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 Pasadena
A new gate in Pasadena typically costs between $2,800 and $9,500 installed, with driveway gates in hillside neighborhoods like the Arroyo Seco running $6,000 to $15,000 depending on automation, materials, and site work. We’re Gatewood Fence & Gate, and we’ve been installing and repairing gates since 2001. Hal Gatewood runs the shop himself, answers his phone, and stands behind every job with a written 90-Day Done Right Promise. If you’re anywhere in Pasadena, from Bungalow Heaven to Hastings Ranch, call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person, not a voicemail tree.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Pasadena’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We know Pasadena’s streets, its alleys, its setback rules, and its historic districts. That matters when you’re installing a gate that has to look right on a 1923 Craftsman bungalow or hold up to Santa Ana winds funneling down from the San Gabriels. Homeowners here have dealt with out-of-town companies that quote one number on the phone and show up with a different invoice. That’s not how we work. The price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. Hal’s name is on the shop, the shop is down the road, and that’s the oldest accountability there is.
We’re not a franchise, not a call center, and not a rotating crew of subcontractors. The person who shows up to your Pasadena property is part of our crew, background-checked and in uniform. We answer calls 24/7. If something’s not right after we leave, one call brings Hal back. No runaround.
Our Gate Installation Services in Pasadena
Every gate we install starts with the site. In Pasadena, the site usually tells us what can’t be done before it tells us what can. Tight shared driveways, hillside grade changes, existing stucco columns that aren’t plumb, roots under the post line. We measure, we check swing clearance and slide room, and then we quote the gate that fits the space and the house. Our Gate Installation team handles everything from a simple side-yard pedestrian gate to a full automated driveway system.
Driveway Gate Installation
Driveway gates in Pasadena range from simple single-swing steel gates on flat lots in 91106 to long sliding gates on the hillside estates of 91105. We spec the operator to the weight and wind load of the gate, not the other way around. That’s how you avoid a gate that works fine in March and then binds in October.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates get overlooked until someone walks through a sagging one for the five hundredth time. We install standalone pedestrian gates and matching walk gates next to driveway gates. In older Pasadena neighborhoods, we often match the existing iron scroll pattern or wood style so the new gate doesn’t look like an afterthought.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates are the answer on many Pasadena properties where a swing gate simply has no room to arc. Think of the shared driveways in 91103 or 91104, where the property line is six inches from the driveway edge. A swing gate there will hit a neighbor’s fence or their parked car. We do a lot of slide conversions on those lots, and we spec the cantilever or V-track hardware based on the grade change, not a catalog photo.
Swing Gate Installation
When there’s room, a swing gate is still the classic look for a Pasadena home. But the hinge posts carry the whole load, and in windy foothill exposure those posts get worked hard. We pour deeper footings than the minimum, set the posts in concrete below the frost and root zone, and rebuild the existing column if it’s cracked or leaning. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that’s where we start.
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 Pasadena
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and in Pasadena we see a lot of FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators on older installations. The 1990s Viking and Linear units on Arroyo Seco estates are hitting end of service life now, and we stock replacement parts locally so we’re not waiting on a distributor in another state. If you’re not sure what kind of operator you have, call us. We’ll tell you on the phone what we think you’re dealing with, and whether it’s worth repairing or replacing.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Pasadena Homes
- Shared driveways with no swing clearance. On older Pasadena lots, the driveway is often inches from the property line. A swing gate that arcs over the neighbor’s side either hits their fence or has to be opened so wide it blocks the sidewalk. The fix is usually a slide gate, and we measure for that before we quote, so you don’t get a gate that has to be redone.
- Wind-driven post shear from Santa Ana events. Pasadena sits right where the Santa Ana winds blast out of San Gabriel Mountain passes. Gusts here are routinely stronger than in Arcadia or Alhambra just a few miles south. Those high-velocity, low-humidity winds are the leading cause of gate post shear, hinge tear-out, and actuator arm breakage in a single event.
- Hillside lots with shallow post depth. In 91105, a gate can sit on a grade change where there’s barely enough soil depth for a standard footing. Vibrations from the motor plus wind gusts then shear the hinge post out of plumb within the first year. We go deeper and sometimes pin into the existing hillside retaining structure when the soil won’t hold on its own.
- Rust that comes back fast on iron gates. Pasadena’s inland UV, without the marine layer that buffers coastal LA, accelerates powder-coat and paint failure on iron gates. Bare metal oxidizes within a few years if touch-ups are skipped. We strip, treat, and repaint gates before hanging them, and we use finishes that hold up to foothill sun.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Pasadena, CA
Here’s what you should expect to budget. A pedestrian gate with basic hardware runs $800 to $2,200. A single swing driveway gate with a standard operator runs $2,800 to $6,500. A sliding gate with automation and site prep runs $4,500 to $9,500. A long driveway gate on a hillside estate in 91105 with a heavy-duty operator, safety photocells, and loop detector runs $6,000 to $15,000. What moves the number: the weight of the gate, the wind exposure, whether we’re rebuilding hinge posts or columns, and whether the site needs grade adjustment or a slide conversion. We give you a written quote up front. The price you agree to is the price you pay. We also keep our standing offers simple: $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside Los Angeles County, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Pasadena
Our crews work throughout the San Gabriel Valley and the communities around Pasadena. If you’re in South Pasadena, San Marino, Altadena, or East Pasadena, you’re in our service area. Same live answer when you call, same written quote before work starts, same 90-Day Done Right Promise. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Los Angeles office, and crews serve Pasadena locally.
Serving Pasadena, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Pasadena 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 Pasadena
Yes, in many cases. In the Bungalow Heaven Landmark District, roughly bounded by Washington, Orange Grove, Lake, and Mountain, a gate replacement or new gate that is visible from the public right-of-way can require a Certificate of Appropriateness from Pasadena’s Historic Preservation staff before work is finalized. A contractor who installs a standard tubular-steel panel without flagging this step can leave you facing a code notice and a redo. We check review status before we start, so your gate doesn’t get flagged after the concrete is poured. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you what applies to your street.
You need a sliding gate, and that’s the most common conversion we do on older Pasadena lots. When the driveway edge is six inches from the property line, a swing gate will arc into the neighbor’s space and hit a fence or a car. We spec either a cantilever slider or a V-track slider depending on your grade, and we handle the power run, the safety edges, and the operator. It costs more than a swing gate, but it actually works, and it’s the only option that doesn’t get you a call from the neighbor or the city.
Because Pasadena’s inland UV doesn’t have the marine layer that buffers coastal Los Angeles. The sun burns through powder coat and paint fast, and once bare metal is exposed, oxidation starts within a few years. On hillside estates in 91105, the problem compounds: wind-driven dust from Santa Ana events sandblasts the finish, and the dry heat cycles the metal. We strip to bare metal, treat the surface, prime with a rust-inhibiting coat, and use a finish rated for foothill sun. Touch-up is still part of owning an iron gate here, but the base has to be done right or you’ll chase rust forever.
Yes, and we do it often. Solar openers make sense on the long driveway gates in 91105, where running conduit from the house would mean trenching a hundred feet through tree roots and old retaining walls. The catch on a shaded hillside is battery capacity, especially through the winter when the sun sits low behind the oaks. We size the panel and battery to the actual shade pattern on your property, not a generic chart, and we install the panel on a mount we can angle for the season. Call (877) 610-2993 if you want us to walk the site and give you a straight answer.
We don’t take your gate down and leave you an open driveway. If the gate still swings or slides by hand, we leave it working manually until the new operator is ready to go in. If the gate itself is part of the problem, we schedule the removal and re-hang for the same visit, and we bring the new hardware with us. During the work, we keep vehicle and pedestrian access open as much as the site allows, and we tell you exactly what’s happening at each step. In the Arroyo Seco hillside estates of 91105, we replaced a failed Viking swing gate operator on a long driveway gate with a new LiftMaster LA400 and ran a new underground loop detector after the original wire had rotted out. Because the driveway had zero swing clearance for a slide gate and the hinge posts sat on steep terrain, our crew poured deeper post footings and re-hung the gate with new hinges to correct years of sag before testing the safety photocells under Pasadena’s wind-load conditions.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Your Pasadena Gate Installation
If you’re putting in a new gate in Pasadena, call us before you sign with anyone else. We’ll talk through what you want, what your site will allow, and what it’ll cost. The number is (877) 610-2993. You’ll get Hal or someone on his crew, and you’ll get a straight answer. Estimates are free.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Pasadena since 2001.