Free on-site gate assessment - hinges, posts, and your LiftMaster or Nice gate operator checked before anything is quoted
The assessment is free and the quote is the invoice.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Parts & Welding Across Kensington
Getting a gate fixed in Kensington usually means one of two things: the post has shifted out of plumb on a hillside lot, or the fog has eaten through the bottom rail and hinge welds. We handle both, usually in a single visit. Gatewood Fence & Gate has been owner-operated since 2001, and when you call (877) 610-2993, a live person picks up and talks you through what you’re seeing. No voicemail, no menu tree, no call center three states away. Hal Gatewood put his name on the shop, and his crew shows up in Kensington with a welding rig in the truck and the parts to do the job right.
The thing about Kensington is that it isn’t a flatland job. Steep driveways, aging 1920s-1950s masonry pillars, and marine fog that rolls in off the bay and sits on wrought iron until it rusts. We know those conditions because we drive them. When a gate sags in Kensington, we start at the hinge post, because that’s where the problem lives. If you need Gate Parts & Welding done right the first time, we’re the crew that does the welding on site, in your driveway, so your gate never leaves the property.
Key Takeaways
- We answer the phone 24/7 with a live person, and we come to Kensington with a fully stocked welding truck.
- Most Kensington gate failures trace to post heave and rust, not the hardware you’d assume.
- Every job includes our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it isn’t right, one call brings us back.
- Upfront pricing, quoted and agreed before any work starts. $40 off any repair over $200 and no trip charge inside the county.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Kensington’s Preferred Gate Parts & Welding Company
Kensington homeowners have been burned by outfits that quote one number on the phone and show up with another. We don’t play that game. The price Hal quotes is the price on the invoice. Our crew is background-checked and uniformed, and the person who shows up is someone you could run into at the hardware store on Arlington Avenue. That matters in a place like Kensington, where word travels fast and a bad repair gets talked about over fences.
We serve the whole 94530 ZIP, from the flats near Arlington Boulevard up to the winding hillside lanes off Colusa Avenue and the roads climbing toward Tilden Regional Park. Our Gate Parts & Welding in Kensington work includes hinge replacement, post reset and re-plumbing, rail repair, custom welding, rollers, and latch and lock service. We also service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule operators, so we can diagnose both the steel and the electronics without bouncing between two companies.
Hal has been at this since 2001. He still answers his own phone. A gate repair in Kensington isn’t a ticket number for us; it’s a driveway we’ll drive past next week and want the gate to look right.
Our Gate Parts & Welding Services in Kensington
Hinge Replacement
Kensington’s fog and damp clay eat hinge welds faster than most homeowners expect. We see hinges that look solid from five feet away and fall apart the second we take the gate’s weight off them. We cut out the old weld, clean the steel, and weld new heavy-gauge hinges on site. No hauling the gate off to a shop, no leaving your driveway open overnight. Call us before the gate starts dragging and the hinge tears the post face.
Post Replacement
In most flatland Bay Area neighborhoods, a leaning gate post is a hardware problem. In Kensington it’s a soil problem. The clay expands and contracts with winter rain and summer dry spells, heaving posts that were set decades ago in concrete that has long since cracked. We excavate the old footing, drive new steel or set a properly sized concrete pier below the heave zone, and re-plumb the post to true before re-hanging the gate. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice; Kensington hills prove that every winter.
Rail Repair
The bottom rail is where Kensington gates die. Fog moisture sits on the underside, rust perforates the scrollwork, and one good shove finishes the job. We weld in new steel patches, grind and dress them so the repair disappears, and if the rail is too far gone, we fabricate a replacement section to match the existing pattern. On ornamental iron from the 1930s or 1940s around the Arlington and Kensington Park areas, matching the original profile matters to us, not just to you.
Custom Welding
Sometimes the part doesn’t exist anymore. A 1930s Tudor Revival on a hillside lane off Coventry Road might have gate hardware nobody manufactures today. We fabricate custom brackets, hinge straps, latch plates, and decorative scrollwork in our shop and finish the welds on site. Whether it’s a gate, a rail, or a structural repair on an older steel frame, we can cut, shape, and weld it to match. If the hinge post footings date to the 1940s, the fix should too; it should look like it was always there.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kensington
We service and install operators from Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing, along with LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Elite, and Mighty Mule. That matters in Kensington because older hillside properties often have original or early-replacement operators wired into aging electrical runs, and not every tech knows how to diagnose a Ghost Controls or Viking unit without throwing parts at the problem. We keep common boards, remotes, photo eyes, and limit switches stocked for service calls in the 94530 ZIP, so we aren’t waiting a week on a part that should be in the truck. When your gate won’t open and the groceries are in the car, you don’t want to hear “we ordered it.”
Common Gate Parts & Welding Problems We See in Kensington Homes
- Rust perforation at the bottom rail and lower hinge welds. The marine fog that pours through the Golden Gate and up into the East Bay hills bathes Kensington in salt-air moisture. Wrought iron rusts from the inside out, and by the time you see flaking paint, the steel underneath is often nearly gone.
- Posts heaving out of plumb on clay soil. Kensington’s hillside lots sit on expansive clay that swells in winter and shrinks in summer. Original 1920s-1950s concrete footings were rarely poured deep enough, so pillars lean, gates sag, and latches stop lining up. This is the single most common repair call we run in Kensington.
- Failed gate operators on long, steep driveways. A gate motor working against a sloped grade and a heavy 1940s iron panel burns through gears and boards faster than the flatland version. When a Ghost Controls or Linear unit quits on a Kensington driveway, the first thing we check is whether the gate itself is binding from a shifted post. The operator is often the victim, not the cause.
- Wildfire zone access issues. Kensington’s WUI fire-hazard designation means automated driveway gates need an emergency-vehicle override. A failed keypad, loop detector, or battery backup on a steep driveway can physically block Contra Costa County fire crews. That’s not a convenience repair; it’s an access issue during wildfire season.
Pricing for Gate Parts & Welding in Kensington, CA
Here are honest numbers for the Kensington market. Hinge replacement on a standard single swing gate typically runs $220-$380, including cutting out the old weld and welding in the new hinges. A post reset and re-plumb starts around $350 and goes up depending on depth, soil conditions, and whether we’re setting a new steel pier or re-pouring concrete around the old one. Custom welding patches and rail repairs run $180-$450, depending on the extent of the rust and how much steel we’re replacing. Full custom fabrication, like matching a 1930s scrollwork section, lands between $500 and $1,200. Gate roller replacement runs $150-$300, and latch and lock work runs $120-$280. Every quote is given up front, in writing, and agreed to before any work starts. You won’t see the number change when we finish, unless we find something structurally unsafe and you approve the additional work in advance. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote on your Kensington gate; estimates are free.
One more thing worth knowing: Kensington’s unincorporated Contra Costa County status means any permitted gate work and automated-gate electrical has to go through county building, not a city hall. That can add time to a project if permits are required, and it occasionally delays parts sourcing on older pillars that need engineering review. We walk you through what needs a permit and what doesn’t, so there are no surprises at inspection time. For seniors and veterans, there’s a permanent 10% discount. For anyone with a written estimate from another company, we’ll give you a free second opinion and tell you honestly whether the work needs doing at all.
A typical Kensington gate repair, whether it’s a hinge replacement or a post reset, runs $250-$500 all-in for most single-gate jobs. The cost is driven by what’s under the post and how much rust has gotten into the rails, not by how nice the gate looks from the street.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kensington
Our crews run daily through Kensington and the surrounding hills, so we’re also the local gate repair option for homeowners in El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond, and Berkeley. Same crews, same 90-Day Done Right Promise, same live person on the phone. If you’re in a neighboring community, the drive’s short and the welding truck comes fully stocked.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Gate Parts & Welding in Kensington
Kensington sits higher in the East Bay hills and catches far more persistent coastal fog and marine moisture than the flatland cities below, including El Cerrito. That fog sits on the bottom rail and lower hinge welds for hours each morning, accelerating rust perforation. Combined with winter damp and the repeated expansion-contraction cycles from fog-cool mornings to warm afternoons, the steel fails years earlier than it would downslope. If the rust has gone through, we weld in a new bottom rail section and coat it properly. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll take a look.
Yes, in most cases, as long as the panel is sized correctly for the gate’s weight, wind exposure, and daily cycle count. Kensington’s long sloped driveways often sit far from the house panel, and running mains power down to the gate can cost thousands. A properly configured solar setup on a Linear, Viking, or Ghost Controls operator can run a wide farm-style or ornamental gate on its own. The key is battery capacity and a charge controller sized for foggy mornings, not just sunny afternoons. We size and install the whole system.
Usually it’s the post. When a Kensington hillside post heaves out of plumb, the gate panel leans and the operator’s travel limits fight the new geometry, so the gate stalls before it seats. Show me the gate closing on its own and I’ll show you where it’s failing. We re-plumb the post, re-hang the gate, and then reset the operator travel limits and safety photocells. Doing the operator first without fixing the post just burns out gears. Call us for a free evaluation.
Yes. Kensington carries a WUI designation, which means automated driveway gates need an emergency-vehicle override that lets Contra Costa County fire crews open the gate quickly during a wildfire or other emergency. That typically means a key switch, a siren-activated sensor, or a strobe-detection system wired to the operator. We install and service those overrides. If your gate blocks fire access on a steep Kensington driveway, this isn’t optional.
The fix that lasts is to fix the post first. On a sloped driveway off a winding hillside lane, the gate’s weight pulls the post out of plumb and every hardware-only repair fails again within a season or two. We excavate the old 1940s-era footing, drive a steel pier below the clay heave zone, re-plumb the post, and only then address the hinges, rails, or welds. We’ve done this on dozens of Kensington hillside gates, and it’s the difference between a gate that works for five years and one we’re back for every spring. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll walk the whole thing with you.
Need a straight answer about your Kensington gate? Call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, day or night. We’ll give you an honest read over the phone and set a time to come look. If it’s a written estimate from another company, bring it; we’ll give you a free second opinion. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Kensington since 2001.