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 Dunn Loring
A new driveway or pedestrian gate in Dunn Loring typically runs $2,800 to $9,500 installed, depending on the material, automation, and whether your HOA requires a specific style. Most installations in the 22027 ZIP take two to five working days once materials arrive and the architectural approval is in hand. If you’re dealing with a gate that’s sagging, rusted through, or simply out of step with what your Dunn Loring community allows, call Hal Gatewood at (877) 610-2993. We’ll come out, look at the post footings and the grade, and give you a written price before any work starts.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Dunn Loring’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We show up in Dunn Loring with a truck stocked for the actual mix of housing here. That matters more than it might sound. On one block off Sandburg Street, we’ll service a 1960s split-level with a hand-forged ornamental gate that hasn’t been touched since Johnson was in office. Two streets over, we’re working on a 2016 townhome cluster where the slide gate is tied into a LiftMaster operator and a call box. Very few companies carry parts for both worlds. We do.
Hal Gatewood has owned and operated this business since 2001. The name is on the shop and on every invoice. That’s the oldest accountability there is, and it’s the reason Dunn Loring property managers and homeowners keep our number in their phones. When you call (877) 610-2993, a live person answers. Not a voicemail, not a queue. Hal or someone on his crew.
Every installation carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings us back. No runaround. We also back every job with a free second opinion on any written estimate, $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans.
Our Gate Installation Services in Dunn Loring
We handle the full scope of Gate Installation work, from single pedestrian gates to automated double driveway entrances. In Dunn Loring specifically, the work usually falls into one of these four categories.
Driveway Gate Installation
Dunn Loring’s post-2010 townhome developments near the Metro corridor lean heavily on automated driveway gates. These are often shared, which means the operator, safety edges, and control board all get more cycles per day than a single-family gate ever would. We size the motor for that kind of duty and set the post footings below the frost line so the first two winters don’t pull everything out of plumb.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
A pedestrian gate off a walkway or side yard in Dunn Loring has to meet two standards: whatever your HOA covenants say about height and finish, and ADA-aligned clearances where they apply. We’ve installed pedestrian gates with keypad entry, with intercom tie-ins, and with simple self-closing hinges. The common thread is that the post goes deep enough to stay true in Fairfax County clay.
Sliding Gate Installation
On narrow Dunn Loring lots where a swing gate would eat half the driveway, a slide gate is often the only workable answer. That’s especially true at the Metro-adjacent condo clusters, where a malfunctioning limit switch on a shared slide gate can lock out dozens of residents in one shot. We carry common LiftMaster and FAAC replacement boards on the truck. That’s not an accident. It’s because we know what fails here and we know property managers can’t wait a week for a part.
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are the classic Dunn Loring installation, whether it’s a new aluminum double gate on a 2015 townhome or a replacement for a rusted 1960s ornamental iron gate on a mid-century lot off Gallows Road. The critical work on every swing gate in this ZIP is the post. Fairfax clay heaves. If the footing is short, the post leans, the latch won’t catch, and the operator fights itself. We dig below the heave line and brace the post until the concrete sets.
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 Dunn Loring
Most automated gates in Dunn Loring run on one of a handful of operator brands. We’re certified to service and install Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, and Elite equipment, along with LiftMaster and FAAC systems that dominate the condo and townhome market around the Dunn Loring Metro station. Because we stock common boards, safety edges, and remote transmitters for these brands locally, we’re not waiting on a distributor when your gate locks out the whole street. The parts are on Hal’s truck when he pulls into Dunn Loring.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Dunn Loring Homes
- HOA rejection of the gate style or finish. Fairfax County HOA covenants in Dunn Loring’s newer communities often specify a particular gate profile, color, or material. A homeowner installs a modern flat-panel aluminum gate, the HOA flags it, and now the job has to be redone under deadline. We check the approval paperwork before we order steel. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and the approval process works the same way: get it right before the work, and you won’t fix it twice.
- Frost-heaved post footings. The heavy clay soil throughout the 22027 ZIP heaves and settles with every freeze-thaw cycle. Within two winters, a shallow footing tilts the post out of plumb and the latch stops lining up. On automated gates, the misalignment starts throwing operator limit switch faults. We pour deeper footings than a track builder would, because we’ve seen what happens when you don’t.
- Mixed-era hardware on the same street. Dunn Loring is unusual in that a 1961 split-level with an original wrought-iron chain-link gate might sit a few doors down from a 2018 townhome with a fully automated slide gate and intercom entry. A technician who only knows modern operators can’t help the first house. A welder who only does ornamental iron can’t help the second. We do both.
- Shared slide gate failures at condo clusters. Near the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station, the slide gates on shared driveways are often master-controlled by a condo association. A single failing rack and pinion or circuit board locks out dozens of residents until a management company authorizes the repair. Property managers call us because we answer the phone, we’re licensed and insured, and we handle commercial-account work without making them chase three vendors for one gate.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Dunn Loring, VA
Here’s what we’re seeing in Dunn Loring right now, based on the jobs we’ve done across the 22027 ZIP this year.
- Pedestrian gate, aluminum or steel, basic install: $800 to $2,200, depending on width, post replacement, and hardware.
- Single swing driveway gate, no automation: $1,500 to $3,800, including post footings and hinges.
- Single swing driveway gate with operator and keypad: $4,200 to $7,500. The operator, safety edges, and control board account for roughly a third of that range.
- Double swing or slide gate with automation: $6,500 to $12,000. Shared driveway gates in condo communities trend toward the upper end because of duty cycle, safety requirements, and coordination with property management.
- Full replacement of a 1960s ornamental iron gate, rebuilt to match original profile: $3,000 to $5,800, including demo, new post footings, and fabrication.
The price you get on the phone is the price on the invoice. It’s quoted and agreed before any work starts. That’s not a footnote. It’s the way Hal has run this shop since 2001. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate. There’s no trip charge inside the county, and we’ll give you a written number you can hold us to.
We Also Serve Cities Near Dunn Loring
If you’re just outside the 22027 ZIP, we work regularly in Idylwood, Tysons Corner, Pimmit Hills, and Woodburn. The soil’s the same, the heave’s the same, and the HOA rules are just as particular. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll schedule a time that works for you.
Serving Dunn Loring, VA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Dunn Loring 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 Dunn Loring
Yes, in most Dunn Loring communities you need written architectural approval before replacing or installing a driveway gate. Fairfax County HOA covenants routinely specify a gate’s height, material, finish, and even hinge post profile. We’ve had customers in the townhome clusters near the Dunn Loring Metro station get violation notices within weeks of a non-approved install, and a reinstall under deadline costs more than the approval process ever would. We can help you pull together the spec sheet and submit it. Show me the gate closing on its own and I’ll show you where it’s failing. Same principle applies to your paperwork. Call (877) 610-2993 if you need help getting started.
The heavy clay in Dunn Loring’s 22027 ZIP expands when wet and contracts when frozen, which heaves anything set at a shallow depth. A swing gate post poured at 24 inches will be out of plumb within two winters. We dig post footings below the local frost line, typically 30 to 36 inches depending on the grade, and we brace the post until the concrete sets. It’s the difference between a gate that works for a decade and a gate that won’t latch by the second spring. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll look at your specific lot.
Yes. In the shared driveway clusters near the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro corridor, the slide gate operator is often a LiftMaster or FAAC unit tied into the building’s keypad and intercom system. We stock common replacement boards for both brands, so a failing limit switch or control board doesn’t mean a full operator swap. We’ll match the new gate frame to the existing drive rack, tie in the safety photocells at the correct height for the driveway’s angle, and coordinate the downtime with your property manager so residents aren’t locked out longer than necessary. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate on a slide gate that works with what you already have.
On a mid-century Dunn Loring home, the original ornamental iron gate usually sits on repurposed fence posts that were never meant to carry an automated gate. The replacement starts with new concrete footings below the heave line, then we weld or fabricate a gate that matches the era of the house rather than bolting on something that looks like a warehouse panel. We usually tie the operator into an existing keypad or intercom if there is one. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. That’s the whole job in one sentence. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll walk the site with you.
Most Dunn Loring gate installations run two to five working days once the HOA approval is in hand and materials are on site. The coordination is the part people underestimate. In a condo or townhome community, the access system often belongs to the association, not to one homeowner. That means getting sign-off from the property manager, scheduling the power disconnect, and timing the install so residents aren’t locked out at rush hour. We handle that correspondence directly. We’ve been doing it in Dunn Loring long enough that the management companies know Hal by name. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll start the paperwork on our end.
Get a Free Estimate for Gate Installation in Dunn Loring
If you’re in Dunn Loring and you need a gate installed, replaced, or automated, call Hal at (877) 610-2993. A live person answers. No call center three states away, no chatbot, no voicemail. We’ll schedule a time to come out, look at your posts and your grade, check your HOA paperwork if you have it, and give you a written price before any work starts. The name is on the shop. The shop is down the road. That’s the whole guarantee.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Dunn Loring and the surrounding Fairfax County communities.