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 Tacoma
We install gates on Tacoma lots that most contractors won’t touch. Tight setbacks, shared driveways, marine air, ground that stays wet from October through May. That’s the work. A typical driveway gate installation in Tacoma runs $2,800 to $7,500 depending on gate style, operator type, and what’s under the soil. We quote it in writing before any work starts, and we’re on Tacoma job sites every week. Call (626) 649-4572 for a free estimate.
We know the North End bungalows with the narrow side yards, the Stadium District Victorians with ornamental iron that’s been rusting since before anyone alive can remember, the South Tacoma chain-link gates that haven’t latched right in a decade. That local knowledge matters when a standard swing gate simply won’t clear the driveway apron. We plan around it instead of pretending it fits.
Why Latch & Post Gate Repair Is Tacoma’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Tacoma homeowners call us because we work the way they’d want a neighbor to work. We put down drop cloths before the gate panel comes off the truck, and our technicians wear shoe covers any time they step inside a home or garage. You get a photo of the cleanup before we leave. That’s part of the Cedarwell C.A.R.E. routine on every single job, not an add-on.
Every installation is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t right, we make it right. No argument, no fine print. That promise covers the whole install: post footings, panels, operators, keypads, safety edges. And when you call Latch & Post, a live person answers. Not a voicemail tree. Nights, weekends, holidays. That’s how we’ve run the business since 2009 as part of the Cedarwell family of independently owned and operated gate specialists.
Cody Beckman leads the team, and he’s adamant about one thing: Tacoma lots are different from Seattle lots, and the install plan has to reflect that. We don’t sell a standard package. We look at the actual driveway, the setbacks, the soil, the marine corrosion already eating the old hinges.
Automatic Gate Installation in Tacoma
Automatic gate installation in Tacoma usually means retrofitting an opener onto an existing gate or building a new motorized gate where vehicle access and pedestrian access have to keep working through the whole job. On tight Tacoma lots, we almost always recommend a slide gate with a rack and pinion operator over a swing gate, because the panel travels along the fence line instead of arcing into the driveway. That’s the difference between a gate you can open without moving the car and a gate you can’t open at all. Expect to pay $3,500 to $7,500 for a full automatic slide gate install in Tacoma, including operator, keypad, and safety photocells.
Slide Gate Retrofits on Tight Lots
When the driveway apron is narrow and the neighbor’s garage sits close to the property line, a swing gate operator has nothing to push against except that neighbor’s parking pad. So we convert. We set the rack and pinion track tight to the fence line, place the operator on a new post footing, and keep the gate’s travel path inside the property boundary. The whole job usually takes one to two days, and your driveway stays passable while we work.
Keypad and Safety Photoeye Integration
Every automatic gate we install in Tacoma includes UL 325 entrapment protection, whether that’s photoeyes across the gate opening, a reversing edge on the panel, or both. We wire the keypad on its own post or wall plate where you can reach it from the driver’s window. And we test the full cycle with a vehicle in the path before we call the job done.
Gate Installation Services in Tacoma
Gate installation services in Tacoma span manual driveway gates, pedestrian gates, double gates, and security gates for homes and small businesses. A basic manual driveway gate in a pressure-treated wood frame with steel post footings typically runs $1,800 to $3,400. A custom ornamental steel gate or a double gate with matching pedestrian panel lands between $4,000 and $9,000 depending on width, automation, and how much of the old fence needs tying in. You’ll see the exact number in writing before we touch anything.
Driveway and Double Gates
Double gates eat up a lot of space when they swing, which is exactly what old Tacoma lots don’t have. We often build double gates as slide panels instead, with a common track and a single operator driving both leaves. It keeps the opening wide enough for a truck or trailer without pushing the panels into the neighbor’s yard. For manual double gates, we check the post spacing and hinge loading before anything gets welded or bolted.
Pedestrian and Security Gates
A pedestrian gate next to a driveway gate has to match the driveway gate, and on older North End properties that means matching the existing ornamental iron or Craftsman trim rather than dropping in something from a catalog. We frequently build security gates with keypad entry for rental units near JBLM, where turnover is constant and the gate has to survive tenants who don’t know its maintenance history.
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 Tacoma
Our technicians are factory-trained on LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, and Elite. We also service Mighty Mule openers for homeowners who want a simpler setup. Because marine air corrodes electrical connections and motor housings in Tacoma faster than inland, we keep common replacement parts for FAAC and BFT operators stocked locally. That usually means same-day or next-day turnaround on an opener repair instead of waiting a week on shipping from the distributor. If your existing gate runs on a brand you don’t see here, call us. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can take the job.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Tacoma Homes
- Swing gates specified for lots that can’t clear them. On prewar Tacoma lots, the driveway often runs tight to a retaining wall or a shared easement. A swing panel arcs straight into that obstacle. We convert to a slide gate with a rack and pinion operator instead.
- Track and roller oxidation on slide gates. Salt-laden marine air off Commencement Bay pushes inland on prevailing southwest winds and eats steel track, roller bearings, and fasteners. A gate that runs smooth at install starts binding within a season if the hardware isn’t stainless or at least zinc-coated. We specify corrosion-rated components on every Tacoma slide gate.
- Wood posts rotting at grade. Ten to fifteen years of Tacoma wet-season ground saturation and the base of a pressure-treated post turns to sponge. The gate still looks fine but the post leans. We set new posts in concrete with the footing below the frost line, and we wrap the buried section in a moisture barrier.
- Operators wired without entrapment protection. Someone installs a motor on an old Tacoma gate and skips the photoeyes or reversing edge. The gate doesn’t know the difference between a car and a kid on a bike. We never wire an operator without UL 325 compliant protection, and we test it before we leave.
And the one that hurts the most: the homeowner who’s been lubricating the same hinge for years on an ornamental iron gate in Stadium District, not realizing the socket wall is corroded through from salt air. The pintle grinds against compromised metal until the hinge lets go. That’s full hinge replacement, not adjustment. We spot it early now because we’ve seen it so often on Tacoma’s older ironwork.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Tacoma, WA
Here’s the straight answer. Basic manual driveway gate: $1,800 to $3,400. Automatic slide gate with operator and safety photocells: $3,500 to $7,500. Ornamental steel double gate with matching pedestrian panel, manual or automated: $4,000 to $9,000. What moves the number: gate width, whether we’re setting new posts or reusing existing footings, corrosion-rated versus standard hardware, and whether the opener needs a new chase or conduit run from the house. The written quote you get from us is the price. If the job scope changes, we talk to you before the work changes. No invoice surprises. Call (626) 649-4572 for a free estimate on your specific gate.
Written by Cody Beckman, Owner at Latch & Post Gate Repair, serving Tacoma since 2009.
We Also Serve Cities Near Tacoma
Latch & Post handles Gate Installation in Milton, University Place, Puyallup, and Federal Way. A lot of those jobs start the same way as our Tacoma work: tight lot, old posts, a gate that never quite worked. We’re scheduling across Pierce County every week, and the free estimate policy is the same in every neighborhood we cover. Call the number above and we’ll set a time.
Serving Tacoma, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tacoma 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 About Gate Installation in Tacoma
Yes. We typically build and wire slide gates in sections, keeping one vehicle path open while we set posts and run the track. On tight Tacoma driveways where there’s simply no alternate access, we schedule the blocked hours in advance and keep them short. If you need the driveway clear at a specific time, tell us when you call and we’ll plan around it. Call (626) 649-4572 and we’ll walk through your specific site.
We’re usually on site within a few days of your call. Tacoma jobs are scheduled by our Seattle office, but the crews work locally in Tacoma and know the neighborhoods. If you call (626) 649-4572, a live person answers any time and can confirm the soonest open slot.
Yes. We install gates across the North End, Stadium District, South Tacoma, Hilltop, and every neighborhood in between. North End and Stadium lots get special attention because the platted setbacks almost always force a slide gate retrofit instead of a swing panel. South Tacoma’s mid-century chain-link and wood fences keep us busy with post replacement and alignment work.
Reasonable question, and the answer is generally yes by a small margin. Tacoma’s marine air and wet-season ground saturation mean we specify corrosion-rated fasteners and deeper post footings more often than we would in Federal Way or Puyallup. That adds maybe 5 to 10 percent to the hardware cost. It’s cheaper than replacing a track or a hinge assembly in three years. We’ll show you the exact cost difference on your written quote.
Every Latch & Post gate installation carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the install isn’t right within a year, we come back and make it right. No argument. That covers the hardware, the operator, the wiring, the post setting, and the gate’s alignment under Tacoma’s specific marine conditions. Call (626) 649-4572 for an exact quote, and we’ll include the promise in writing.