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 Northridge
Gate installation in Northridge starts with a question most companies never ask: what did the 1994 earthquake do to your footings? We’re Gatewood Fence & Gate, and Hal Gatewood has been setting gates in this Valley since 2001. A driveway gate in Northridge typically runs $2,400-$5,800 installed, and a pedestrian gate $900-$2,200, depending on whether we’re working with existing pillars or pouring new footings. Call (350) 247-4763 and you’ll get a live person, not a voicemail tree. We’ll come out, measure, and hand you a written price before any work starts. That’s the whole deal.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Northridge’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Northridge has a gate problem most of the Valley doesn’t share. The 1994 earthquake cracked footings all along Reseda Boulevard, Tampa Avenue, and the blocks around Dearborn Park. Contractors re-poured thousands of gate pillars between 1994 and 1997. Those patches are now nearly 30 years old. Whole streets are seeing the same failure at the same time: diagonal cracks running down from the corner of stucco pillars, gates that won’t latch because one post has settled an inch lower than the other. We know this because we see it every week. It’s not a mystery to us. It’s a pattern.
When you call Gatewood, you get Hal’s crew. They’re background-checked and uniformed. The name on the invoice is the name on the shop. We show up when we say we will, and we answer the phone around the clock. Northridge homeowners don’t need a dispatcher in another state. They need someone who knows what a post-quake footing looks like from the street. That’s us. Hal’s been at this since 2001, and the address is published for anyone who wants to stop by and look him in the eye.
Our Gate Installation Services in Northridge
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are the most common style on Northridge’s 1950s and 1960s ranch lots, and they take the worst beating during Santa Ana season. A wind gust through the Valley can push a full-size steel gate hard enough to bend hinge pins or shear lag bolts that have been rusting for two decades. When we install a swing gate here, we size the hinge posts for wind load, not just gate weight. We also check the pillar itself. Off Balboa Boulevard near Dearborn Park, we lifted a rusted 1995-era swing gate off its hinge post and found the base had cracked diagonally down the stucco, the classic sign of a post-quake footing settled into Northridge’s expansive clay. Instead of re-hanging on the bad post, we poured a new footing with deeper embedment, installed a heavier hinge post, and hung a modern steel gate with a LiftMaster operator and safety photocells. The gate opens true now, even at 108°F. A typical swing gate install in Northridge runs $2,400-$5,200, including the operator, wiring, and safety edges.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates make sense on wider Northridge driveways where a swing gate would eat up too much curb space. But they demand a dead-level track. On the Valley’s expansive clay, a cantilever track that was flat in March can bind by August because the concrete approach has shifted a quarter inch. We pour slide-gate tracks with proper grading and compacted sub-base, and we check the existing apron before we quote. If the concrete is cracked and moving, we’ll tell you honestly. A slide gate installed on a moving slab fails twice in five years. Northridge sliding gate installs typically run $3,000-$6,500 depending on gate length, motor type, and whether the track needs rebuilding.
Driveway Gate Installation
A driveway gate in Northridge is both security and a first impression. Most of the homes here have block-wall perimeter fencing, and the gate is the only break in that line. We install automatic driveway gates with operators from Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing, paired with keypads, remotes, or full access control. Every install includes safety photocells and, where you want it, a battery backup for the next Santa Ana outage. A full driveway gate install with operator, posts, and controls in Northridge generally falls between $2,800 and $5,800. We quote it first in writing.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates run $900-$2,200 in Northridge. These are the gates people use daily, the ones that sag first because they hang off a block wall that has been quietly settling since the 1990s. A gate sags, and someone slams it, and the latch breaks. We hang pedestrian gates on welded steel frames with adjustable hinges set into solid wall anchors, not tapcons into stucco. If the wall itself is sound, the gate stays true for years.
Double Gate Installation
Double driveway gates are common on Northridge’s wider lots, especially up near the estates south of Cal State Northridge and along Lassen Street. Double gates require matched hinge posts and a center alignment that holds true in summer heat. We set both posts in one pour when we can, so they move together if the ground shifts. A paired double gate with one operator and a mechanical center latch runs $4,500-$9,000 in Northridge. That includes post brackets, drop rods, and safety edges on both leaves.
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 Northridge
We install and service operators from Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing across Northridge. These are brands built for the kind of abuse a Valley gate takes: dust, heat, wind, and years of daily cycles. Because we stock common boards, remotes, and safety-edge components for these brands, we can often replace a failed control board the same week without waiting on a distributor. That matters when your gate is stuck open on a 105-degree afternoon. We don’t push one brand. We match the operator to the gate weight, cycle count, and what’s already wired at your panel.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Northridge Homes
- Diagonal corner cracks at the base of stucco or brick pillars. This is the signature of a post-1994 footing that has settled into Northridge’s expansive clay. The gate won’t latch because one pillar has sunk. Fixing the latch without fixing the pillar means you’ll fix it again in a year.
- Heat-expanded steel binding the operator. At 105°F, a dark steel gate grows enough to drag on its frame or trip the operator’s force sensors. When we hang gates in Northridge, we leave heat clearances that generic installs skip.
- Santa Ana wind damage. Overnight gusts blow swing gates off weakened hinge posts or strip slide-gate rack teeth right off the rail. We see a spike of these calls every fall. The fix is heavier posts and through-bolted hinges, not bigger screws.
- Obsolete control boards from the 2000s. A lot of Northridge gates still run boards that are no longer manufactured. We can often retrofit a modern Viking or Ghost Controls board into the existing enclosure, saving you the cost of a full operator replacement.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Northridge, CA
Here’s an honest look at what gate work costs in Northridge right now. A pedestrian gate runs $900-$2,200 installed. A single swing driveway gate with an operator: $2,400-$5,200. A sliding gate: $3,000-$6,500, higher if the track needs re-pouring. Double driveway gates: $4,500-$9,000. What moves the number is the pillar condition. If your existing pillars are sound, we can save you the cost of new footings. If they’re cracked at the base, we need to pour new ones, and that’s $600-$1,200 per pillar. Hal will show you why before you spend a dollar. Every price is quoted and agreed in writing before we start. We also knock $40 off any repair over $200 and a permanent 10% off for seniors and veterans. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Northridge
From our base serving Northridge, we run crews into Reseda, Granada Hills, Tarzana, and Encino throughout the week. Most of our Northridge customers come from referrals in these nearby neighborhoods, where the same post-quake footing issues and Valley heat problems show up on the same block styles. If you’re in one of these areas, the same crew and the same written-quote promise apply. Call (350) 247-4763 and we’ll schedule your measure. If you want to see more of what we do, our Gate Installation page covers the full range of gate styles and operators we install.
Serving Northridge, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Northridge 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 Northridge
Look at the base of the pillar, right where it meets the ground. If you see a diagonal crack running down from the corner, the footing has likely settled into the clay and is no longer stable enough for a heavy operator gate. We can drill-test the footing and tell you within a half hour whether it’s solid or needs replacing. Call (350) 247-4763 for a free site check.
Often, yes. If the gate itself is sound, we can weld on new hinge brackets, add a modern operator from Viking or DoorKing, and bring the safety edges and photocells up to current code. We’ve done this on gates from the 1990s that were hung on good steel frames. If the frame is rusted through or the posts are cracked, replacement is the cheaper long-term answer, and we’ll tell you straight.
Your steel or aluminum gate is expanding in the Valley heat. At 105°F, a 12-foot gate can grow enough to drag on its frame or trip the operator’s force sensors. The fix is re-hanging with proper clearances or, on older gates, shaving down the strike side and re-aligning the hinges. We set all our Northridge installs with heat clearance from day one.
Most do not. Gates installed before the mid-2000s often lack photocells, contact edges, or a proper auto-reverse function. That’s a genuine hazard, especially on a driveway shared with kids or dogs. We can retrofit safety edges and photocells onto most older gates without replacing the operator. Call (350) 247-4763 and we’ll inspect yours.
Call us. A gate that’s blown off its hinges has likely also damaged the hinge post, and re-hanging it on a compromised post means it will blow off again. We’ll come out, assess the post, and either re-hang with through-bolted heavy hinges on a sound footing or pour a new footing before re-hanging. Estimates are free, and for Northridge we can usually get a crew out the same day.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Installation in Northridge
If you live in Northridge and your gate is 25 years old, we already have a good idea what’s underneath it. We’re not going to quote you over the phone and change the number at your door. We’ll measure, check the pillars, and hand you a written price. Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing, and a real person answers at (350) 247-4763 any time of day. Hal Gatewood has been setting gates since 2001, and his name is on the shop. That’s the oldest accountability there is. Call today for your free estimate.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Northridge since 2001.