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 Repair Across Kensington
Gate repair in Kensington means dealing with steep driveways, shifting clay soil, and gates that were often hung before modern safety codes existed. Most calls we get in the 94530 area aren’t simple hardware swaps. They’re post resets, gate realignments, and legacy operator retrofits on homes built between the 1920s and 1950s. Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001, and he’s the one who answers when you call (877) 610-2993. The shop is local, the name is on the invoice, and the person who shows up is the person who stands behind the work.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Kensington’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Kensington homeowners don’t want a call center and a subcontractor in a rented van. They want a name they can verify and a face they’ll see again at the Kensington Farmers’ Market or Ace Hardware. That’s what we are. Hal Gatewood owns the company, his address is published, and his license number is on every quote and invoice. When you call, a live person answers – around the clock, not voicemail, not a chatbot. Every job in Kensington carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if it’s not done right, one call brings Hal back, no runaround.
Kensington customers have told us the same thing for years: they got burned by a national outfit that quoted one price on the phone and charged another at the door. We don’t do that. The price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. Flat. Upfront. Written down. And we’ll give you a free second opinion on any written estimate from another company, including an hour of no-charge labor if you decide to work with us. That’s not a gimmick. It’s how a local shop keeps its name clean in a small community like Kensington.
We also know the unincorporated Contra Costa County angle, because it trips up a lot of homeowners. Kensington isn’t a city, so permitted gate work and automated-gate electrical go through county building, not a municipal department. That means plan-check steps and inspections that flatland neighbors in El Cerrito don’t face. We know the triggers, the paperwork rhythm, and what needs to be on the drawings. That local knowledge saves you weeks and keeps your gate legal.
Our Gate Repair Services in Kensington
Hinge & Post Repair
On Kensington’s hillside lots, the hinge post takes the load differently than on flat ground. Clay soil absorbs winter rain, expands, and heaves the post forward. Then the gate sags at the striker, binds at the latch, and grinds against the driveway. Fixing the panel without addressing the post is a temporary patch. We re-core the footing, dowel into undisturbed soil, and pour a proper 30-inch footing with rebar where the original builder buried a shallow concrete ball. That’s the difference between a two-year fix and a twenty-year fix. We see failed posts off Buckingham Drive, Coventry Road, and throughout the 94530 zip code every January after the first big rain.
Gate Realignment
Realignment in Kensington almost always starts with the post, not the hinge. But once the post is plumb, there’s real craft in re-hanging a gate that’s been out of level for years: hinge leaf replacement, striker plate adjustment, and sometimes a slight re-cut at the latch edge so the gate clears the upslope driveway without dragging. We’ve realigned swing gates and sliding gates alike on hillside properties throughout Kensington, and we always check the operator’s force settings afterward. A gate that closes on its own without correct entrapment protection is a liability, not a convenience.
Automatic Gate Repair
Kensington has dozens of automatic gate operators that were installed before UL 325 entrapment standards became law. They run fine until they don’t reverse on obstruction, or the photo-eye fails, or the control board eats itself from moisture in the fog belt. We service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. Sometimes the fix is a control board and new safety edges. Sometimes the operator is too old to retrofit. Hal will tell you which one is which, and he won’t sell you a part that doesn’t need selling. The repair-first philosophy is real: fix what can be fixed, replace what can’t, and weld what can be welded.
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gate systems in Kensington face a specific enemy: marine moisture. The persistent fog that rolls through the East Bay hills gets into junction boxes, corrodes wire nuts, and shortens the life of loop detectors and keypads. We troubleshoot from the operator back through the wiring, the access control, and the safety devices. And because Kensington sits in a Wildland-Urban Interface fire-hazard designation, we check that emergency-vehicle override still functions. Contra Costa County fire access requirements are not optional here. We make sure your gate opens for the fire truck and for you.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kensington
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and we keep common parts in stock for Kensington jobs: Linear, Viking, and Ghost Controls are the ones we see most often on hillside properties. If your operator is a DoorKing or a LiftMaster from the 1990s, we can usually source the board or the gear assembly same week. If you’ve got a Ghost Controls opener that’s still under its own warranty but not working right, we’ll diagnose it and help you navigate the warranty claim without making you handle the paperwork alone. Older operators from before UL 325 are a different conversation: we’ll show you what’s retrofittable, what’s a code problem, and what’s simply cheaper to replace.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Kensington Homes
- Post lean from clay heave: Kensington’s soil expands with winter rain and contracts through the dry season. A post set without a deep footing will lean 3 to 5 inches out of plumb within a few years. We reset it correctly, not cosmetically.
- Rust perforation at hinge posts and bottom rails: The fog belt moisture that hangs over the East Bay hills accelerates rust on ornamental iron. We regularly cut out perforated sections and weld in fresh steel on site, then re-prime and paint to match the existing finish.
- Legacy operators without entrapment protection: Pre-UL 325 openers have no photo-eye and no reversing edge. On an automatic gate in Kensington, that’s a code problem and a real safety hazard if children or pets are around. We’ll retrofit where possible and tell you honestly when replacement is the only answer.
- Striker misalignment from driveway settlement: Kensington’s sloped driveways settle unevenly, especially where the original concrete dated to the 1920s and 1930s. The gate stays put, the driveway drops, and suddenly the striker doesn’t line up. We adjust and re-shim so the gate latches securely.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Kensington, CA
A typical hinge and post reset in Kensington runs $350 to $800 depending on footing depth and whether the post needs replacing. Gate realignment without a post issue is usually $180 to $400. Automatic gate repair runs $225 to $650 for most control board, safety edge, or photo-eye fixes, while a full operator replacement with new safety devices lands between $1,200 and $2,800. Weld and rust repair is charged at $150 to $450 per affected section, and on-site welding means the gate stays in your driveway. Every price is quoted and agreed before we start. Stand with that. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kensington
If you’re just over the county line in El Cerrito or Albany, or down the hill in Richmond or Berkeley, we handle gate work there too. But Kensington is home base for hillside gate issues, where the county permit process and the clay soil and the fog all come together. Our Gate Repair team knows the difference between a flatland gate problem and a Kensington one.
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 Repair in Kensington
Because the person who reset it didn’t dig deep enough or didn’t dowel into undisturbed soil. Kensington’s clay soil heaves seasonally, and a shallow footing anchored only in the active soil zone will move every time the ground swells. A proper fix involves a 30-inch or deeper footing, rebar, and sometimes a concrete collar keyed into the surrounding grade. That’s the difference between a two-year fix and one that lasts decades. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll show you what the last person left behind.
Replacing an operator’s control board, safety edges, or photo-eye on an existing gate typically does not require a permit. But if you’re changing the operator, adding a new electric run, or moving the gate’s location, that’s permitted work through Contra Costa County building, not a city department. Kensington is unincorporated, which surprises a lot of homeowners familiar with city processes in Berkeley or Richmond. We can tell you before we start whether your job triggers plan check, and we handle the paperwork as part of the quote.
Most rust perforation at the bottom rail can be repaired by cutting out the affected section and welding in fresh steel. We do this on site, so the gate never leaves your driveway. The decision comes down to structural integrity: if the rust has eaten through more than about 40 percent of the rail’s cross-section or into the hinge post itself, replacement is the cheaper answer. We’ll show you the condition with photos and a straight explanation before any work starts.
Yes. Kensington sits within a Wildland-Urban Interface fire-hazard zone, and Contra Costa County Fire Protection District requires that automated driveway gates accommodate emergency-vehicle override. That generally means a Knox key switch, a siren-activated sensor, or a fail-safe release that lets fire crews open the gate from the outside. If your gate lacks this, it’s not just a code issue. It’s a delay that matters when fire moves uphill through dry brush. We install and test emergency override mechanisms as part of automatic gate work here.
Yes. Any automatic gate operator installed after UL 325 standards took effect must have entrapment protection: a reversing edge or photo-eye that stops and reverses the gate when something blocks its path. A gate that keeps grinding forward is non-compliant and genuinely dangerous. We can retrofit photo-eyes and reversing edges onto many older operators, but if the control board can’t support them, replacement is the only legal answer. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you straight which camp your operator falls into, and what the retrofit or replacement will cost before you spend a dollar.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Kensington since 2001.