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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Melrose Park
Gate installation in Melrose Park means dealing with Broward County permits, 60-year-old concrete footings, and salt air that eats hardware faster than any spec sheet predicts. We know because we work these streets every week. A new driveway gate here typically runs $1,800-$4,200 installed, and a swing gate conversion on original 1960s posts usually lands between $1,200 and $2,800 depending on what we find underground. Call (877) 610-2993 and Hal will give you a straight answer before any work starts.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Melrose Park’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We have been welding, setting posts, and mounting operators in Melrose Park long enough to recognize the neighborhood by its gates. The original ornamental iron work along SW 44th and the ranch blocks near 33308 has a look you don’t find in newer developments. That matters when you are deciding whether to repair or replace. Most companies see a rusted 1962 swing gate and quote a full tear-out. Hal sees salvageable steel and a hinge post that just needs 30 inches of new concrete.
Every job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it is not right, Hal comes back and makes it right. No phone tree, no runaround. The same person who answered your call is the person who shows up with the welding rig. And if you want to look him in the eye before you commit, the shop address is published and his name is on the building. That is the oldest accountability there is.
Calls are answered by a live person, 24/7. Not a voicemail, not a call center three states away. When a hurricane knocks out power and your automatic gate is stuck closed with your car on the other side, you need a human voice on the third ring. You get one.
Key Takeaways
- New gate installations in Melrose Park run $1,800-$4,200, with swing gate conversions typically $1,200-$2,800.
- Permits go through Broward County Building Division, not a city hall, which often adds days to the timeline.
- Original 1950s-1960s posts on shallow footings are the most common cause of gate failure here, not the motor.
- We stock parts for FAAC, BFT, and Linear operators so Melrose Park customers don’t wait on a warehouse in Georgia.
- Every job carries a 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, and a live person answers around the clock.
Our Gate Installation Services in Melrose Park
Driveway Gate Installation
Driveway gates on the original ranch homes in Melrose Park were often hung on posts set directly into coral rock fill with no proper footing. That means any new driveway gate here starts with the post. We re-dig to 30 inches minimum, set in concrete, and only then hang the gate. A new driveway gate in Melrose Park runs $1,800-$4,200 depending on width, material, and operator choice. You’ll get a written price before we touch anything.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates take a beating from daily use and salt air near the Intracoastal. Latch hardware on the original ornamental gates along the older streets rusts through even when the panel still looks decent. We install new pedestrian gates with stainless or hot-dipped hardware where it belongs. Most pedestrian gate installs in Melrose Park land between $600 and $1,500, including re-plumbing the posts if they’ve drifted.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates suit the narrower lots throughout Melrose Park where a swing gate would arc into the driveway or the neighbor’s car. On those installs, the cantilever or track system has to be set level on soil that shifts through Broward’s wet-dry cycles. A new sliding gate here typically runs $2,500-$5,000, and if you’re converting from an old swing gate, we’ll tell you honestly whether the existing posts can carry it. Usually they can’t, and we’ll explain why before you spend a dime.
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are the most common install we do in Melrose Park, because so many homes here were built with them in the 1950s and 1960s. The gate itself often has decades of life left. The problem is underneath. We re-plumb tilted posts, re-engineer the footings for hurricane season wind loads, and only then mount the operator. A new swing gate installation here runs $1,200-$3,500 for a double drive gate, materials and labor included in the quote.
Double Gate Installation
Double gates are standard for the wider driveways on Melrose Park lots. The failure we see most with double gates is uneven load, where one leaf carries more wind than the other and pulls the center stop out of alignment. On install, we set both posts to the same depth, weld the center stop square, and run the operator’s limit settings so both leaves close together without fighting. Expect $2,000-$4,500 installed in this neighborhood.
Security Gate Installation
For Melrose Park homeowners who want a gate that deters rather than decorates, we build solid infill or reinforced steel security gates rated for the wind loads this corner of Broward County actually sees. That matters. Solid infill gates catch wind like a sail, and an undersized post will lean within one hurricane season. We quote the gate, the post, and the operator as a single job with a single price. You’ll know the number up front.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
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 Melrose Park
We install and service operators from FAAC, BFT, and Linear, among others, and we know which ones hold up to the salt and humidity that come with living just west of the Intracoastal. Parts for these brands are stocked locally for Melrose Park jobs, which means a repair or install does not stall out waiting on a distributor. If a FAAC board fails or a BFT limit switch goes bad, we usually have the replacement on the truck the first trip.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Melrose Park Homes
- Posts tilted out of plumb in saturated soil. Melrose Park’s original shallow concrete footings heave and crack through Broward’s wet-dry cycles, so the hinge post drifts and the gate starts dragging or binds. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that is where we start.
- Salt-air rust on hinges and latch hardware. Homes near the Intracoastal see steel hinges fail in five to seven years even when the gate panel still looks fine. Use a panel in salt air without stainless hardware and you’ll replace it twice.
- Hurricane-season wind loads snapping rack and pinion teeth. Undersized posts and operators that were never engineered for Broward wind gusts give out on slide gates and bend swing gate frames. Show me the gate closing on its own after a storm and I’ll show you where it’s failing.
- Shallow 1960s footings with no rebar and no depth. We regularly find original posts set 12 to 18 inches into coral fill, which is about half the depth a swing gate needs in saturated ground. Re-digging and re-setting that post is the difference between a gate that lasts and one you call us about every spring.
Melrose Park Gate Installations and the Wind Load Question
Melrose Park sits in an unincorporated pocket of Broward County, so gate permits and inspections go through the Broward County Building Division rather than a city hall. That has a real effect on your timeline and your design. County reviewers often require wind load calculations for any new gate, especially solid infill gates that catch hurricane gusts. A gate installed in a neighboring incorporated city might sail through a city permit office with a one-page form. A Melrose Park gate often spends a few extra days in county plan review while an engineer’s stamp goes back and forth. When you call us about a gate install here, we plan for that delay from the first conversation so you are not told “any day now” with no date.
On a ranch home near Melrose Park’s original 1960s grid, our crew found a double swing gate where one hinge post had tilted out of plumb in saturated sandy soil. We re-dug the post footing to 30 inches, set the post in concrete, then remounted the LiftMaster operator and re-aligned the safety photocells before the gate would close square again. That’s what this neighborhood’s original gates need, and it’s the work most installers will not do because it means digging instead of just bolting on a new motor.
Wind loads also drive the hardware choices. On a solid infill gate, we spec heavy-duty barrel hinges, through-bolted rather than surface-welded. On swing gates facing the prevailing afternoon winds, we add a mechanical stop bar so the operator is not fighting the gate over every cycle. These are small choices that add up after a few hurricane seasons.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Melrose Park, FL
| Gate Type | Typical Installed Cost in Melrose Park |
|---|---|
| Pedestrian gate | $600 - $1,500 |
| Swing gate (single) | $1,200 - $2,500 |
| Swing gate (double) | $2,000 - $4,500 |
| Driveway gate (new install) | $1,800 - $4,200 |
| Sliding gate | $2,500 - $5,000 |
| Swing-to-slide conversion | $1,500 - $3,000 (typically requires new posts) |
Those numbers include materials, labor, and the county-specific wind load details we handle on your behalf. What moves the price one way or another is the footing work. If the original 1960s posts can be re-set straight and re-used, you save hundreds. If they’ve rusted through at the base or are set 12 inches into coral fill, you pay for new posts and deeper footings. Either way, the number you approve before we start is the number you pay when we finish. No trip charge inside the county, $40 off any job over $200, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Melrose Park
Our Gate Installation team covers all of Broward County from this base, so if you’re just over the line in Fort Lauderdale, Broadview Park, Davie, or Lauderhill, the same crew and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply. For a closer look at what we do right here, see Gate Installation in Melrose Park or call us and ask for Hal.
Serving Melrose Park, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Melrose Park 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 Melrose Park
Yes. Because Melrose Park is unincorporated, any new driveway gate, operator, or structural post replacement is permitted and inspected through the Broward County Building Division, not a city permits office. That often includes a wind load calculation for the gate design, which adds time compared to nearby cities with their own permitting desks. We handle the permit paperwork, the plans, and the county inspector on your behalf. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you exactly what your specific gate needs before you pay for a single drawing.
Thirty inches minimum, set in concrete, with the hole wider at the bottom than at the top so the post does not heave up in Broward’s wet-dry cycles. The original Melrose Park posts we pull out are typically 12 to 18 inches deep with no widening at the base, and that is why they tilt within a decade. Anything less than 30 inches on a swing gate in this soil is a gate you’ll call us about again.
Almost never on the same posts. A sliding gate loads the post horizontally and continuously, which is not what a 1960s swing-gate footing was built for. We can sometimes re-use the gate panel if the steel is sound, but you’ll need new posts to the correct depth and spacing for the slide track or cantilever system. We’ll give you an honest answer on site, not a guess over the phone. Estimates are free in Melrose Park.
First, find the manual release on your operator, usually a pull cord or keyed lever on the motor housing. Pull it fully until the gate swings freely, then push the gate open by hand. If your operator is a FAAC or BFT swing-arm model, the release is on the arm itself; on a Linear slide operator, there is a keyed disconnect on the chassis. Do not force the gate before releasing the operator, or you can shear the rack or bend the arm. And remember that a gate swinging free in hurricane wind is heavy. If the gate will not release, call us at (877) 610-2993 and a live person will walk you through it, or send help.
Salt air from the Intracoastal gets into the limit switches, the circuit board connections, and the motor housing. Half a mile of distance from the water makes a measurable difference in how fast the internals corrode. A board that lasts seven years inland can fail in four here. On every install we seal the entry points, use dielectric grease on the connectors, and mount the operator so condensation drains away from the electronics. It doesn’t stop the salt, but it buys you years. For an exact diagnosis on your operator, call us. The second opinion on any written estimate is free.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Installation in Melrose Park
If your gate needs to be re-plumbed, re-posted, or replaced entirely, call Hal at (877) 610-2993. You’ll get a live person on the line, a free estimate, and a written price before any work starts. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Melrose Park and all of Broward County since 2001.