A cedar driveway gate costs $1,200 to $5,000 installed, with most single 12-foot gates on a steel frame landing between $2,000 and $3,500. Automation adds another $1,800 to $4,500. Width, height, and frame material are the three things that move the number.
Wood is the material people want and the material with the most ways to get it wrong. Almost all of them come back to the same thing: a gate is a lever, and wood on its own is not stiff enough to be the lever.
Where the price lands
| Configuration | Typical installed cost |
|---|---|
| Single 10–12 ft, wood frame, cedar | $1,200–$2,200 |
| Single 12 ft, steel frame, cedar cladding | $2,000–$3,500 |
| Dual swing, 14–16 ft total, steel frame | $3,000–$5,000 |
| Horizontal slat, premium grade cedar | Add 20–40% |
| Automation (operator, safety, power) | $1,800–$4,500 |
| Posts and footings, if not existing | $400–$1,500 |
The steel frame point, because it decides everything
A wood gate built entirely of wood will sag. Not might — will, on any span past about eight feet, because the joinery flexes under the weight of the panel hanging out from the hinge side.
People try to solve it with a diagonal brace, and on a narrow pedestrian gate that works. On a 12-foot driveway gate it delays the problem by a year or two.
The gates that last are welded steel frames with cedar cladding. The steel carries the load and holds the geometry; the wood provides the look. From two feet away you cannot tell, and the gate is still square in year fifteen.
If a quote for a wide wood gate does not mention a steel frame, ask what is stopping it from sagging. The answer will be informative.
Wind load: the thing nobody plans for
A solid privacy gate is a sail.
A 12-foot by 6-foot panel is 72 square feet of surface with nowhere for wind to go. That load goes into the hinges and then into the hinge post, in cycles, every windy day. It is the main reason solid gates work loose while picket gates do not.
Three ways to handle it:
- Spaced boards with a small gap between them, which barely changes the privacy at a distance
- A gap at the top or bottom of the panel to bleed pressure
- Size for it — heavier posts, deeper footings, heavy-duty hinges
Any of those is fine. Ignoring it is not, and in a windy market it is the difference between a gate that holds and a gate that develops a lean.
Species, honestly
Western red cedar is the default for good reason: naturally decay resistant, dimensionally stable, takes finish well, and light for its strength. Grade matters — clear or select tight-knot cedar stays much flatter than the knotty grades sold for fencing.
Redwood performs similarly where it is available and priced sensibly.
Pressure-treated pine costs less and moves more. On a fence, a twisted board is a fence board. On a gate, it is a visible defect on a panel you look at every time you come home, and the movement stresses the fasteners.
Ipe and other hardwoods are gorgeous, extremely stable, extremely heavy, and expensive enough that most people stop after the quote. On an automated gate the weight is a genuine consideration.
Finish, and what happens if you skip it
Plan on a penetrating stain or oil every two to three years, more often on a west-facing gate.
The important part is less obvious: finish all six faces of every board, including the end grain, before assembly. End grain absorbs moisture far faster than face grain, and unsealed board ends are where cupping and rot start. A gate that was finished after assembly has unsealed end grain hidden inside every joint.
If you would rather not maintain it, let cedar weather naturally to silver-gray. That is a legitimate choice and a lot of people prefer the look. Just know that unfinished wood cycles moisture harder and moves more, which is another argument for the steel frame.
The bottom rail is where wood gates die, same as steel gates. Keep it up off the ground, keep sprinklers off it, and keep debris from piling against it.
Automation with a wood gate
Doable and common, with two conditions.
Steel frame, as above. A wood-framed gate under a motor works itself out of square.
Correctly sized operator, accounting for both the weight of solid cedar and the wind load. A solid wood gate is one of the heavier residential gates, and an operator running at its rated limit is an operator with a short life. Our gate opener cost guide covers sizing and what the safety devices add.
Also worth thinking about which way it swings and whether the driveway slopes — a solid wood gate has no clearance to spare. Our sliding versus swing comparison covers that decision.
When wood is the wrong call
We build wood gates and we will still say it.
Full afternoon sun on a west-facing entrance is hard on any finish. You are signing up for a more frequent refinishing schedule than the brochure implies.
Sprinkler overspray hitting the gate daily will rot the bottom rail regardless of species. Move the head or pick a different material.
A busy entrance that opens and closes all day asks a lot of the heaviest infill you can buy. Aluminum or ornamental steel takes that kind of duty better — see our aluminum versus iron comparison, and our gate opener cost guide on how duty cycle changes the operator you need.
If you want zero maintenance, buy metal. Wood is a material you have a relationship with. Some people enjoy that. If you know you will not, do not pretend otherwise at the quote stage.
What you can do yourself
Refinishing is a genuine DIY weekend. Clean, let it dry fully, sand any rough areas, and apply a penetrating stain. Materials are under $100 for a typical gate, and doing it on schedule doubles the life of the wood.
Replacing individual boards on a steel-framed gate is straightforward — match the profile, use exterior-rated fasteners, seal all six faces before installing.
Do not DIY the frame, the posts, or the operator. The frame is welding, the posts are concrete and geometry, and the operator has safety requirements that are not a place to improvise.
San Antonio Gate Pros builds wood driveway gates on welded steel frames, installs automatic openers sized to the weight, and handles matching security fencing across San Antonio and the San Antonio area. For overall pricing, see our driveway gate cost guide.
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Related services in San Antonio
San Antonio Gate Pros money pages — go straight to the service you need.
- Wood Gates →
Cedar reads right on a Hill Country entry in a way painted metal never does. Two things decide whether it still reads right in five years: what the gate hangs on and how the sun is handled.
- Automatic Gate Operators →
Automating a gate in San Antonio is usually an easy job with one hard part in the middle of it, and the hard part is not the operator. It is getting power and control wiring from the house out to a gate with a rock driveway sitting between the two.
- Security Fencing & Perimeter →
This page comes with a budget warning. We build ornamental steel and aluminum fencing, welded panel and heavy commercial systems, and install a great deal of it.
- Wrought Iron Gates →
Heavy iron is still the entry people want in San Antonio, and pricing one honestly starts underground. Before anyone talks about scroll patterns, somebody has to answer a simpler question: how far down does the auger get before it stops turning?
- Ornamental Steel Gates →
Ornamental steel gives you the look of forged iron out of formed tube, and on a rock lot that weight saving turns directly into money. Every pound you take off the leaf is load the foundation does not have to carry, and here the foundation is the expensive part.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a cedar driveway gate cost?
Most cedar driveway gates run $1,200 to $5,000 installed depending on width, height, and whether the frame is wood or steel. A single 12-foot gate on a steel frame with quality cedar typically lands around $2,000 to $3,500. Automation adds $1,800 to $4,500 on top.
Why do wood driveway gates sag?
Because a wide wood frame cannot resist the diagonal load of its own weight. A gate is a lever, and wood joinery flexes. The fix is a welded steel frame with cedar cladding on it — the steel carries the structure, the wood does the looking. Almost every long-lasting wood gate is built that way.
Is cedar better than redwood or pressure-treated pine for a gate?
Cedar and redwood both have natural decay resistance and stay stable, and either will serve 15 to 20 years with care. Pressure-treated pine costs less and warps considerably more, which on a gate matters far more than on a fence, because a twisted board on a moving panel is visible every day.
How often does a wood gate need refinishing?
Every two to three years for a penetrating stain or oil, more often on a west-facing gate that takes full afternoon sun. Left unfinished, cedar weathers to silver-gray, which some people want. It is not just cosmetic though — unfinished wood cycles moisture harder and moves more.
Can a wood gate be automated?
Yes, on a steel frame. Solid wood panels are heavy and they catch wind like a sail, so operator sizing matters more here than with an open picket gate. A wood gate on a wood frame is a poor automation candidate because the frame flexes and the operator wears it out of square.
Does a solid wood gate have wind problems?
Yes, and it is the most underestimated issue with privacy gates. A solid 12-by-6-foot panel is 72 square feet of sail on a hinge post. In a windy market, either build in a top or bottom gap, use spaced boards, or size the posts and hinges for the load. Do not let anyone hand-wave this.
Local context
How this applies in San Antonio, TX
Every article here is written from gate work done in San Antonio and the San Antonio area, so the numbers reflect local labour, permit and material costs rather than a national average. Your own job can land either side of them depending on access, the condition of what is already there, and the materials you pick — wrought iron and ornamental steel fabrication, ranch entry gates and pipe fencing, truck-rated cantilever slide gates.
The way to turn any of this into a real answer is to have someone look at your actual situation. The free estimate is free, itemized and written down, with no deposit and no obligation. Call (877) 583-3964 or start on the San Antonio Gate Pros homepage.
Areas San Antonio Gate Pros covers
San Antonio first, then the surrounding communities of the San Antonio area. Each has its own page with local detail rather than a copy of this one:
- Alamo Heights, TX — Bexar County, population 8,400
- Schertz, TX — Guadalupe, Comal and Bexar Counties, population 45,000
- Converse, TX — Bexar County, population 28,000
- Universal City, TX — Bexar County, population 20,000
- Boerne, TX — Kendall County, population 20,000
- Helotes, TX — Bexar County, population 10,000
Or jump to the full list of San Antonio services.
More from the San Antonio Gate Pros blog
- Sliding Gate vs Swing Gate for San Antonio Homes
Sliding gate vs swing gate in San Antonio, TX — the slope test that decides it, how much side room a slide really needs, wind load, and cost differences.
- Gate Access Control in San Antonio: Keypads to Apps
Gate access control in San Antonio, TX — what keypads, loops, video intercoms and app entry cost, plus the fire-department access nobody plans for.
- Farm Gate vs Estate Gate: What San Antonio Properties Need
Farm gate vs estate gate in San Antonio, TX — the $400 tube gate versus the $6,000 entrance, and the middle option most people want.
The San Antonio Gate Pros Team
gate specialists serving San Antonio, TX
Written by the San Antonio Gate Pros team — insured gate pros with 15+ years serving San Antonio, TX and the surrounding area.