Many of us have wooden gates attached to our houses or garages, that will need to be replaced by non-combustible material. One of our neighbors just completed a $400 DIY project where he replaced his wooden gate with a 36"x80" steel gate, and added some metal side panels. The project looks amazingly good, and the cost is shockingly low.
The project does require some DIY skills: the use of an auger to drill post holes, and the pouring of a small amount of concrete to anchor the posts.
Our neighbor was kind enough to share his links and costs, along with his feedback and several pictures. He is the neighborhood lead for NextDoor in our area.
The budget (individual items without tax):
- Steel painted gate: $120
- 2 - 10’ x 2” conduit pipes $90
- Doorknob deadbolt combo $32
- 10 - 4” x 3/8 bolts nuts washers $22
- Black spray paint $7
- 1 bag fence post cement $4
- 4” drill bit to dig hole $25
- 2 - 3’ x 2’ Decorative screens $63
- Total: without tax $363, with tax about $400
Total time to build: approximately 6 hours
Links for the materials: (shared between Home Depot and Amazon)
- Gate: Unique Home Designs 36x80" Universal Reversible Su Case Black Surface Mount Outswing Security Door with Expanded Metal Screen
- Knobs: Defiant Hartford Matte Black Single Cylinder Combo Pack
- Original screens on the side: MD Building Products 24x36" Metal screen Union Jack in Black
- 2" x 10’ Pipes for posts: 2"x10’ Electric Metallic Tube EMT Conduit
- Fence Post concrete: SAKRETE 50 lb Fence Post Concrete Mix
- Auger Drill bit: Auger bit
- Black spray paint: Rust-Oleum Stops Rust 12 oz Protective Enamel Flat Black Spray Paint
- Bolts: Deckmate 3/8" 16x4" Black Deck Exterior Carriage Bolt
- A better set of screens that I plan to replace the first set with: Falken Design
24x36x1/8" Aluminum Composite ACM Black Sheet
My neighbor’s comments on the project
“I started with a basic Home Depot security gate—the simplest and cheapest design they had. There were more complex options available, but I chose this one to keep the cost down. The entire project took about 6 hours total, including shopping, and came in around $400 using the most affordable materials I could find. The side panels I picked turned out to be too thin, so I plan to swap them out soon for solid black panels that will look better and offer more durability—at about the same price as the original designer ones. I could have spent more on a better-looking door too, but overall, I’m happy with how it turned out. It’s solid, strong, and looks good.”
What it looks like
The gate
The side panels (to get to 5 feet of width)
The knobs
Anchoring the gate
Fastening the side panels