Gates & Fencing · Lancaster

Security Gates in Lancaster, CA

A security gate in Lancaster is a heavier frame welded from steel tube at our Division Street shop, for a walk gate, an RV opening or a working yard. How the property is used sets the operator class, and the setback sets the height.

Heavier begins with the tube on a Lancaster yard gate. A yard gate spans more than a house gate and takes knocks from equipment as well as wind, so the wall thickness goes up and the rollers, hinges and posts grow with it. On our drawings a panel to 6 feet sits on 2.5 inch square posts, and gate posts step up to 4 inch square as the leaf widens. Every joint is welded. Nothing bolts together to shake loose.

Height is where security and the code meet. Inside city limits, Lancaster Municipal Code 17.08.130.D holds a fence to 4 feet within the front yard or corner lot side yard setback, and to 6 feet within the side or rear setback. Treat a gate in the fence line as held to the fence number until the planning counter tells you otherwise, and confirm which limits cover your parcel before the gate is drawn. A director's review under 17.08.130.E can allow up to 25 percent more.

County ground beside the city follows LA County Code 22.110.070: 3.5 feet in a required front yard, 6 feet in the interior side and rear yards. A yard with a Lancaster mailing address can sit on either side of that line, and the parcel record is what tells you.

UL 325 sorts a powered gate by who comes through it. An equipment yard the public never enters is normally Class III. The same yard becomes Class II once customers or tenants drive in, and an apartment property of five or more units is Class II from the start. Class IV is a guarded gate with security staff watching it. The class sets the equipment, and the equipment sets how the frame is built.

Entrapment protection follows that class. UL 325 asks for two independent means in each entrapment zone, never two of the same type, with every external device monitored and reversal starting within 2 seconds. A gap under 16 inches between the moving gate and a fixed edge, up to 6 feet above grade, is a zone. At least two warning signs go up, readable from both sides.

Slide gates on wide yards carry the most construction rules. Under ASTM F2200, on Classes I through III, weight bearing exposed rollers 8 feet or less above grade get guards, stops go at both ends of travel, and the gate plus the fence it covers when open is screened against a 2.25 inch sphere up to the top of the gate or 72 inches, whichever is less. A Class IV gate falls outside these slide gate provisions. Mesh added after the fact puts sail area on rollers sized for less, and the valley wind finds it. We settle infill on the drawing.

Posts go into at least 36 inches of concrete, deeper under a wide leaf or a solid panel. That depth is this shop's practice. The finish is galvanizing under a powder topcoat, an AAMA 2604 class product, prepared to ASTM D7803 so outgassing zinc does not leave pinholes in the powder.

This work runs out of our shop on Division Street in Lancaster. Read the full security gates details, or call (818) 220-8704 and we will come out.

FAQ

Questions about security gates in Lancaster

How tall can a yard gate be on a Lancaster lot?

Inside city limits, 17.08.130.D sets fence heights of 4 feet within the front yard or corner lot side yard setback and 6 feet within the side or rear setback. Plan a gate in the fence line to that fence number, and ask the planning counter how it applies to your parcel before we draw. A director's review under 17.08.130.E can add up to 25 percent.

We store equipment and the public never comes in. What class is our gate?

Normally Class III under UL 325, industrial with no public access. If the public, customers or tenants start using the gate, it moves to Class II, which calls for more entrapment protection. Tell us if that change is coming so the frame and mounting are built for it now.

Tenants drive through our apartment gate all day. What does that change?

An apartment property of five or more units is Class II under UL 325, whatever the size of the gate. The gate cycles far more than a house gate, so the hinges or rollers and the mounting for the operator get sized for that traffic.

Can we add mesh or screening to our existing slide gate?

Sometimes, but check the hardware first. Mesh turns an open gate into a sail, and the valley wind loads rollers and posts that were sized for something lighter. If the gate is motorized, ASTM F2200 screening against a 2.25 inch sphere applies to a slide gate in Classes I through III, so the rebuild should plan for both.

Do you build the gate at the shop or weld it on site?

The frame is cut and welded at our Division Street shop, then hung on site. Posts and anything set in concrete get welded in place. On a repair, a small gate that needs squaring comes back to the shop table.

Our yard sits just outside city limits. Which height rule applies?

On unincorporated county ground, LA County Code 22.110.070 applies: 3.5 feet in a required front yard and 6 feet in the interior side and rear yards. The side and rear figure matches the city, the front yard figure is lower. The parcel record tells you which side of the line you are on.

What do you need from us before building a yard gate?

The clear opening width, the slope across it, and the widest vehicle or load that has to pass. Say whether the gate is motorized now or later, since the class and the operator change the frame. We take the final measurements on site before steel is cut.

Are walk gates held to the same rules as the vehicle gate?

Not in the same way. ASTM F2200 reaches a gate once an operator is on it, so a hand operated walk gate falls outside it. UL 325 never allows a vehicular operator on a pedestrian gate. A walk gate still gets the same welded frame as the yard gate beside it.

What pushes the cost of a security gate up?

Width and weight, first. Heavier wall tube, bigger rollers or hinges and larger posts follow the span. Tight infill for screening adds steel and wind load. Roller guards, stops and mounting plates for an operator add fabrication. Galvanizing and powder scale with the steel.

Can a steel fence and gate line an apartment property at 6 feet?

Lancaster Municipal Code 17.08.130.G allows a masonry wall, a tubular steel fence or comparable material up to 6 feet for multifamily use. A tube frame with open pickets fits that description plainly. For a solid panel, ask planning how they read it.

Who pulls the permit on a commercial gate?

The property owner or the contractor of record. The city or the county decides whether the work needs one. We build to the allowed height and point out early when the gate you want would need a director's review.

Swing or slide for a working yard?

A slide gate keeps the yard clear of leaf arcs and handles wide openings, but it needs room beside the opening to park the leaf and, on Classes I through III, it carries the F2200 roller, stop and screening rules. The UL 325 speed cap reaches only slide gate operators in Classes I and II and vertical lift operators, so a swing gate or a Class III yard slide gate has none. A swing gate also skips the screening rule, but needs clear space for the leaves to open and a fairly level approach.

Need security gates in Lancaster?

Free estimates. We come measure the opening or the property line first.