.

   No side run on either side? That is a swing gate, whatever the slope.

What to write down

Still deciding how the gate should open? Read swing vs cantilever first — the slope and side-run numbers above are what decide it.