A driveway gate keypad is how a guest opens the gate without a remote. It is not the operator, and it is not a lock on a manual pair. Search results sell cartons. A San Diego driveway still needs a place to stand, a power path, and a code plan that you can revoke when the gardener changes.
Keypad, remote, intercom, and the operator are four lines
The operator moves the leaf. Remotes ride in the cars that live there. A keypad is for people who should not get a remote. An intercom is for people you want to see before the leaf moves. Phone apps are a fifth line if you will actually manage them.
Write the list before anyone bids “access included.” A dual solar opener that advertises a keypad still needs the keypad model, the pedestal, and the wiring. A double-swing pair needs the pedestal out of both arcs. A slide needs it out of the runback.
Wired versus wireless is a site question. A pedestal 20 feet from the operator on a long Poway drive may be low-voltage in conduit, or a wireless station with its own batteries. Coastal moisture and inland heat both kill cheap plastic housings. Ask for the outdoor rating and the finish. This site does not publish a brand ranking.
Guest codes, contractor codes, and a one-time delivery code are procedures you have to live with. Ask how many unique codes the listed keypad supports, how you delete one, and whether a master code sits on a paper you will lose. Fence Pros San Diego does not program access systems. The matched contractor should say who does the programming: the fence company, an access-control tech, or you with the manual.
Placement is safety. A driver who leans out of a window into a moving leaf is the wrong geometry. Put the pedestal where a sedan and a high truck can both reach it without hanging into the street, and where a person on foot is not in the photo-eye path. On a short Vista or downtown apron, that spot is often the hard part of the job.
What the keypad line item should include
- Device model, wired or wireless, and how it talks to the operator (relay, bus, or radio).
- Pedestal or wall mount, height, and finish.
- Power: transformer, batteries, or a tap on the operator. Solar at the keypad is its own panel if the station is far from the gate batteries.
- How many codes, whether they are time-limited, and who programs them at handover.
- Weather enclosure and whether the keypad sits in Zone 0 next to the house. Confirm fire rules if it is on a combustible post against the wall. See fence next to the house.
- What happens in a power outage: dead keypad versus a gate you can still release by hand.
- Conduit, trenching, and whether an electrician is in scope.
C-13 covers gates and related work. House-side data, a new circuit, or an intercom tied to a security panel may be another trade. Write it.
City Table 142-03A and County PDS070 still govern the fence and gate height. A keypad pedestal is a small structure. Ask whether it needs its own review. Civil Code §841 still applies if you are adding devices to a shared driveway fence.
Business and Professions Code §7048’s $1,000 exemption is not an automated gate plus keypad advertised as contractor work. Verify the C-13 on the CSLB site.
This site has no verified price for a keypad add-on in San Diego County. Compare two bids that name the same device, mount, and programming handover.
Fence Pros San Diego is a referral service. We match you with licensed, independent local fence professionals. We do not install, we do not program codes, and we do not set prices. You contract with the pro directly. The phone line is voicemail.
Call when you want a keypad on a driveway gate and a licensed contractor to spec the device, the pedestal, and how it talks to the operator. Call us at (858) 400-4906 and we will connect you with a licensed fence contractor.