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 Union
Gate installation in Union runs between $2,800 and $9,500 for most residential work, depending on whether you need a pedestrian gate, a driveway swing gate, or a sliding gate with an automatic opener. We quote the full job upfront, in writing, and that number doesn’t change when the truck pulls up. If you’re on a tight Union side yard, a shared driveway, or a Route 22-adjacent property where a swing gate physically won’t fit, we’ll tell you straight what will hold up and what won’t. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get Hal or someone who works directly with him, not a call center.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Union’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We’re not a franchise and we don’t sub out work to whoever picks up the phone. Gatewood Fence & Gate has been owner-operated since 2001, and Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop and on every invoice. When someone in Union calls about a gate that sags at the hinge post or a slide gate that jumps its track, the person who shows up knows this town’s housing stock because he’s been driving its streets for over two decades. Our published address and license number mean you can look us up, stop by, and hold us accountable in person. That’s how it should work.
Union customers get a live person on the phone 24/7. Not a voicemail tree. Not a chatbot. And every job, from a simple pedestrian gate to a full automatic slide installation, carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something’s not right, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no fine print, no “that’s not covered.” The price bet we: agreed before the first post hole gets dug, and we stand behind the work.
Our Gate Installation Services in Union
Most homes in Union were built between 1945 and 1972, and the original gates on those properties are now 50 to 75 years old. That means we install replacement gates more often than brand-new layouts, and we plan each job around how the existing concrete, the lot lines, and the foot traffic actually behave. Here’s what we handle most in Union.
Driveway Gate
Union’s Cape Cods, colonials, and split-levels sit on narrow lots where the driveway often doubles as the only side-yard walking path. That’s why we measure the set-back before recommending a swing or a slide. A driveway gate that blocks the sidewalk or swings into a neighbor’s property line creates a problem the first week, not the tenth year. We’ll tell you which design actually works on your lot.
Pedestrian Gate
Pedestrian gates in Union take a beating because they’re used constantly and rarely maintained until a hinge seizes. We install steel and aluminum pedestrian gates sized to your existing posts when the posts are sound, or we set new posts with deeper concrete footings when they’re not. On tight side yards between the house and the property line, we often install a pedestrian gate alongside a sliding driveway gate so the foot path stays open even when the driveway is closed.
Sliding Gate
This is the workhorse gate for Union’s skinny lots. When there’s no room for a swing gate to arc open, a cantilever or track-style sliding gate is the answer. We install both, and we’ll be honest about which one your property can support. On lots with restricted working space, we pour reinforced footings and set the rack and pinion gear so the gate rides true through the freeze-thaw cycle Union gets every winter.
Swing Gate
Swing gates look right on a colonial or a split-level with a wider front yard, but the hinge post is where they live or die. In Union, we routinely replace original 1950s-era posts with new pressure-treated or steel posts set below the frost line. A swing gate that’s out of plumb by half an inch will bind against the latch post when the ground heaves in February. We set it right the first time.
Double Gate and Security Gate
Double gates suit wider driveways on some of Union’s larger properties, and we build them with a drop rod and cane bolt system that keeps the inactive leaf stable. For security gates, we recommend automatic operators with photo eye protection and, where codes require, monitored entrapment protection. On the Route 22 commercial corridor, property owners call us for heavy sliding security gates built for decades of abuse, not years.
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 Union
We install and service operators from Viking, Ghost Controls, and Elite, among others, and we keep common parts for these brands stocked for our Union customers. If a Ghost Controls arm strip fails in January or a Viking board needs replacing, you don’t wait a week for a part to ship. We also work on DoorKing and LiftMaster systems already installed on Union properties, and Hal’s crew is certified to service nine major gate brands. If we install it, we stock what it needs.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Union Homes
After years of working Union’s post-WWII blocks, we can predict what’s failing before we arrive. Here’s what we find.
- Hinge post rot or rust through at the base. The original galvanized and wrought-iron gates on Cascade Drive, Brighton Street, and surrounding blocks were installed in one compressed era. They’re now failing simultaneously, and the hinge post is almost always the first point of failure because it carries the full gate weight while sitting in soil that heaves and thaws every year.
- Concrete footing heave from freeze-thaw cycles. Union sits in northeastern New Jersey’s freeze-thaw belt. Repeated winter cycling lifts post footings out of plumb, which makes swing gates bind against the latch post. We dig below the frost line, not just wider, when we set new posts.
- Slide gates jumping the track because the bottom channel cracked. Along the Route 22 commercial strip, concrete-embedded bottom track channels from the 1970s and 80s have heaved and cracked over decades. Rollers jump, gates bind, and the “quick fix” some companies sell is a roller swap that fails again next season. We repair or replace the track properly.
- Shared driveway gates with inadequate set-back. On Union’s tight lots, we regularly see shared driveway gates that swing into the neighbor’s property or block sidewalk foot traffic. The original installer chose swing hardware because it was cheaper. We convert these to sliding configurations that respect the property line and keep both households’ access intact.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Union, NJ
A pedestrian gate installation in Union typically runs $1,100 to $3,200 including new posts and hardware. A single driveway swing gate costs $2,800 to $6,500 depending on width, material, and whether you’re adding an operator. A sliding driveway gate runs $4,500 to $9,500, with automatic openers from Ghost Controls, Viking, or Elite adding $1,200 to $3,800 on top of the gate itself. The cost drivers are gate width, post depth (we go below frost line in Union), and whether we’re removing an old concrete footing or pouring fresh. You get the number before work starts, in writing, every time.
We offer $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside Union, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll give you a firm number.
We Also Serve Cities Near Union
Beyond Union, we regularly install gates in Union and the surrounding communities of Kenilworth, Hillside, Roselle Park, and Maplewood. If you’re just over the border in any of these towns, call us and we’ll tell you if the same pricing and no-trip-charge customer applies. Our Gate Installation team covers the whole area without outsourcing to a different crew.
Serving Union, NJ - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Union 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 Union
The old concrete-embedded bottom track channels were poured in the 1970s and 1980s, and after 40 to 50 years of Union freeze-thaw cycles, the concrete has heaved, cracked, and settled unevenly. Rollers then catch on the uneven edges and climb out of the track. The fix is to re-run the concrete channel or install a cantilever gate that rides on rollers above the ground instead of in a track. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll inspect yours and quote the repair same day.
Yes, and it’s usually the right choice. Cantilever sliding gates are the best solution for narrow side yards because the gate slides parallel to the property line and doesn’t arc out into the walking path or the neighbor’s lot. You will need enough wall or fence line to accommodate the gate’s full width when open, plus room for the counterbalance framework. We’ll measure and tell you exactly what fits before you spend a dollar. Free estimates: (877) 610-2993.
Entrapment protection means the gate stops and reverses when it detects a person, vehicle, pet, or object in its path. On automatic gates in New Jersey, UL 325-compliant protection is required, which includes photo eye sensors and, on many installations, monitored entrapment protection devices. We install compliant systems on every automatic gate, and we test them before we leave. If your existing opener lacks proper protection, we’ll recommend adding it.
Because the original posts on Union’s 1950s-era homes were set too shallow and too narrow for the gate’s weight, and they weren’t protected against freeze-thaw movement. The post slowly leans or rusts or rots, and that puts every pound of gate weight on the hinges, which then tear out or seize. The gate panel itself is often still straight. We replace the post with a deeper set, stronger section, and rebuild around it. That’s a repair, not a replacement, and it costs a lot less than a new gate. Hal will tell you when a post repair makes sense. When it doesn’t, he’ll tell you that too.
Each winter, water works its way under the footing and freezes, expanding the soil and lifting the footing, then settles when it thaws. Over a few seasons, even a slightly shallow footing moves out of plumb and a swing gate starts binding. That’s why we dig footings below the frost line for every gate post in Union. It costs a little more in labor and concrete, but the gate stays true today, next winter, and ten winters from now. For a written quote on your property, call (877) 610-2993.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Installation in Union
If you need a gate that fits a tight Union lot, survives the winters, and keeps working while the rest of the block’s original hardware gives out, call Hal at (877) 610-2993. You’ll get a live person, a straight answer, and a written price before any work begins. And if something isn’t right after we leave, our 90-Day Done Right Promise means one call brings us back. No runaround.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Union and surrounding communities since 2001.