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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Access Control Across North Hollywood
Gate access control repair and installation in North Hollywood usually runs between $350 and $2,800 depending on whether you need a keypad replaced, a phone entry system wired, or a full video intercom installed on a sliding gate. Most keypad and remote receiver jobs are done same-day because we stock parts locally and our crews know the tight driveways off Burbank Boulevard, Lankershim, and Vineland without needing GPS on every turn. If your gate won’t respond to the remote or the keypad stopped reading codes, call (951) 749-5734 and Hal will tell you straight what it likely is before anyone even rolls out.
North Hollywood is not a generic LA neighborhood. The streets are narrow, the driveways are tight, and a lot of the automatic gates out here were installed right after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which means they’re aging out all at once. We know that because we work these blocks every week.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is North Hollywood’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
Hal Gatewood started this shop in 2001 and never left. The name is on every invoice, the address is published, and when you call at 2 a.m. because a gate won’t close on Lankershim, a live person answers. Not a voicemail. Not a call center. Hal or one of his guys. That matters in North Hollywood where a stuck-open gate on a shared driveway is a real problem for every unit behind it.
Reviews from North Hollywood customers keep coming back to the same three things: we show up in the window we promised, we fix what’s broken instead of selling a whole new system, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is actually written on the job ticket. If it’s not right, one call brings us back. No runaround. We also carry a standing $40 off any repair over $200 and a free second opinion on any written estimate another company handed you. Seniors and veterans get 10% off, permanently, no haggling.
Every job in North Hollywood gets a background-checked, uniformed technician who knows the difference between a heat-stressed operator on a 1997 DoorKing and a failing safety sensor on a modern Linear. That local knowledge is the difference between one visit and three.
Our Gate Access Control Services in North Hollywood
We handle the full range of Gate Access Control work, but in North Hollywood three services dominate the call list: keypads that stop reading codes on aging post-Northridge systems, phone entry boxes that buzz tenants but won’t open the gate, and video intercoms on apartment complexes where the old buzzer panel finally gave out. Here’s what each involves.
Keypad Entry
Keypad replacement in North Hollywood typically runs $180 to $450 installed, depending on whether we’re swapping a worn-out keypad on an existing operator or wiring a new one from scratch. On the postwar bungalows and 1950s apartment buildings that fill this neighborhood, most keypads are mounted on stucco pilasters that have shifted over 30 years. When the pilaster leans, the keypad mount twists, and the internal contacts fail faster than they should. We anchor the keypad properly and wire it so the codes hold even when the Valley heat is cooking the stucco.
Phone Entry
Phone entry systems on North Hollywood apartment complexes usually cost $600 to $1,400 to replace or rewire, and the most common failure we see is a dead power supply or a corroded relay inside the call box. These buildings went up in the 1950s through 1970s, and many still run the original conduit. When a tenant calls from their unit and the gate doesn’t buzz open, it’s rarely the telephone line. It’s a 40-year-old relay that’s been baking in a metal box since the Reagan administration. We trace it, replace it, and test every unit’s code before we leave.
Card Reader
Card reader installation for a North Hollywood complex or private driveway falls between $400 and $1,100 per entry point. Proximity readers, Wiegand wiring, stand-alone controllers. If the property already has a working operator but the board won’t accept new cards, we can often swap the reader and reflash the controller the same day. Most North Hollywood buildings with card access need the reader weather-sealed for Valley heat and Santa Ana dust. A reader that works in Sherman Oaks will cook in direct August sun on a south-facing pilaster here.
Video Intercom
Video intercom systems run $900 to $2,800 in North Hollywood depending on whether you want a basic two-wire camera-and-monitor setup or a multi-tenant system with mobile app integration. On the dense residential streets above Burbank Boulevard, landlords are replacing old buzzer panels with video intercoms because tenants want to see who’s at the gate before they open it. We wire these so the camera lens doesn’t point straight into the afternoon glare off the street, which is a common mistake that turns a $1,500 intercom into a white rectangle after 3 p.m.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Hollywood
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and in North Hollywood we see a lot of DoorKing operators on the older slide gates installed during the 1990s rebuild, plus Linear and Viking on newer installs. Ghost Controls shows up on the DIY kits people bought online, and we straighten those out too, usually after the thermal fuse has melted for the third consecutive August. We stock rollers, rack, safety photocells, and thermal fuses that fit these systems so we don’t have to leave a North Hollywood job waiting on a parts delivery from three states away.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in North Hollywood Homes
- Post-Northridge systems failing all at once. North Hollywood sits almost directly above the 1994 Northridge epicenter. The rebuild wave that followed put a lot of automatic gates on these streets between 1995 and 2000, and those operators are now 25 to 30 years old. They fail in clusters. If two neighbors on the same block both lost gate power this summer, that’s not a coincidence.
- Triple-digit heat destroys gate motors. The San Fernando Valley runs 20°F hotter than coastal LA, and sustained 100°F+ weeks push gate operators into thermal cutoff again and again until the motor windings give up. The hottest week of August is the busiest gate repair week of the year out here. Any shop that doesn’t stock extra operators and thermal fuses for July and August is going to leave you waiting.
- Heat-expanded tracks bind slide gates. Metal roller tracks get longer when they get hot, and on tight-lot slide gates that means the rack and pinion alignment shifts just enough to bind the gate and burn out the motor. We see this constantly on the narrow driveways off Coldwater Canyon and Tujunga where a swing gate was never an option.
- Sagging hinge posts from aging stucco pilasters. The 1950s through 1970s apartment stock in North Hollywood leans on original stucco pilasters and concrete gate tracks that are crumbling. When the hinge post leans, the gate sags. When the gate sags, the latch doesn’t line up, the keypad codes read but the lock won’t release, and the whole access system looks like it failed when it really just needs the post reset.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in North Hollywood, CA
Here’s what North Hollywood homeowners can expect to pay, straight up. Keypad replacement: $180 to $450. Remote receiver repair or replacement: $120 to $300. Phone entry system replacement on an apartment building: $600 to $1,400. Card reader installation: $400 to $1,100 per entry. Video intercom: $900 to $2,800. A full gate operator replacement on a slide gate runs $1,200 to $2,500 installed, and if the old system is a DoorKing from the 1990s, we’ll usually tell you the operator is done before we sell you anything. Every price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. That’s not a courtesy. That’s how Hal has run the shop since 2001. No trip charge inside the county, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is written on every invoice.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Hollywood
Gatewood Fence & Gate covers North Hollywood and the surrounding Valley cities. If you’re in Studio City, Van Nuys, Sun Valley, or Sherman Oaks, we’re already running routes through your neighborhood. The same tight-lot slide gates, the same heat-stressed operators, the same crew that actually shows up. Call (951) 749-5734 and we’ll put you on the schedule.
Serving North Hollywood, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Hollywood 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 Access Control in North Hollywood
Because North Hollywood sits in the San Fernando Valley’s inland heat basin, where triple-digit weeks push gate operators into thermal cutoff again and again until the motor permanently fails, and because many local systems were installed during the post-Northridge rebuild, which makes them 25 to 30 years old now. We stock extra operators and thermal fuses specifically for the July and August surge because that’s when North Hollywood gates die. If your gate stopped responding during a heat wave, call (951) 749-5734 for an exact diagnosis and an upfront price.
Yes. We recently worked on a slide gate off Burbank Boulevard near Coldwater Canyon where a 1990s DoorKing operator kept hitting thermal cutoff during a triple-digit August week. Our tech replaced the overloaded gate operator, realigned the rack and pinion on a heat-expanded track, and added a fresh safety photocell pair so the shared driveway stayed usable the whole time. We stage the work so the gate is only down for the actual swap, not the whole day. Most repair jobs on narrow lots are done in one visit.
Phone entry systems wired into each unit’s existing telephone line typically work best for older North Hollywood complexes because they don’t require running new cable to every apartment, and they’re backward-compatible with the original conduit those buildings still have. Video intercoms are a strong upgrade if tenants want visual verification before buzzing someone in. Card readers suit buildings with a parking gate and a pedestrian gate that need independent control. Call (951) 749-5734 for a free site walk of your specific building.
Santa Ana winds create sudden lateral stress on hinges and gate frames, which shifts the gate just enough to misalign the latch or throw off the keypad’s strike plate. We see a second peak of repair calls in October and November, separate from the August motor failures. If your keypad reads the code but the gate won’t release, the wind has likely moved the frame a quarter inch, and the fix is a hinge or post adjustment, not a new keypad. Call (951) 749-5734 and Hal will walk you through it.
Because the gate sags at the hinge post, not in the middle of the panel, and a sagging gate twists the frame just enough that the keypad’s strike plate no longer lines up with the lock. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. On North Hollywood’s aging stucco pilasters and crumbling concrete tracks, post anchor repair and track realignment are the most common service calls we make. Call (951) 749-5734 for a free estimate. The price is agreed before any work starts, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is on the invoice.
If your gate won’t open, your keypad won’t read, or your phone entry box is dead, call (951) 749-5734. A live person answers. We serve North Hollywood and we’re not hard to find.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving North Hollywood since he started the shop in 2001.