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.
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Van Nuys
Gate installation in Van Nuys runs $1,400-$7,800 for most residential work, with sliding driveway gates on the higher end and simple pedestrian gates at the low end. We measure, quote, and schedule every install before a single post hole is dug, so the price you sign is the price you pay. If you’re off Sepulveda, near the Van Nuys Airport, or over by Valley Glen, Hal Gatewood and his crew know the blocks you live on. Call (559) 844-6989 for a free measure and a written number.
Van Nuys isn’t a quick-stop market for us. It’s home to the kind of tight shared driveways, rear-alley gates, and 1970s apartment complexes that separate a real gate installation company from someone who just bolts panels to posts. We’ve been at this since 2001, and the name on the shop is the same name you’ll see on the truck.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Van Nuys’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We’re locally owned and owner-operated, which in Van Nuys means something specific: when a gate install runs long because the alley is 9 feet wide and the old concrete footing crumbled under the auger, you’re not waiting on a corporate approval chain. Hal Gatewood’s name is on the invoice and on the shop. He has answered the phone himself for over two decades, and that phone rings 24 hours a day with a live person on the other end. Not a voicemail. Not a chatbot.
We publish our address. We publish our license number. We background-check every person who shows up in a Gatewood uniform. And every job, including a full gate installation in Van Nuys, carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings us back. No runaround, no “that’s not covered.”
We also know Van Nuys building patterns. The postwar ranch homes off Vanowen and Victory, the apartment stock along Sepulveda Boulevard and Van Nuys Boulevard, the alley-facing gates behind Sherman Way. When we set a gate post here, we account for the Valley’s expansive soils, because we’ve pulled enough out-of-plumb posts out of Van Nuys yards to know exactly what happens when you don’t.
Our Gate Installation Services in Van Nuys
Driveway Gate Installation
Most Van Nuys driveways are either narrow shared approaches off the street or rear-alley entries behind the house. A driveway gate here has to work with the actual space you have, not the space a catalog assumes. We size slide gates for the full travel distance, set posts deep enough to hold under 105°F expansion cycles, and mount operators so the gearbox isn’t fighting the gate from day one. A typical driveway gate install in Van Nuys runs $2,200-$7,800 depending on width, material, and operator.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Alley-facing pedestrian gates on Van Nuys ranch homes are usually wider than standard sidewalk gates, and a lot of the ones we replace were hung wrong the first time: hinge posts set in soil that heaved, latches that never lined up. We cut, weld, and hang pedestrian gates on site so the latch actually catches. Expect $1,400-$3,400 for a new steel or wrought-iron pedestrian gate with hardware and a proper post set.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates are the right call on most Van Nuys apartment and multi-family jobs, because a swing gate needs room to arc and that room often doesn’t exist. We install Linear and DoorKing slide operators on rack and pinion drives, set the track on a true base, and check clearance so the gate doesn’t bind when the first hundred-degree day expands the steel. Sliding driveway gate installs typically run $3,800-$7,800 here.
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are still common on single-family Van Nuys lots with enough apron space. The failure point here is almost never the panel. It’s the hinge post shifting in Valley soil until the gate drags, or a Santa Ana wind event bending a hinge and stripping an opener arm bracket. We set swing gate posts in deeper concrete with proper drainage, and we size operators with enough torque reserve for wind load. A single swing gate install runs $1,800-$5,400.
Double Gate Installation
Double gates on Van Nuys shared driveways need both panels to meet square in the center, which means both posts have to be trued to the same plane. We see a lot of double gates where one post has drifted and the center stop doesn’t line up. We fix that at the post, not with shims at the latch.
Security Gate Installation
Security gates around Van Nuys apartment buildings and commercial lots get the same treatment: heavier steel, magnetic locks or keypad entry, and operators rated for continuous cycles. We don’t cut corners on the operator, because a security gate that won’t open is a fire code problem and a resident emergency. We install Ghost Controls and Viking operators where the site calls for battery backup and keypad integration.
What happens when you call
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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 Van Nuys
We’re certified to service and install nine major gate brands: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. For Van Nuys customers that means something practical: we stock common operator parts locally, and when a DoorKing or LiftMaster opener gets delivered on a job, there’s no three-week wait for a bracket or a board. If you already have a brand you like, we’ll work with it. If you need a recommendation for Van Nuys conditions, we’ll tell you straight what holds up to the heat and what doesn’t.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Van Nuys Homes
- Post footings heaved by expansive Valley soil. Van Nuys sits on some of the most reactive soils in the San Fernando Valley. A post set in June can be out of plumb by October, and a gate that dragged from day one didn’t get set deep enough.
- Shared driveways forcing gates tight to property lines. On blocks of postwar ranch homes with shared aprons, there’s often no room for a swing gate’s arc. A slide gate works, but only if rack and pinion clearance is checked against thermal expansion. Miss that and it binds on the first 100°F day.
- Undersized operators on wide alley gates. Van Nuys alley-facing pedestrian gates are wider than standard. Put a small operator on a wide panel and the gearbox strips inside a year. We’ve replaced enough of those to know the exact torque ratings each width needs.
- Santa Ana winds bending hinges and stripping brackets. Fall wind events slam unsecured swing gates against their stops. That bends hinges, stretches bracket slots, and kills opener arms. We set swing gates with positive stops and wind-rated bracing from the start.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Van Nuys, CA
Here are honest numbers for the Van Nuys market, not a teaser range designed to get a salesperson in your driveway. A pedestrian gate install runs $1,400-$3,400. A single swing driveway gate: $1,800-$5,400. A sliding driveway gate: $3,800-$7,800. Full double gate and security gate jobs land at the top of those ranges. What moves the number: gate width, steel gauge, whether we’re pouring new footings or using existing ones, operator brand, and access conditions. Tight alley work takes longer, and that’s in the quote. You’ll get a written estimate before any work starts, and that number is the number. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (559) 844-6989 for a free measure.
We Also Serve Cities Near Van Nuys
Our trucks run to Sherman Oaks, Studio City, North Hollywood, and Encino every week. If you’re on the edge of Van Nuys near the Sherman Oaks border or up toward North Hollywood, you’re still in our service area. For a closer look at our full offering, see our Gate Installation page or Gate Installation in Van Nuys for more local detail.
Serving Van Nuys, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Van Nuys 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 Van Nuys
Yes, usually. Shared driveways in Van Nuys rarely have the 12-15 feet of clear arc a swing gate needs without blocking the neighbor’s access. A sliding gate rides the fence line and uses no arc space at all. We set slide gates tight to property lines on shared aprons all over Van Nuys, from the ranch blocks off Victory to the multi-family lots off Sepulveda. The catch is clearance: Van Nuys heat expands steel, so we check rack and pinion spacing at install, not on paper. Call (559) 844-6989 and we’ll measure your apron and tell you straight which style fits.
Almost always the post footing. Van Nuys sits on expansive clay soils that swell and shrink through the Valley’s wet-dry cycles. A footing poured too shallow or without proper drainage lets the hinge post drift out of plumb, and the gate drags on the latch side. We saw it at a 1980s apartment complex off Sepulveda Boulevard, where the original DoorKing operator was mounted on a pilaster shifted 1.5 inches out. Our team poured a new footing, trued the post, and set a LiftMaster slide operator on a rack and pinion drive. The gate cycles quietly now. If your new gate is dragging, the panel isn’t the problem. The post is. Call (559) 844-6989 for an inspection.
We can, and we do it regularly in Van Nuys. The question isn’t whether the panel can take a motor. It’s whether the hinge post is still plumb and whether the hinges themselves have any life left. On original 1970s wrought-iron gates, we usually weld reinforcement plates at the hinge mounts, true the post if it’s drifted, and then match the operator to the panel weight and wind exposure. We service Ghost Controls and Viking operators for retrofit jobs like this. Bring us the gate’s measurements and we’ll give you a written number.
We work it by hand. Van Nuys has a lot of 8-10 foot wide rear alleys where you can’t get a mini-excavator or even a wide dolly past the garage. Our crew digs post holes by hand, mixes on site, and carries steel panels in sections. It takes longer, and that time is in the quote, not added at the end. We’ve set sliding gates behind Sherman Way and Vanowen where the alley was barely wider than the gate panel itself. The work still gets done right, and we leave the alley cleaner than we found it. Call (559) 844-6989 and we’ll look at your alley access before we quote.
If it’s installed correctly, yes. Santa Ana events in Van Nuys hit sliding gates with a cross-load that can shake a poorly secured track or chatter a rack that wasn’t bolted through. We set slide gate tracks on continuous steel base rails bolted to concrete, and we use wind-rated roller cages. Your gate will run in 40 mph gusts, but wind-blown debris against the track is a real thing here. We build slides with the rollers shielded so branches and trash don’t jam the travel. Call (559) 844-6989 for an assessment of your existing track or a quote on a new install.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Van Nuys Gate Installation
If you’re in Van Nuys, you’ve got my number. Call (559) 844-6989 and a real person picks up, day or night. We’ll schedule a free measure, walk your driveway or alley with you, and write a number that won’t move. No trip charge inside the county. The name on the shop is the name on the truck. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Van Nuys since 2001.