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 Altadena
Gate installation in Altadena runs $1,800 to $6,400 for most driveway gates, with pedestrian gates starting around $900 and slide gates on the higher end. Hal Gatewood has been welding and hanging gates since 2001, and he knows that Altadena is not Pasadena. County permits, Santa Ana wind loads, post-fire metal requirements, and 1920s-era driveways all change the job. Call (626) 628-9548 and you will get Hal or someone on his crew, not a call center. We will give you a written price before any work starts, and we will stand behind it.
If you are rebuilding after the Eaton Fire or just tired of a sagging wood gate that will not close square, we can help. Our Gate Installation team works in Altadena weekly and knows which streets need oversized footings and which older operators can be saved. You are not calling a franchise. You are calling a shop with Hal’s name on it and a published address you can look up.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Altadena’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We have been owner-operated since 2001, and Hal Gatewood still shows up on job sites himself. That matters in Altadena because this is not a city with a building department down the hall. It is unincorporated LA County, and every gate permit goes through LA County Building and Safety. Contractors who do not work here regularly get caught on the county forms, the fee schedule, and the inspection queue. We do not. We know what the county wants on a post-Eaton Fire metal gate replacement, and we get the paperwork right the first time so your gate is not sitting in the driveway waiting on a correction notice.
Altadena homeowners have been burned by companies that quote one price on the phone and show up with another number at the door. That does not happen with us. The price we write down is the price you pay, and it is agreed before we start. Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if it is not right, Hal comes back. One call brings him back. No runaround. And if you want to look someone in the eye before you commit, drive to the shop. The name is on the building.
Our calls are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not voicemail, not a dispatch queue, not a chatbot. When your gate will not open at 6 a.m. and your car is stuck in the driveway, a real person picks up. That is the whole point of hiring a local company instead of a number from a search ad.
Our Gate Installation Services in Altadena
Driveway Gate Installation
Most Altadena driveway gates we install are on wider foothill lots with setbacks that give you room for a swing gate, though plenty of older homes off Lake Avenue and Fair Oaks have narrow driveway mouths where a slide gate makes more sense. We handle both. A new steel driveway gate with an automated opener in Altadena typically runs $3,200 to $6,400, depending on width, motor brand, and whether we are also replacing the hinge post. Too many companies hang a new gate on an old post and call it done. We will not do that. If the post is rotted or cracked from freeze-thaw at the upper elevations off Loma Alta Drive, we cut it out and pour a new footing. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that is where we start.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
A standalone pedestrian gate in Altadena starts around $900 for a steel frame with wood or composite infill, and goes up from there depending on the hardware and whether you want a keypad or intercom. These are common on the 1920s Craftsman bungalows in the President Streets and the streets north of Altadena Drive where the original side-yard gates have been there since Hoover was in office. We match the style of the house instead of bolting on something that looks like it came from a big-box store.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates run higher: $4,000 to $7,500 installed with automation for a typical Altadena driveway. The cost comes from the steel track, the cantilever hardware or V-track system, and the motor that has to hold up under dust and debris. We install FAAC and BFT slide operators regularly because they hold up better on canyon-facing properties where wind pushes grit into everything. If your driveway slopes up toward the house like many in the Meadows and up toward Chaney Trail, a slide gate needs a properly pitched track so it does not bind. We set those tolerances correctly the first time.
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are what we install most across Altadena, especially double driveway gates on Spanish Colonial Revival homes from the 1930s and 1940s. A single swing gate with a Viking or LiftMaster operator typically runs $2,800 to $5,000. A double gate, which means two panels and often a second operator or a paired system, lands between $4,500 and $7,800. The critical variable in Altadena is wind. Santa Ana winds funnel down from the San Gabriels and hit gates here harder than they hit flatland Pasadena, so we oversize the hinge post footing and use heavier hinges than a standard install would call for. The gate you saw warped off its hinges down the street was probably hung on a footing sized for somewhere else.
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 Altadena
We are certified to service nine major gate brands, and on Altadena installs we work most with FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators. We keep common parts on the truck, so when an old board fails on a Doorking that has been running since the Clinton administration, we are not waiting a week for a part that nobody stocks. If the operator is too old to accept modern safety photocells, we will tell you straight: retrofitting is throwing money at a dead board. Replacing the operator during the install is the cheaper answer, and we will show you the numbers before we turn a wrench. Every operator we install gets UL 325 entrapment protection tested in front of you before we leave.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Altadena Homes
- Pre-fire wood gates with obsolete control boards. Quite a few Altadena homes that kept their gates through the fire still have operators so old they cannot accept modern safety photocells. County code requires the entrapment protection, so the operator has to be replaced as part of the install, not patched. We explain that before we start so there is no surprise line item.
- Rotted or cracked hinge posts at elevation. At heights above 1,500 feet off streets like Rising Hill Road and the upper parts of Lake Avenue, freeze-thaw cycles swell and crack wood gate posts in ways you do not see down in Pasadena. Hang a new gate on that post and it sags within months. We check the post first and tell you if it needs to be replaced with a steel post set in concrete.
- Santa Ana wind damage on new wood gates. The winds that come down through the canyons hit Altadena harder than the flatland south of the 210. A wood gate that would hold fine in Pasadena will warp off its hinges up here in one season if the footing is not oversized and the hinges are not rated for the load. We design for canyon-wind loads because Altadena is not Pasadena and the wind knows it.
- County permit delays from inexperienced contractors. We see homeowners all the time who hired a crew that did not know Altadena has no city building department. Everything goes through LA County, and the queue is backed up from post-fire rebuilds. We know the forms, the fees, and the inspectors, and we get the permit filed correctly the first time so your installation does not stall out waiting on paperwork.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Altadena, CA
Here is what gate installation actually costs in Altadena right now. A pedestrian gate runs $900 to $1,800. A single driveway swing gate with automation runs $2,800 to $5,000. A double driveway gate runs $4,500 to $7,800. A slide gate runs $4,000 to $7,500. The price is driven by the width of the opening, whether we are replacing the posts, and which operator brand you choose. FAAC and BFT slide motors push the cost up; a Viking swing motor keeps it leaner without sacrificing reliability. The price we quote is the price you pay, agreed in writing before we start. Call (626) 628-9548 for a free estimate, and if you already have a written estimate from someone else, bring it by. We will give you a free second opinion and tell you honestly whether the number is fair.
We Also Serve Cities Near Altadena
We work all over the west San Gabriel Valley. If you are in Altadena, you have probably got family or a contractor buddy in Pasadena, San Marino, Sierra Madre, or San Gabriel. We install gates in all of those cities too, and we know how each one handles permits, setbacks, and inspections. One call covers the whole area. Call (626) 628-9548 and tell us where the gate is going.
Serving Altadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Altadena 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 Altadena
Yes. Altadena is unincorporated LA County, so every gate permit goes through LA County Building and Safety, including post-fire replacements. There is no city building department to file with, and the county has its own forms, fee schedule, and inspection queue. If you are replacing a burned wood gate with a metal one, the county will want to see that it meets current fire-hardening and setback requirements for your zone. We file these permits regularly for Altadena properties and we get the paperwork right the first time. Call (626) 628-9548 and we will tell you exactly what your specific property needs before anything is ordered.
Sometimes yes, but on the oldest boards the answer is no. If the control board predates the modern photo-eye input, you cannot just wire in a photocell and call it compliant. The county requires UL 325 entrapment protection, which means the operator has to be replaced if the board cannot accept it. We will look at the actual board in your driveway and give you a straight answer. If it can be retrofitted, we will do it. If not, we will show you the replacement cost before we start and you will not be surprised at the end. Call (626) 628-9548 for a free evaluation.
The difference is almost always wind load and elevation. Altadena sits at the base of the San Gabriels, and Santa Ana winds funnel down through the canyons at velocities noticeably higher than in flatland Pasadena. A footing sized for Pasadena will not hold up here. At elevations above 1,500 feet, freeze-thaw cycles also swell and crack wood posts, so a gate that was fine for a season will start sagging once the post rots from the inside. The fix is an oversized steel hinge post set deep in concrete, and we do that as standard on Altadena installs, not as an upgrade. Call (626) 628-9548 and we will come look at what is sagging.
On a narrow 1920s driveway, a slide gate is usually the better answer. Many older Altadena homes off streets like Mariposa and around the Country Club have driveway mouths under 10 feet wide, and a swing gate needs room to arc backward into the property. If that arc crosses a walkway or hits a sloped yard, the gate will not open fully. A slide gate runs parallel to the fence and uses almost no driveway depth. We will measure the actual opening and tell you which one fits before you spend a dime. Call (626) 628-9548 for a free on-site measurement.
Altadena properties in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, which covers much of the upper foothill area, face real pressure to replace burned wood gates with non-combustible metal alternatives as part of the county’s post-fire hardening requirements. If your ornamental iron gate survived but the wood frame around it did not, the county will likely require the rebuilt structure to meet current non-combustible standards. That does not mean you lose the look. We fabricate steel and iron gates that match the original Spanish Colonial or Craftsman styling. Call (626) 628-9548 and we will walk you through what your specific property needs.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Altadena since 2001.