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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After
Before
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Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Lake Stickney
Gate installation in Lake Stickney usually means one of two situations: a driveway gate on a standard 1960s-era lot, or a wider farm-style gate on one of the larger unincorporated parcels that still sit on the wetter ground near the actual lake. Either way, a new gate here costs roughly $1,400 to $4,800 for the gate and posts, with automatic operators adding $900 to $2,600 depending on how far the power has to travel and whether we go solar. Hal Gatewood has been hanging gates in Snohomish County since 2001, and his crew knows that what works on a dry Lynnwood hill does not always work in the low-lying, saturated soil around Lake Stickney. Call (877) 610-2993 and a real person answers, not a voicemail tree.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Lake Stickney’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That is the oldest accountability there is. When we quote a gate installation in Lake Stickney, the price you agree to is the price on the invoice. No surprise line items added at the door. Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it is not done right, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no “send photos to our support team.”
We answer the phone with a live person 24 hours a day. Not a call center three states away. The person who picks up knows gates, knows Snohomish County, and can tell you whether we can see your gate that week. Most Lake Stickney estimates happen within a couple of business days, and we do not charge a trip fee inside the county. We carry parts for FAAC, Viking, and Linear operators locally, which means a new install does not stall out waiting on a part from somewhere else.
And because this is unincorporated Snohomish County, we already know what the county permit process looks like. That is not something you want to learn about on the third week of waiting. More on that below.
Our Gate Installation Services in Lake Stickney
Most of what we install in the 98087 ZIP falls into a few familiar shapes. Here is how each one tends to play out around Lake Stickney.
Driveway Gate
A driveway gate in Lake Stickney is usually a single swing gate on a modest post-to-post opening, often replacing a wooden gate that died of post rot years ago. We set new pressure-treated posts in concrete with gravel drainage at the base, because a post set directly in concrete in this soil will hold water and rot from the inside. If you want an automatic opener, we size the operator for the gate’s weight and the rainfall it will actually see, not just the brochure spec.
Pedestrian Gate
Smaller, but no less miserable when it fails. We install pedestrian gates in Lake Stickney with the same attention to drainage and hinge hardware we give a double driveway gate. A cheap latch and uncoated hinges on a wet lot near the lake will seize in two winters. We use stainless hardware by default here and set the posts deep enough that seasonal ground movement will not rack the frame out of square.
Sliding Gate
Wide openings and long driveways off 27th Ave W and the older subdivision streets often call for a sliding gate, especially where a swing gate would eat too much driveway on the backswing. Sliding gates on soft, wet ground need a proper concrete track bed or a cantilever design that keeps the rolling hardware up out of the mud. We see a lot of older sliding gates here that were never given either, and they end up dragging through standing water every winter.
Swing Gate
Swing gates are still the most common style in Lake Stickney, and they are also the most sensitive to footing movement. A sagging gate does not sag in the middle. It sags at the hinge post, where saturated soil has allowed the footing to shift. We fix it by addressing the post and the drainage first, then hanging the gate. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. That is true on every lot in this area, but especially on the marshy ground closer to the lake.
Double Gate
Double gates show up on the wider driveway openings and the shared easements that run between older Lake Stickney parcels. Two leaves put twice the load on the center and twice the demand on the operator. We install double swing gates with reinforced hinge posts, an in-ground center stop, and operators rated for the full leaf weight plus wind load. We installed a 16-foot double swing gate on a shared easement off 27th Ave W where the original 1970s gate had posts rotted flush with the soil line. Our crew set new pressure-treated hinge posts in concrete with gravel drainage, hung a Viking swing gate operator, and added a solar panel and keypad entry since running mains power to the driveway would have meant trenching 200 feet through saturated ground.
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 Lake Stickney
We are certified to service nine major gate brands, including LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. Around Lake Stickney, we install a lot of FAAC and Viking swing operators because they hold up on wetter lots when the limit switches and control boards are protected properly. We also work with Linear for heavy-duty sliding gates on wider openings. Parts stay stocked locally so a Lake Stickney install does not sit half-finished waiting on a truck from out of state.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Lake Stickney Homes
- Post rot from the bottom up. The low-lying, historically marshy ground around Lake Stickney holds water against the base of a wooden post until the wood is spongy and the gate leans. Old posts set directly in concrete without gravel drainage are the worst offenders, and we remove them flush with the soil line almost weekly.
- Rust through on hinges and latches. Between 37 and 40 inches of annual rainfall and persistently wet ground, uncoated steel hardware on a wooden gate can seize completely within a few years. By the time a gate will not close on its own, the hinges often have to be cut off, not unbolted.
- Racking and sagging on wide gates. Seasonally saturated soil shifts, footings move a fraction of an inch, and a wide gate suddenly will not meet the latch. The panel is not the problem. The post footing is. Show me the gate closing on its own and I’ll show you where it’s failing.
- No power at the road. Many of the bigger parcels around Lake Stickney have long driveway runs, and running 120-volt power to a gate at the road means trenching through wet, root-heavy ground. A solar-opener setup with a buried battery box is often the better call, and it is something we design and install regularly here.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Lake Stickney, WA
A typical driveway gate installation in Lake Stickney runs $1,400 to $3,200 for the gate, posts, hardware, and basic installation labor. A wider double gate or swing gate with an automatic operator typically lands between $3,500 and $5,800, more if the driveway is wide enough to need a custom leaf size or heavy-duty steel frame. A solar gate opener package, including panel, battery, and operator, adds roughly $950 to $2,600 depending on operator rating and how much fabrication the mount requires. Every price is quoted and agreed upon before any work starts. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate. We do not charge a trip fee inside Snohomish County, and there is $40 off any repair over $200.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lake Stickney
Our Gate Installation team works throughout the north Puget Sound area, and from Lake Stickney we are close to Martha Lake, Picnic Point, Picnic Point-North Lynnwood, and Mill Creek. If your gate is in an unincorporated pocket or a neighborhood right on the county line, give us a call and we will tell you straight whether we cover it.
Serving Lake Stickney, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lake Stickney 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 Lake Stickney
Many new automatic gate installations in Lake Stickney require a permit through Snohomish County, because the community is unincorporated and there is no city hall to process one. The county reviews the application, and a county inspector will check post footings and operator wiring before closing the permit. That process adds time, sometimes a few weeks, and it is one of the first things we flag when we do an estimate. Call (877) 610-2993 and we will tell you what your specific project is likely to trigger.
Lake Stickney sits on low-lying, historically marshy ground with soil that holds water much longer than the drier hill lots in Lynnwood proper. A post set directly in concrete acts like a cup, trapping water at the base until the wood rots from the bottom up. We set posts in gravel drainage and use pressure-treated or steel posts sized for the wet conditions here, which is a different approach than what works on a sloped, fast-draining Lynnwood lot.
Yes, and it is often the better option. Running mains power several hundred feet through saturated, root-heavy ground costs more than the gate itself in many Lake Stickney setups. A properly sized solar panel with a deep-cycle battery and a rain-tight control box will run a Viking or FAAC operator through a Puget Sound winter, provided the panel is positioned for open southern exposure and the battery is rated for the gate’s cycle count. We design these systems around actual winter sun hours, not summer averages.
Automatic gate installations in Lake Stickney must meet Snohomish County’s adopted safety standards for entrapment protection, which means photo eyes or contact edges on both sides of the opening, a reversing mechanism, and audible warning if the gate moves automatically. Snohomish County inspectors verify this during a permitted installation, and the liability for skipping it is on the property owner. We will not install an automatic gate without the required safety devices. That is non-negotiable.
We quote the work, and we will write the scope so the costs split cleanly between the parties if that is how you want to handle it. We will not get in the middle of a neighbor dispute, but we will give you a clear written estimate that shows exactly what the gate, posts, operator, and labor cost so everyone can see what their share looks like. If one party will not pay, the other can cover the job and pursue reimbursement later. Call (877) 610-2993 and we will help you put the numbers together.
Contact Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Installation in Lake Stickney
If your gate is sagging, seized, rotted out, or just not installed yet, call us. We will come out free, look at the ground, look at the posts, and give you a written price before any work starts. Hal has been at this since 2001, he will give you his cell number, and you can drive to the shop and look him in the eye if you ever need to. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Lake Stickney since the day we opened our doors.