Security gates & doors
Built to resist the way a door is actually attacked.
Security screen doors, gated entry enclosures, side-passage gates and storefront security gates — strength in the frame and the lock housing, and an inside release that always works.
- Strength in
- Frame & lock boxNot just the grille.
- Egress
- Always worksNo key needed from inside.
- Estimate
- FreePhoto of the opening.
- Coverage
- Serving the East BayHayward and the East Bay.
What we build
Security screen doors over a residential front or back door; gated enclosures that close off a recessed entry, an alcove or a stairwell landing; full-height gates across a side passage; and storefront security gates for commercial frontages.
Ornamental and plain, both. Strength does not require the piece to look hostile, and the properties where this work is most needed are usually the ones that can least afford to look like they need it.
Where the security actually lives
Think about how a door gets forced rather than how it looks: a pry bar between the door edge and the frame, a hit on the lock cylinder, or the hinge pins driven out. Every one of those attacks the perimeter, not the middle.
So the frame gets the heavier section and the real anchorage into the opening. The lock gets a shielded housing so the bolt and strike cannot be reached or spread apart. Hinges are non-removable-pin or welded-knuckle so the door cannot be lifted off from outside. Only after all of that is settled does the infill pattern get chosen.
- Frame anchored into masonry or framing, not into the door casing alone.
- Lock box shielding the cylinder, bolt and strike.
- Hinges that cannot be pinned out from the exterior.
- Infill spaced to defeat reach-through to the inside handle.
- Inside release that works with no key, code or tool.
Egress comes first, always
A security door is on the path people use to leave a burning building. That single fact outranks every security consideration in the specification.
We will not build a door you cannot get out of
Any security door or gate on an exit route is built so the inside release opens it without a key, a code or a tool. We do not fit double-keyed deadbolts on egress doors, and we will say no to that request.
Egress and locking requirements are set by the code your jurisdiction has adopted, and the fire and building departments have the final word. Tell us at the estimate if the opening is on a required exit route so it is designed correctly from the start.
Residential vs. commercial
On a home, the brief is almost always "secure it without making it obvious". That points to ornamental or geometric infill, a colour matched to the existing trim, proportions that follow the doorway rather than fighting it, and glazing or fine mesh so the door still reads as a door.
On a storefront, the brief is different: it has to survive being attacked repeatedly, it has to be quick for staff to open every morning and lock every night, and it must not look shut when the business is open. A security gate that is awkward to operate is a security gate that stops getting locked — which is the most common way this work fails in practice.
Ventilation, light and the screen question
A lot of people want a security door specifically so they can leave the main door open in summer. That works, and it changes the spec: infill spacing tight enough that nothing can reach the inside handle, fine mesh behind the grille if insects matter, and a self-closing arrangement so the security door is not the one left ajar.
How the estimate works
Text (510) 363-2490 a photo of the opening, straight on, with the existing door shut — plus one from a step back so we can see the surrounding wall and whether the frame lands in masonry or timber. Say whether the opening is on the way out of the building. That is enough for a real range.
Projects
Security Gates & Doors we’ve built.
Photographed on completed jobs. Measurements and pricing come at the estimate, on your own opening.
Security Gates & Doors
What people ask before booking.
Will a security door make my house look like a shop with the shutters down?
That is the fear, and it is a reasonable one. It depends almost entirely on the infill and the finish rather than on the strength: a well-proportioned ornamental door in a colour that matches the trim reads as part of the house, and a bare grid in raw galvanised reads as a barricade. Both can be equally strong. Tell us it matters and we will design toward the first one.
Does a security door still let me get out in a fire?
It has to, and this is not negotiable. A security door on an exit must open from the inside without a key, a code or a tool — every time, including when it is dark and there is smoke. We build so the inside release always works, and we will not fit a double-keyed deadbolt on an egress door no matter who asks. If a door is on a required exit route, tell us at the estimate; egress requirements are set by your jurisdiction and the building department has the final word.
What actually stops a security door being forced?
The frame and the lock housing, not the pretty part. A strong grille in a weak frame gets levered out of the wall as a unit. So the money goes into the frame section, how it is anchored into the opening, a hinge arrangement that cannot be pinned out from outside, and a lock box that shields the bolt and strike from being attacked directly. Ornament sits on top of all that.
Can you secure a recessed entry or a whole doorway alcove?
Yes, and it is often the better answer for a commercial frontage. Instead of one door, a gated enclosure closes off the whole recess, which means the actual shop door and its glazing sit behind the security line rather than being the security line. Worth pricing both ways.
What about a security gate for a side passage or a garage?
Same discipline, different opening. Side passages are where most unwanted access happens because nobody watches them, and a full-height gate with no climbable horizontals on the outside face is a very cost-effective fix. Garage-side gates and roller-door-adjacent gates need clearance planning so the two do not foul each other.
Free estimate
Send a photo of the opening.
Tell us whether it's on the way out of the building — that decides the hardware before anything else does.
Licensed, bonded and insured — CSLB #1037852. Free estimates, no obligation.
Based in Hayward. Serving the East Bay. Not sure if it’s something we do? See the full list of services, or book a consultation.