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 Burbank
Gate installation in Burbank takes more planning than most people expect, and the short front setbacks along streets like Chandler, Burbank Boulevard, and Verdugo mean a standard slide gate often will not fit the way it would on a larger lot. A driveway gate in Burbank typically runs $3,800 to $9,500 depending on whether it’s a swing or slide system, the operator brand, and how much ground work the property needs. We dispatch crews into Burbank through our Los Angeles office, and we answer the phone live around the clock. Call (469) 530-2485 and you’ll get a real person who can schedule a free measure and a written price.
Why Carver Gate Repair Is Burbank’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
We focus on gates only. Not fences, not general contracting. That narrow focus matters on an installation, because the mistakes that fail in Burbank are the ones a generalist will not catch: an undersized hinge post footing, a rack that binds on a short slide run, a safety photocell mounted too low or too high. Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they follow the Garrison Standard on every job: a written price before any work begins, a written 365-Day Done Right Promise on the finished install, and a free second visit if anything fails inside that year. Lonnie Burke runs our install crews, and he signs off on the same guarantee for a Magnolia Park pedestrian gate as he does for a double driveway gate in the hills above Glenoaks.
Burbank homeowners tend to want the same things: a gate that opens without stalling, a number on the quote that matches the number on the invoice, and a crew that leaves the site clean. That is what we deliver. The written price is set before we dig the first footing, and it does not move at the door.
Driveway Gate Installation in Burbank
Driveway Gate Installation in Burbank starts with the property line, not the gate style. Many homes here, especially in the flat streets around Magnolia Park and the Rancho District, have driveways under 25 feet deep. That shapes whether you even can run a slide gate, or whether a swing gate makes more sense. We measure the setback, check the sidewalk clearance, and then we recommend a configuration that will not block the public walk when the gate is parked open. A single swing driveway gate with an operator typically runs $3,800 to $6,200 in Burbank. A slide gate setup with ground track runs $5,500 to $9,500, and the higher end covers the longer rack, poured post footings, and a commercial-grade operator.
Footings and Hinge Posts
The hinge post is the part most Burbank installs get wrong. A steel or composite panel can weigh several hundred pounds, and Burbank soil, particularly in neighborhoods older than the 1960s, is often a mix of decomposed granite and clay that moves with rain. We pour footings sized to the panel weight and the soil, not just to the minimum code. If the existing hinge post has shifted, we replace the footing rather than packing the post with shims.
Operator Mounting and Power
We run a dedicated conduit line for the operator, not a long extension cord tucked under landscaping. In Burbank, that often means trenching across a narrow strip of yard between the house and the gate. We factor that trenching into the written price up front, because it is the kind of line item that surprises people after the fact if the installer was vague about it.
Sliding Gate Installation in Burbank
Sliding Gate Installation in Burbank is common on the wider lots closer to Griffith Park and along the streets that back onto the Verdugo foothills, but the short slide-run problem shows up everywhere. A slide gate needs roughly one and a half times the panel width of clear track behind the opening. On many Burbank properties, that strip does not exist. Where the setback is too tight, we install a cantilever slide gate that carries its weight on rollers without a ground track, or we recommend a swing gate instead. A cantilever slide gate installation in Burbank runs $6,500 to $9,800, including the poured counterbalance footing and the operator.
Rack, Pinion, and Track
The rack and pinion system is what most slide gates run on here. The rack bolts to the gate panel, the pinion gear turns against it, and the gate rides along a steel V-track or a cantilever roller set. If the track is set even a quarter-inch out of level across the run, the gate will bind and the operator will start tripping its limit switch. We set the track on a leveled concrete pad, not on compacted dirt.
Safety Edges and Reversal Testing
Every slide gate we install gets a working safety edge or photocell pair, and we run full reversal testing before we call the job done. UL 325 requires entrapment protection on automatic gates, and the safety edge is the part that stops the gate if it meets a car bumper or a person. This is not an add-on. It is wired into the operator controls and tested under load.
Trusted Brands We Service in Burbank
Our technicians work on DoorKing, Viking, Ghost Controls, and most other major operator brands, and we keep the common parts for those systems stocked for fast turnaround on Burbank jobs. If your existing operator is a Viking and the gate itself needs replacing, we can often reuse the operator and save you the cost of a new one. The right answer depends on the age of the operator and whether it has working entrapment protection. We will tell you straight if the old motor is worth keeping or if it is cheaper over two years to replace it now.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Burbank Homes
- Slide gates without enough slide-back room. Burbank’s shallow setbacks, especially on the older streets north of Magnolia Boulevard, often leave a slide gate bottoming out against the house or blocking the sidewalk. We measure the run before recommending a slide system, and we will not sell one that will not fit.
- Hinge post footings too small for the panel. A swing gate that weighs 400 pounds needs a footing that can hold it plumb through wet winters and dry summers. Burbank’s clay-heavy soil swells with rain and shrinks in the heat, which is exactly what pulls an undersized footing out of true.
- Operators installed without entrapment protection. A gate motor wired up with no safety photocell and no safety edge is a UL 325 violation and a genuine hazard. We see this often enough to check for it on every install, even when the job is just replacing a panel.
- Gate posts set directly into soil without concrete. Some older Burbank gates were installed by sinking the post into a hole and backfilling with dirt. The gate works for a season, then sags. We pull those posts, pour a proper footing, and set the post plumb before hanging the panel.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Burbank, CA
Burbank pricing reflects the reality of the lots here: more excavation work than the average suburban install, and more cases where a slide gate has to be reworked into a swing gate because the driveway is too short. Here is what you can expect:
- Single swing driveway gate with operator: $3,800 – $6,200
- Double swing driveway gate with operator: $6,000 – $9,000
- Ground-track slide gate with operator: $5,500 – $8,200
- Cantilever slide gate with operator: $6,500 – $9,800
- Pedestrian gate with keypad entry: $1,800 – $3,400
Every one of those numbers is a written price, delivered before we start. It includes the footing work, the operator, the safety edges or photocells, the power run, and the reversal testing. If we uncover something during the dig that changes the scope, we stop and bring you a revised written price before we proceed. Call (469) 530-2485 for a free measure and an exact quote for your Gate Installation project.
We Also Serve Cities Near Burbank
We run Gate Installation in Burbank daily, and our crews also cover Glendale, West Hollywood, Altadena, and Beverly Hills. If your property sits near the border of any of those cities, call us and we will tell you which crew covers your block and when we can schedule the measure.
Serving Burbank, CA – Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Burbank 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 Burbank
Yes. A short driveway changes the gate style we recommend, not whether you can have a gate. If the setback is under 16 feet, a slide gate usually will not work without blocking the sidewalk, so we recommend a swing gate or a compact bi-fold gate instead. We measure the exact distance from the gate opening to the house or property line before we quote anything, and we will not sell a slide system that will not fit. Call (469) 530-2485 and we will come measure for free.
A proper installation includes poured post footings sized to the panel and the soil, a dedicated power run to the operator, the operator itself with limit switches set, working entrapment protection (safety photocell or edge), and full reversal testing under load. That is the minimum under UL 325. If a bid only covers the gate panel and the motor, the footings, the trenching, or the safety equipment will show up as extra charges later. Our written price covers the whole job from excavation to testing.
No, and we will not promise it. A gate installation involves concrete footings that need to cure, trenching for power, and operator setup that takes a crew a full day or more depending on the scope. We schedule installations in advance and give you a written timeline before we start. What we can do same-day in many cases is a gate repair or an operator replacement, not a full install.
Because the footing under the hinge post is failing, not just the hinge hardware. In Burbank’s shrink-swell clay soil, an undersized footing will heave and settle over a season or two, pulling the hinge post out of plumb and making the gate drag or sag. Replacing hinges or welding a brace onto the panel will not fix it. The fix is to pull the post, pour a footing sized to the panel weight, set the post plumb, and re-hang the gate. That is the repair we do most often on older Burbank properties.
Yes. UL 325 requires entrapment protection on every automatic gate, and in practice that means a monitored safety photocell across the opening, a safety edge on the gate panel, or both depending on the gate type. If your gate opens and closes on the sidewalk side, the sensor placement matters even more because it has to catch pedestrians and strollers before the gate meets them. We wire and test the entrapment protection on every install, and we will not put an operator on a gate that does not have it.
If you are weighing a new gate in Burbank, start with a free measure. We will walk the property, check the setback and the soil, tell you what will actually fit, and put the full price in writing before any work is scheduled. Call (469) 530-2485 or book through our site. A live person answers, day or night.
Written by Lonnie Burke, Owner at Carver Gate Repair, serving Burbank since 2008.