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 Shoreline
Gate installation in Shoreline usually costs between $2,800 and $7,500 for a standard automated driveway gate, and most jobs take one to three days once we’ve measured and set the posts. If you’re on a busy street off Aurora or near the 145th station, a sliding gate might serve you better than a swing gate because it won’t arc into traffic or the sidewalk. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come measure, give you a written price you can keep, and do the job right the first time.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Shoreline’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood has been at this since 2001, and his name is on the shop. That means when you call about a new driveway gate off 15th Ave NE or a security gate for a townhome project near 185th, you’re talking to someone who will be there, not a call center three states over. We publish our address. We answer the phone with a live person at any hour. And every installation carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, not buried in fine print.
Shoreline residents call us because we know what their gates are up against. Rotting Douglas fir posts from the 1950s. Clay soil that heaves after a wet winter. New construction specs that demand automation before the power even gets run. We’ve seen it all, and we fix it the same week you call. The person who shows up wears a uniform, has passed a background check, and can explain exactly what’s wrong and what it will take to fix it, before any work starts.
Our Gate Installation Services in Shoreline
Here’s what we install most often in Shoreline, and what each one involves on the ground here.
Driveway Gate Installation
Most Shoreline driveways on the postwar ranch lots are wide enough for a double swing or a slide. A double swing is the classic choice, but it needs level, solid posts and room for the leaves to open fully. If you’re on a slope or the driveway falls away toward the street, a sliding gate makes more sense. In Shoreline’s clay soil, we set posts deeper than the generic minimum and use a concrete footing sized to the gate’s weight and wind load.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates in Shoreline seem simple, but the failures are consistent. Post bases rot at grade, the frame racking starts, and the latch stops holding. We build with pressure-treated or steel posts set in concrete, and we square the frame so the gate doesn’t sag in six months. On lots with old Douglas fir posts, we don’t patch around them. We pull them and set new footings.
Sliding Gate Installation
Cantilever and V-track sliders work well on flat lots and on corners where a swing gate would block the sidewalk or the street. Shoreline’s clay soil means the track bed has to be compacted properly or the gate binds by February. We also see older sliders where the track wasn’t level to begin with. That’s a post and pad job, not a wheel swap.
Swing Gate Installation
Swing gates are the most common installation for Shoreline’s older homes, and they fail most often at the hinge post. Not the hinges. The post. Once that post has rotted or shifted, no hinge adjustment will hold. We replace the post, then hang the gate so it moves cleanly in both directions. On new installs, we quote the whole job including operators and safety edges, not just the frame and panels.
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 Shoreline
We are certified to work on nine major gate brands, and in Shoreline we most often install and service FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators. We carry common parts for these brands so we’re not waiting on a shipment when your gate is down. For solar work, Ghost Controls openers have held up well on long driveways here. If a brand part is on backorder, we tell you before we start, not after the gate is in pieces in the driveway.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Shoreline Homes
- Rotted Douglas fir posts at the soil line. Many 1950s-era Shoreline gates were hung on fir posts set directly in concrete. After 50-plus years of rain, those posts snap at grade while the hardware above still looks fine. The gate leans, and no hinge adjustment fixes it. The post has to come out.
- Expansive clay soil shifting the post footings. Shoreline’s clay absorbs water in the winter and shrinks in the summer. That seasonal movement slowly pushes posts out of plumb. You’ll see it as a gate that won’t latch in February but works fine in August.
- Track binding on slide gates after wet winters. A slide gate that moved fine in September starts grinding by January. The track bed is sinking or the concrete pad has shifted. A quick wheel replacement won’t solve it. The track has to be re-leveled.
- Undersized footings on new townhome projects. The upzoning around the 145th and 185th light rail stations has produced a wave of new Automated security gates specified before power is even run. Some builders install the posts before the ground settles. The gate sags within a year. We see it constantly.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Shoreline, WA
A standard single-swing driveway gate in Shoreline runs $2,800 to $4,800 including the frame, panels, posts, and manual hardware. A double swing gate typically lands between $4,500 and $7,500, depending on width, materials, and automation. Sliding gate installations run $3,800 to $8,000 because they need a track, a concrete pad, and more steel. Pedestrian gates usually cost $700 to $1,800. Solar operators on lots without AC power near the gate add $600 to $1,500, including flashing batteries and a panel. Every price is quoted and agreed upon in writing before any work starts. We don’t come back at the end with a bigger number. And we offer a free second opinion on any written estimate you’ve received, no trip charge inside the county. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free measure and a number you can hold us to.
Gate Installation in Shoreline: What the 2024 Light Rail Upzoning Means for Your Gate
Shoreline is in the middle of something most Seattle suburbs aren’t. The Lynnwood Link stations at 145th Street and 185th Street opened in 2024, and the upzoning around them has triggered one of the densest residential construction booms in the region. On one lot, a 1950s ranch with a rotting wooden side gate. Next door, a new townhome cluster that needs automated gates, access control, and safety edges before people move in. That’s the bifurcated market we work in here. Older homes need post replacement and repair-first work. New builds need fresh installs, often solar-powered, often specified before the electrician has even pulled the wire. Kenmore and Lake Forest Park don’t see that same two-track demand. Shoreline does, and we plan our Shoreline days around it.
We installed a Ghost Controls solar gate opener on a long farm-style driveway off 15th Ave NE near the 145th station, where running AC mains to the operator wasn’t practical. Our crew set new post footings for a wide double swing gate, added safety photocells and a keypad entry, and left the system running off two 12V batteries charged by a roof-mounted panel. No trenching, no utility hookup, no digging under the sidewalk. The client got a working gate the same week.
Solar Gate Openers on Shoreline’s Tree-Canopied Lots
Here’s what nobody tells you about solar gate openers in Shoreline. The rainfall average is about 37 inches a year, and the heavily canopied residential streets keep the ground damp and shaded even in the dry weeks. That matters for solar sizing. A panel on a shady lot under a big cedar or maple won’t charge as well as one on an open drive. We size the panel and battery bank to the actual shade conditions, not the ideal case. On heavily shaded lots, we often run a larger panel or a second battery. The operator itself is fine. The charging is the problem. If you lose your gate on the third cloudy week of November, it’s because the panel wasn’t sized for the tree cover. We do that sizing here, for Shoreline’s actual conditions, not for a sunny lot in Arizona.
We Also Serve Cities Near Shoreline
Our Gate Installation team regularly serves Lake Forest Park, Mountlake Terrace, Kenmore, and Alderwood Manor. If you’re on the border near 145th or along Bothell Way, you’re still in our normal service area. We plan over a week so we’re not sprinting between jobs. For more about our work in the area, see Gate Installation in Shoreline.
Serving Shoreline, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Shoreline 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 Shoreline
For an automated driveway gate on Shoreline’s expansive clay, we dig footings 36 to 42 inches deep and bell the bottom slightly to resist frost heave and seasonal movement. The generic 24-inch minimum you see online isn’t enough here. Clay expands when wet and shrinks when dry. A shallow post will be out of plumb within two winters. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll check your soil before we dig.
Yes, but you need a larger panel and a bigger battery bank than the kit manufacturers recommend. The default Ghost Controls or Mighty Mule kit assumes full sun. Under Shoreline’s cedar and maple canopy, the panel works at about half its rated output for much of the year. We size the system for the actual shade, sometimes adding a second 12V battery. The operator itself works fine. The charging is the weak point.
A solar-powered linear or articulated operator works well for a 16-foot gate. For Shoreline’s climate, we usually recommend a Ghost Controls or FAAC operator paired with a properly sized solar panel and two batteries. The panel needs mounting on the sunniest part of the property, not necessarily next to the gate. We’ve done several of these on the old farm-style lots still present in the east end. Call us and we’ll spec the right operator for your gate weight and shade.
Shoreline’s clay soil swells in the wet season and shrinks in the dry season. The post footing moves with it. In winter the soil expands and pushes the post slightly, enough to bind the latch or drop the gate leaf a half inch. In summer it dries, the soil contracts, and the gate works again. The fix is a deeper footing and proper drainage around the post base. Adjusting the hinges won’t stop it.
If your gate opens toward a sidewalk or a street with steady traffic, yes. A loop detector or a safety edge photoelectric system tells the operator to stop or reverse when a car sits in the gate’s path. On busy stretches near Aurora or the light rail stations, we also recommend a keypad entry so you’re not rolling down the window in traffic. It’s a few hundred dollars and it prevents the most common operator failure: a gate closing on a car. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free measure and a written price.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, installing and repairing gates in Shoreline and throughout the Seattle area since 2001.