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 Seattle
Gate installation in Seattle runs $2,800 to $9,500 for most residential jobs, depending on the gate type, the condition of your existing posts, and whether your lot slopes toward the street. A standard single swing gate on sound posts typically lands between $3,200 and $5,800 in neighborhoods like Ballard, West Seattle, and Ravenna. We schedule most Seattle installs within five to seven business days, and every project starts with a written price before any work begins. Call (626) 649-4572 to set up a free measure and estimate.
Seattle’s narrow lots and shared driveways mean a gate that works in a wide Bellevue yard may not fit your Queen Anne property line without some careful thought about how it swings or slides. That’s the reality we work with every week, from Crown Hill to Columbia City. We’re a Cedarwell-family gate specialist, and gate installation is what we do all day, not a side job between other repairs.
Why Latch & Post Gate Repair Is Seattle’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We’ve been installing gates since 2009 as part of the Cedarwell family of independently owned and operated gate specialists. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they work to the Cedarwell C.A.R.E. values on every Seattle job: clean up like it’s our own home, ask before we move or touch anything, respect your family’s time and quiet hours, and explain the price before the work starts. Shoe covers go on before we step inside, drop cloths go down over any path we walk, and you’ll get a photo of the clean-up before we leave.
Seattle homeowners consistently point to two things in their feedback: the written price is the price, and the crew leaves the property cleaner than they found it. That’s not a slogan, it’s the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the installation isn’t right, we make it right, no argument, no fine print. And when your kids are asleep or your dog is anxious, we can schedule around nap time and use quiet tools where it matters.
We know Seattle’s specific building patterns because we work within them constantly. Tight right-of-way easements in Fremont, steep pitches in Magnolia, post-ADU lot splits in Columbia City. That local knowledge changes what we recommend, and it’s why a live person answers our phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week, nights and holidays included. No voicemail, no callback queue.
Gate Opener Installation in Seattle
Gate opener installation in Seattle involves mounting a motorized operator onto a new or existing gate and running power, safety sensors, and controls so the gate opens and closes reliably in all weather. Seattle homeowners typically need this when they want a new automatic gate on a driveway or pedestrian entry, when an existing opener on a LiftMaster or FAAC unit has failed beyond repair, or when a newly legalized DADU creates a second entry point that needs its own access. Most opener installations here run $1,400 to $3,800 including the operator, safety edges, and labor.
Operators suited to Seattle’s damp air
Marine moisture off Puget Sound saturates the air year-round, not just in the rainy months, and that constant dampness corrodes exposed control boards and limit switches faster than drier cities see. We stock locally the brands Seattle families actually own, including FAAC, Linear, and Viking, so we’re not waiting on a FedEx box from a distributor before we can finish your opener install.
Safety photocells and entrapment protection
A new automatic gate opener in Seattle needs UL 325 entrapment protection, which means a safety photocell at the driveway apron and a reversing edge or obstruction sensor on the gate itself. Without those, a gate can close on a child or pet walking behind it. We include safety edges and photocells on every automated gate we install; we won’t energize an opener without them.
Gate Fabrication in Seattle
Gate fabrication in Seattle means building a gate to the exact dimensions and swing or slide path your property allows, rather than forcing a stock gate onto a lot that was never designed for one. Seattle homeowners ask for this when a standard gate from a catalog won’t clear a slope, won’t fit a narrow shared driveway, or needs raking to follow the grade of a hillside lot. Custom fabricated gates in Seattle typically run $3,800 to $9,500, depending on size, material, and whether it’s a swing, slide, or raked design.
Raked and stepped gates for hillside lots
Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, and Magnolia all have steep pitches where a flat-bottomed gate leaves a gap at one end or drags on the other. A raked gate follows the ground line, and a stepped gate drops in increments, which keeps pets in and the gate swinging cleanly. These are standard requests for us in Seattle, and a flat-market installer often doesn’t know the difference until the gate binds three weeks after install.
Matched to your existing fence and hardware
Whether your Ballard Craftsman has a cedar fence or your Madrona foursquare still has its original ironwork, we can fabricate a gate that matches what’s already there. We measure in place, fabricate off-site, and install with the same Cedarwell C.A.R.E. routine: written price first, drop cloths down, quiet tools, cleanup photo at the end.
Trusted Brands We Service in Seattle
Our technicians are factory-trained on the equipment Seattle homeowners own: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. We stock common parts for FAAC, Linear, and Viking operators locally, which means a Seattle gate opener install doesn’t stall out while we wait on a shipment. If your existing opener is from a brand we service, the new fabrication and install can be planned around it, and if you’re replacing the whole system, we’ll specify an operator matched to the gate’s weight, your Seattle lot’s slope, and the salt air coming off Elliott Bay.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Seattle Homes
- Shallow footings in glacial-till clay. Seattle’s glacial till traps standing water around post bases, and a footing dug to 24 inches instead of a proper 36 to 42 inches will rot a cedar hinge post within three or four seasons. We see this constantly on houses built before 1960. We dig deeper and use gravel drainage at the base.
- Swing gates on shared driveways. A swing gate needs a full arc of clear space, and on a tight shared driveway off streets like Greenwood Ave N or 15th Ave NE it often can’t clear the neighbor’s car or the right-of-way. That’s when a cantilevered slide gate with a rack and pinion operator becomes the only clean answer.
- Missing safety photocells on new automatic gates. Too many Seattle automatic gates get installed without UL 325 entrapment protection at the driveway apron, leaving a dangerous pinch point where the gate closes against a post. We install safety edges and photocells as standard, never as an add-on.
- Hillside soil creep throwing gates out of square. On Queen Anne and Beacon Hill slopes, posts gradually lean downhill over three to five years as the soil creeps. The gate starts to bind, then seizes. We compensate with deepened footings and, where the slope calls for it, a slide gate that doesn’t fight the hillside at all.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Seattle, WA
A single swing gate in Seattle runs $3,200 to $5,800 on existing sound posts. A custom fabricated slide gate for a tight shared driveway runs $5,500 to $9,500 with operator and safety edges. Gate opener installation alone is $1,400 to $3,800. What moves the number is footing depth (clay soils need deeper digs), gate size, whether the gate is raked for a slope, and the operator brand. You’ll see the exact total in writing before we order a single part, and the written price is what you pay. Call (626) 649-4572 for a free measure, and we’ll walk the site with you before quoting anything.
We Also Serve Cities Near Seattle
If your home is just outside the city line, we also install gates in Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland, and Bainbridge Island. Scheduling works from our Seattle office, and the same written-price, shoe-covers, cleanup-photo routine applies no matter which side of Lake Washington you’re on. Read more about our Gate Installation in Seattle coverage or see the full scope of our Gate Installation work.
Serving Seattle, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Seattle 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 Seattle
Yes. On a shared driveway, we set the gate at the property line behind the sidewalk rather than at the curb, and we stage the install in half-driveway phases so both households keep vehicle access the entire time. We also fabricate slide gates where a swing gate would block the neighbor’s garage. Call (626) 649-4572 and we’ll look at the easement before recommending a gate type.
The posts lean because Seattle’s glacial-till clay holds water, and the soil on steep slopes creeps downhill slowly, pushing the post out of plumb over three to five years. A footing that’s too shallow or too narrow can’t resist it. We deepen footings and use gravel drainage, and where the slope is severe we’ll specify a slide gate that doesn’t add swing load to the post. Free estimates at (626) 649-4572.
Yes. Any new automatic gate operator in Seattle needs UL 325 entrapment protection, which means safety photocells at the driveway apron and a reversing edge or obstruction sensor on the gate itself. These protect children and pets from being caught by a closing gate. We include safety edges and photocells as standard on every automated install, and we test them before the job is done.
Yes, and it’s common across Seattle because marine moisture from Puget Sound and the near-constant drizzle keep wood posts perpetually damp. The post base rots from continuous moisture contact even when there’s no standing water visible. We replace rotted posts with deeper footings and gravel drainage so the new post sits above the water line. Call (626) 649-4572 for a site look and a written price.
Yes. We install gates for newly legalized DADUs and ADUs across Seattle while the driveway stays in daily use, which usually means staging work in phases and leaving a temporary pedestrian path open throughout. We’ve done this on post-2015 lot splits in Columbia City and Beacon Hill, and we’ll coordinate the gate with your existing fence and the renter’s separate entry. Free measure at (626) 649-4572.
If you’re ready to talk through your Seattle gate project, call us at (626) 649-4572. A live person answers day or night, and we’ll set up a free measure and written estimate at your property, no pressure, no obligation. We’ll walk the site, talk through the options for your specific lot and driveway, and leave you with a number in writing before any work begins.
Written by Cody Beckman, Owner at Latch & Post Gate Repair, serving Seattle since 2009.