How much do they cost? Gates range from $115 to a little over $200 for our smallest to largest gates. Freestanding gates are less. You may get exact pricing for your model by clicking the gate style links at the top of this page. Staining is extra, typically $39. Too expensive? Consider our plans, with all the details needed by a do-it-yourselfer.

When do you ship? All gates are guaranteed to ship 2 weeks after you have approved your order and remitted a form of payment. Unfinished gates, however, generally ship within 9 days. Stained gates, particularly gates in deep saturated colors, take up to 2 weeks due to multiple stain coats, and dry times for both stain and satin polyurethane finish.

You ship to the USA. Do you also ship to Canada? Yes!  We deliver via UPS Standard to Canada, UPS GROUND to the continental USA and via UPS 2nd or 3rd day AIR to Hawaii or Alaska.

What will my personalized design diagram look like? When you place an order, you will receive a diagram somewhat like this sample gate design, but it will show your gate drawn to scale in the style you selected.
  
How do I know the gate will fit? If you use our online instructions, you will receive step-by-step assistance in computing your gate size. This guide addresses things that affect your gate, such as baseboards, existing banisters on the wall, and other items that may affect the gate opening. The height of your gate is defined as the distance between the bottom of the footrail to the top of the handrail.  We also provide neatly beveled planks to attach to your wall by stairs, so that you can hinge your gate to the wall, and latch to your newel post.

When you order, we fine-tune the measurements until you are satisfied with the design diagrams, made for you. We handle issues related to walls, doorways, baseboards, posts, stairs, newels, and other attachment points or obstructions. You, however, are ultimately responsible for assuring accurate measurements, and solely responsible for successful fit and installation.

What are your finishes? By default, our gates are unfinished, sanded, and ready for staining. Gates should be buffed with 000 steel wool prior to paint or staining. Use Kilz spray primer prior to painting. If you procure a finished gate, it will be stained with 2 applications of Minwax stain (view choices) and 3 coats of polyurethane. Finishing a gate adds a bit of time to your order. Finished gates will ship by 2 weeks, whereas unfinished gates almost always ship within 9 days.

Do you provide installation instructions? Yes, we even give you mounting instructions, for mounting of gates in doorframes, on posts, by stairs, and between walls. You do need to hang the gate on its hinges, so you'll need to have a drill and screwdriver handy.

Do you mark up the Shipping Costs?  No!  We use UPS rate quotes in providing shipping costs to you. Because gates are like large pizza boxes, nearly all gates are subject to a UPS dimensional weight charge, which is higher than UPS charges based on actual weight. We keep an up-to-date shipping table of actual UPS shipping costs here. Series F and Tall pet gates are expensive to ship ($99-$120 via UPS) because of their large girth. Most gates cost between $20-$55 to ship. 

When you view the gate styles, you will see pricing information. Each price is color coded. The color matches a particular Series, such as "Series A", "Series B", etc.   All gates within a series use the same box size. You will use this series information to determine  your shipping costs in the shipping cost table.

What about Shipping to Canada? We ship via UPS STANDARD. In your quote , you will see the UPS STANDARD quote, plus a $41.50 Canadian Entry Prep Fee, plus a total of 14% in taxes (brokerage fees, CA disbursement fees, plus CA VAT taxes. No duties apply). We pay these costs on your behalf. You will not be subjected to any additional fees, once you pay us. There are no hidden fees. Your quotation (or your quote at the online store) shows all fees. UPS pays all of these fees on your behalf, and collects from us.

Is this suitable for an infant or pet? These gates are custom architectural products, so it is important that you make design choices that reflect good safety or pet considerations. These gates are not rated as child safety gates by ANY independent testing service; use at your own risk. Our hinges are solid door hinges, rated at 150 lb support. You are responsible for maintaining your gate, and our liability is limited to the cost of the item you order.  The customer is also responsible for upgrading their latch after installation. The default "hook and eye" latch is NOT suitable for small children. Many choices are available at low cost at your local hardware store.

We provide a range of options that enhance safety. You can make a gate with spacings as close as 2"!  It is also widely known that a mounted gate is more secure than a compression or pressure mounted gate. However, it is important that you hinge the gate securely to a stable surface such as wall plank (we provide) or standing post.

These gates are not rated by any third-party safety service, as they are intended to meet a wide variety of architectural needs. In our installation instructions, we also provide information on how you can upgrade the latch to a more safety-conscious latch. However, our gates were recently mentioned in the Washingtonian Magazine (in August 2004) as a great feature for Kid's Rooms!

Are there more pictures?   Yes! Visit our Gate Gallery.