Virginia Longmuir
4 years ago
“I have used Method for repairs and upgrades to my driveway gate and garage door. They are always on time, courteous and the work is great.”
Gates, garage doors, fencing & automation for San Fernando homes and businesses
Custom Gate Installation & 24/7 Repair in San Fernando, CA
San Fernando updated its fence and gate rules in 2023, so front-yard iron here has its own limits — four feet and half see-through — and we draw to the city's code, not Los Angeles'. Nothing is built until you approve the drawing. Our fabrication partner of 15 years builds it, our licensed installers put it in, and our phones are answered 24/7 for gate and garage door repairs.
- Free On-Site Estimates
- Custom Gates Since 2006
- Licensed, Bonded & Insured
Free estimates in San Fernando
Get Your Free Estimate
Tell us about the opening. We'll call to schedule a visit.
What do you need?
- A new gate
- Gate repair
- Make my gate automatic
- Fencing
- Garage door
- Commercial, HOA or apartments
- Something elseNot sure yet
No obligation. It takes about a minute, then we call to schedule. Prefer to talk? (818) 782-6180
Gates in San Fernando
What building a gate in San Fernando actually involves
The City of San Fernando is its own city — two and a half square miles surrounded by Los Angeles, with its own building department, its own fence and gate rules, and its own permit process. That is the first thing we sort out on a San Fernando estimate, because a permit filed with LADBS for an address here goes nowhere. We confirm the city's requirements for your parcel, and if your project needs a San Fernando permit, we can take care of the application for an added fee.
The homes are older and closer together than in the surrounding Valley — bungalows, Spanish revivals, and mid-century houses on compact lots — and ornamental iron is part of the streetscape. Pedestrian gates, picket driveway gates, matching fence, and window guards, formed and welded by our fabrication partner of 15 years, are the everyday work here, with automation where the driveway allows it. Along Truman Street and San Fernando Road, commercial properties need slide gates and security fencing that hold up to daily use.
Estimates are free and written, and repairs — on iron we built or iron someone else did — are priced on site.
- Custom Gate Design Since 2006
- Licensed, Bonded & Insured
- Permit Help When You Need It
- 24/7 Emergency Gate Service
- Free On-Site Estimates
Local conditions
What changes the build in San Fernando
Four feet and see-through out front
In a front setback, or along a corner lot's street side, a fence, gate or hedge tops out at four feet, and the fence must be at least half see-through above a solid base of no more than two feet. Pillars, finials and lights may rise higher, an arched pedestrian gateway can reach seven feet, and chain link is out.
Clear sight at driveways and corners
The code keeps a clear view where cars back out: ten feet from the property line beside a single-family driveway and twenty beside commercial or apartment drives, plus a 20-foot triangle at street corners. Only see-through fencing, or a hedge under 30 inches, may stand in those zones, which shapes where gate posts land.
Commercial frontage downtown
Along commercial and industrial frontage, see-through fencing can reach eight feet and solid fencing six; block walls facing a sidewalk or alley need texture, pilasters and an anti-graffiti coating. Downtown, the Corridors Specific Plan keeps storefronts at the sidewalk and rules out drive-up windows, so commercial gates there usually close rear lots.
Areas we cover in San Fernando: Downtown along San Fernando Road · the Maclay Avenue district · the blocks around Las Palmas Park · the streets near Recreation Park · Pico Street by the Lopez Adobe
Services
What we build and fix in San Fernando
Custom Wrought Iron GatesWrought-iron and steel driveway gates drawn to San Fernando's front-yard height and openness limits.Learn More Ornamental IronworkArched walk gates under seven feet, railings and window guards matched to the house.Learn More 
Residential FencingFront fences with a low solid base and open iron above, plus side and rear runs up to six feet.Learn More 
Commercial GatesRear-lot and yard gates for businesses on San Fernando Road, Truman Street and Maclay Avenue.Learn More Gate repair in San Fernando
Garage doors in San Fernando
Project photographs
Gates we've built
Arched wood garden gate
White panel gate
Arched wood side gate
Nearby
Also serving the neighborhoods around San Fernando
San Fernando FAQ
Questions we hear in San Fernando
Answers specific to San Fernando. The questions every customer asks are on our FAQ page.
The City of San Fernando's own building department — not Los Angeles, even though the city is surrounded by it. San Fernando has its own height and setback rules. We confirm them for your address before we draw, and if a permit is needed, we can take care of it for an added fee.
Only a little, and only with approval. The code lets the Community Development Director administratively approve fences and walls up to 20 percent over the height limits through the city's modification process — roughly another nine or ten inches out front. Beyond that, the four-foot limit holds. Decorative pillars, finials and lights don't count against it.
Side and rear fences stop at six feet, but the code lets coyote rollers — spinning bars that keep an animal from getting a grip — sit on top of a six-foot wall or fence. The city's 2023 fence update was prompted partly by its coyote management plan. Close the gaps under gates too; a coyote fits through less space than you'd expect.
Yes, an application at least. The code covers anyone substantially altering or repairing a fence, wall or security gate, not just building a new one, and the first step is a Planning Division application with a scaled site plan. A building permit is added only over six feet or with masonry pillars. If you'd rather not handle it yourself, we can prepare the site plan and file it for an added fee.
Free on-site estimate · Answered 24/7
Let’s Build Your San Fernando Gate
Call now or send the form. A real person from our Van Nuys office will schedule your free visit and walk the opening with you.
Free · No obligation
Tell Us About Your Project
What do you need?
- A new gate
- Gate repair
- Make my gate automatic
- Fencing
- Garage door
- Commercial, HOA or apartments
- Not sure yet
No obligation. It takes about a minute, then we call to schedule. Prefer to talk? (818) 782-6180