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 Fort Lauderdale
Gate installation in Fort Lauderdale is a different animal than it is ten miles inland. The salt air, the canals, the humidity that never quits – it all works against a gate from the day it goes in. A basic painted steel gate that would last thirty years in Plantation will start rusting at the hinge posts within five or six years on Las Olas Boulevard. We’ve been installing and repairing gates in Broward County since 2001, and we spec every job for the exact conditions it’ll face. If you need a gate installed in Fort Lauderdale, call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get Hal Gatewood or a member of his crew on the phone – no voicemail, no call queue. Just a real person who knows Fort Lauderdale’s gate problems from the canal side and the curb side.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Fort Lauderdale’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, the truck, and every invoice. He has been at this since 2001, and he still answers the phone himself at three in the morning when a Fort Lauderdale homeowner’s gate operator dies during a storm. That’s the kind of accountability you don’t get from a national outfit that subcontracts your install to whoever bids lowest that week.
Fort Lauderdale homeowners have told us the same story for years: a big company quotes one number over the phone, sends out a crew from two counties away, and the final bill doesn’t match what they heard. That’s exactly why we write the price down before any work starts. The number you agree to is the number you pay. If Hal’s crew finds something unexpected, we stop, we call you, we explain, and we get your go-ahead before spending another dollar. No door-knock surprises.
We serve Fort Lauderdale from our South Florida office, with crews who work this city every single week. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. We’re fully licensed and insured, and our license number is published for anyone who wants to verify it. More important: we live in the same South Florida humidity you do. We know what happens to a gate on a canal lot in Rio Vista after fifteen years of brackish spray, because we’ve pulled those gates out of the ground and seen it.
Every gate installation in Fort Lauderdale carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings Hal back. Not a corporate claims department, not a warranty specialist. Hal. We also stand behind our pricing with standing offers that actually help: $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Seniors and vets should never have to haggle.
Our Gate Installation Services in Fort Lauderdale
Driveway Gate Installation
Driveway gates in Fort Lauderdale face a combination of constant salt exposure and, for much of the city, tight setback rules on canal-lot properties. We install single and double driveway gates in steel, aluminum, and composite, always matched to what makes sense for the lot, the street access, and the distance from the water. A driveway gate on a canal front in Harbor Beach gets a different hardware spec than one in a 1960s subdivision off Davie Boulevard. The gate might look similar. The hinges won’t be.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates in Fort Lauderdale are usually the smaller side of a larger entry, but they fail just as fast, sometimes faster, because people lean on them and pull them by the latch. We build and install pedestrian gates that swing on stainless hinges, with frames spec’d for the humidity that never dips below 75 percent here. Whether it’s a matching entry gate beside your driveway gate or a standalone walk gate through a hedge, we size it, set the posts in concrete, and build it so it doesn’t sag toward the path after two wet seasons.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates are becoming the standard on newer Fort Lauderdale estates and HOA communities along the Intracoastal, and for good reason: they don’t need swing clearance on short driveways, they handle wind load better than a big swing gate during hurricane season, and they’re easy to automate with a keypad or app. We install rack and pinion slide gates with sealed roller bearings, and we pay attention to the rack teeth because salt crystals from canal spray will abrade cheap rack surfaces within a few years. A slide gate in Fort Lauderdale needs more than a good motor. It needs corrosion discipline at every moving point.
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are the classic Fort Lauderdale look, especially on older canal-front homes in neighborhoods like Rio Vista and Las Olas Isles, where the original wrought-iron gates from the 1950s and 60s are now beyond saving. We install new swing gates as direct replacements, which means we dig out the old hinge posts, pour new footings where the soil has turned soft, and set new posts that meet the gate’s weight and wind exposure. Then we hang the gate and weld on site, because the gate needs to fit what’s actually there, not what a factory jig assumed would be there. And we build double gates so the two leaves meet in the middle without dragging.
Security Gate Installation
A security gate in Fort Lauderdale is a different job than a decorative gate. It has to hold up to wind, salt, and the fact that somebody will try to force it. We install security gates with reinforced frames, welded pickets, and heavy-duty posts set deep in concrete. We’ll wire the operator, the keypad, and the safety sensors, and we’ll show you how to operate it from your phone if that’s the route you want. Security gates get the heaviest hardware we stock, because on a canal front, the first thing that fails on a security gate is always the cheap hinge pin.
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 Fort Lauderdale
We install and service gate operators and hardware from the brands Fort Lauderdale homeowners and HOAs actually run: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. For Fort Lauderdale in particular, we keep Linear, Viking, and Ghost Controls parts on hand, because those are the operators we see most on sliding and swing gates along the Intracoastal. That means when your operator board corrodes or your limit switch quits, we’re not waiting on a distributor in another state. We often have the part in the truck, on the same run.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Fort Lauderdale Homes
- Hinge posts rusted through at the base. On canal-front lots, the bottom 8 to 12 inches of a steel hinge post sits in soil that stays wet and brackish. We routinely dig up posts in Rio Vista and Harbor Beach that are paper-thin below grade but looked fine from the surface. The gate sags, then the frame distorts, then it won’t close at all.
- Buried low-voltage wiring corroded from tidal water intrusion. This is the invisible killer. The gate frame looks clean, the operator board looks dry, but the keypad stops working or the gate opens halfway and stops. What’s happened is canal water worked its way into buried conduit and ate the 24-volt wiring. We probe buried wire on every Fort Lauderdale install before we blame the operator.
- Slide gate racks seized with salt crystals. On Intracoastal-facing properties, storm surge and salt spray push micro-crystals into the rack and pinion. The rack teeth abrade, the rollers bind, and the motor burns itself out trying to push a gate that won’t move. We clean, seal, or replace the rack before installing the new operator.
- Wrought iron gates that exceeded their design life decades ago. Many Fort Lauderdale subdivisions were platted in the 1950s through 1970s, and the original wrought-iron swing gates are now 50 to 70 years old. Salt air has eaten them from the inside out. They look ornate from the street. Up close, the welds are flaking and the scrollwork is brittle. We don’t patch these. We build new gates that honor the original look but use materials that can handle another fifty years of Fort Lauderdale weather.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Here’s honest Fort Lauderdale pricing. A single pedestrian gate with steel frame and aluminum paneling typically runs $1,200 to $3,800 installed, depending on width and hardware. A single driveway swing gate on steel or aluminum frame runs $3,500 to $8,500. A double swing driveway gate, which is what most canal-front homes in Harbor Beach or Las Olas Isles need, runs $7,000 to $16,000 after you include new posts, footings, and hardware. An automated sliding gate with operator, keypad, and safety sensors typically runs $9,000 to $22,000 depending on length, track system, and access control. Security gates with reinforced frames and heavier posts start around $5,500 and go up from there. The biggest factors are the gate’s length, whether we need to pull and replace failed posts, and whether the ground is wet enough that footings need over-excavation. We quote every Gate Installation job in writing before any work starts, and estimates are free. Call (877) 610-2993 and Hal will put a number in your hand.
What Spec Actually Lasts on the Fort Lauderdale Coast
Here’s the part most gate companies skip. Fort Lauderdale’s identity as the “Venice of America” means over 300 miles of navigable waterways thread through residential neighborhoods, and a disproportionate share of gates in this city sit on canal-front lots that get brackish salt spray from two directions simultaneously: the Atlantic and the canal. That’s a dual-salt-corrosion environment you simply don’t see in Pompano Beach or Boca Raton, and it changes the gate spec.
On a Fort Lauderdale waterfront property, painted steel posts will rust through at the base within five to seven years. That’s not an estimate. That’s what we pull out of the ground, job after job. The fix is not thicker paint. It’s galvanized steel posts set in concrete, 316 stainless fasteners at every hinge and bracket, and aluminum or composite gate panels wherever the customer wants minimum maintenance. Stainless flanges on the motor mount. Sealed conduit entry points so canal humidity doesn’t wick into the operator board. These aren’t upgrades for Fort Lauderdale. They’re the starting point. If a quote for a canal-side gate doesn’t include stainless fasteners and galvanized posts, you’re paying for a gate that will fail young.
Our crew installed a double swing gate on a canal-front property in Harbor Beach where the original hinge posts had corroded below grade. We set new galvanized posts in concrete footings, swapped every fastener to 316 stainless, and wired a LiftMaster operator with sealed conduit entry points. Six months later, the gate swings true and the operator shows zero corrosion. That’s the difference between spec’ing for inland and spec’ing for a canal lot. Fort Lauderdale will tell you which one you should have bought, usually by letting your gate fall over.
We Also Serve Cities Near Fort Lauderdale
Gatewood Fence & Gate handles Gate Installation throughout Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding Broward communities – Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Plantation, and Broadview Park included. If you’re just outside the city limits and wondering whether we cover your street, the answer is usually yes. One call to (877) 610-2993 will confirm it, and you’ll get a live person on the line when you call. We’re the local team for Gate Installation in Fort Lauderdale and everywhere nearby.
Serving Fort Lauderdale, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fort Lauderdale 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 Fort Lauderdale
Yes. On a canal-front lot in neighborhoods like Las Olas Isles or Harbor Beach, stainless steel hinges are baseline spec, not an upgrade. Standard zinc-coated hinges corrode within a few years of constant brackish humidity and salt spray. 316 stainless hinges cost more up front, but they’ll outlast the gate panel. Call (877) 610-2993 for a quote – estimates are free and we’ll tell you exactly what your lot needs.
Because the failure is usually underground. Fort Lauderdale’s canal-adjacent soil stays wet and brackish, and tidal water infiltrates buried conduit and eats the low-voltage wiring from the keypad to the operator. We probe buried wires and inspect conduit entry points on every Fort Lauderdale call because we’ve learned the hard way that a clean gate frame means nothing. The wiring corrodes long before the steel shows rust. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll trace the fault before we sell you a board you don’t need.
It adds material cost and sometimes adds a day, but it doesn’t add surprises. On canal-front lots, we over-excavate the post holes to get past the soft, wet topsoil, we spec galvanized posts and 316 stainless fasteners, and we seal every conduit entry. That’s roughly 15 to 30 percent more in materials than an inland install, depending on the gate. But you’ll know the number before we start, in writing, and the price won’t change at the door. Call (877) 610-2993 and Hal will give you a firm quote.
In our experience, an aluminum-framed sliding gate with stainless rollers and a sealed operator outlasts just about anything else on a waterfront lot. Aluminum doesn’t rust, the slide mechanism keeps the gate off the wet ground better than a swing gate on big posts, and the operator can be mounted in a sealed enclosure. For neighborhoods like Rio Vista where the aesthetic calls for swing gates, the right answer is usually aluminum panels on stainless-hardware steel frames. Galvanized posts, never painted steel. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll spec it for your exact lot.
Yes, and they need to be sealed. Any automated gate in Fort Lauderdale should have photo-eye safety sensors and obstruction detection, but on canal-front and Intracoastal properties, those sensors need to be rated for wet, salty conditions. Cheap indoor-rated sensors will corrode and fail within a year, and a failed sensor means a gate that won’t close or a gate that closes on something it shouldn’t. We install sealed, weather-rated sensors on every Fort Lauderdale automated gate and test them before we leave. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Fort Lauderdale with honest gate work since 2001.