Custom Aluminum Single Gates, Built and Hung to Match

When one aluminum gate is the right call

One leaf is usually the right answer when people, not cars, pass through: a side yard, a pool enclosure, or the front walk to your door. The leaf is 6063-T6 aluminum, powder-coated and heat-cured, lighter than iron or steel, so it hangs easy and never rusts. Need a driveway or rolling gate? Those are other aluminum gates we build.

How wide can a single gate go before it sags?

A single leaf has a practical width limit; past it the gate needs help or a second leaf. Most walk gates run about 3 to 4 feet wide and up to 8 feet tall, custom to your opening. Push one too wide and it sags, not from wind at this size but from hinge geometry, the leaf’s weight on the hinges over time.

The fix is a drop rod, a diagonal brace, or splitting the opening into a double gate. A standard 3, 4, or 6 inch aluminum post carries a walk gate on its own, so a steel insert is rarely needed.

The hardware that makes a walk gate close and latch itself

A walk gate stays safe when it closes and latches on its own. Two pieces do the work: a self-closing hinge, spring or tension loaded, that pulls the leaf shut, and a self-latching latch, gravity or magnetic, that catches on a latch post with no push.

We weld the hinges and latch to the frame instead of bolting them on, so nothing works loose over time. It matters most on a walk gate: it sets whether the leaf slams, drifts, or seals shut around kids, pets, and pools.

Does an aluminum gate on a pool fence meet code?

A pool gate turns on the hardware and the swing, not the metal. In California, a pool-enclosure gate must self-close, self-latch, and open away from the pool, with the latch release generally no lower than about 60 inches above grade.

We build the gate to take that hardware and swing the right way. What we cannot promise is that the fence itself passes as your pool barrier; that turns on the whole enclosure, not the gate alone. Verify the exact rule with your city.

Matching and hanging a single gate in your fence line

Matching is the quiet part of the job: dropping one gate in takes real decisions that make the leaf read as part of the run. Which side takes the hinges, which way the gate swings (with traffic, away from a pool), and where the latch post lands get settled at the measure.

Then the leaf is built to the same style, color, and height as the fence, welded and hung by the same crew, so it belongs to the line. Walk gates are rarely automated; if you want a motor later, plan it early, and the operator comes from your automation contractor, not from us.

The aluminum, and the partner behind it

Every single gate we build uses SleekFence aluminum. SleekFence is a premium-class aluminum fencing manufacturer, a brand registered in the USA, and PVAF is its authorized installer and partner: their material, our fabrication and welded install.

It is modern architectural aluminum, not decorative. The powder coat meets Qualicoat Class 1, the metal carries an ASTM E84 Class A flame-and-smoke rating, and the material warranty runs 20 years on the aluminum and 10 on the coating, backed by our own 5-year workmanship.

What a single gate costs, and when it needs a permit

The price of a single gate comes from the build, not a shelf tag. What moves it: the size of the leaf, the style, the grade of hardware (self-closing and pool hardware cost more than a plain latch), the matched install, and any site work. A kit sticker looks cheaper because it leaves out the install and hardware; a real number takes a short site visit.

A walk gate rarely needs a permit: in the City of LA a non-masonry fence or gate needs a building permit only above 10 feet. Rules vary by city; verify with your local building department. The baked-on powder coat is low-maintenance.

Two limits apply to the material warranty: coastal salt and pool chemicals are excluded, and a documented cleaning every six months keeps the coverage valid. Aluminum is the premium, more modern pick, priced above budget-friendly vinyl.

Matching the Fence Line

Worth knowing before you choose: contoured slat styles come in matte black and nothing else. Flat and slat styles widen that out to white, wood grain and black. Each finish is powder coat, heat cured and bonded to the aluminum, so full sun does not lift it off.

Beyond a Single Leaf

A leaf needs something to hang from. We weld the runs on either side of it, the wider driveway openings a single leaf cannot span, and the same work in vinyl for owners who go that way.