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.
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Access Control Across Kentfield
Gate access control in Kentfield means old gates, steep driveways, and damp air. We repair keypads, card readers, phone entry, and video intercoms that stopped talking to the opener, usually the same day you call. A live person answers 24/7 at (877) 610-2993. If your keypad lights up but the gate won’t move, or the gate opens from the remote but not the keypad, the problem is almost always the control board or a corroded relay, and we can tell you over the phone what we’d check first.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Kentfield’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001, and his name is on the shop and every invoice. That’s not marketing speak; it means when something on your Kentfield gate acts up, the person you call is the person accountable for the fix. Every job we do in the 94914 ZIP carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not right, one call brings us back, no runaround.
We know the gates in Kentfield specifically. The hillside lots off Sir Francis Drake, the older slide gates behind redwood fencing on College Avenue, the swing gates on Ross Common and the streets running up toward the Tam watershed. Routine gate work in flat, dry neighborhoods teaches you nothing about what the fog does here. We see the same failures season after season, and we stock the parts to fix them the first trip, because driving back and forth across the Ross Valley for one corroded relay is nobody’s idea of service.
When you call, you talk to someone who can actually diagnose the problem, not a voicemail or a script. Hal is one of the few gate guys in Kentfield who welds on site, so a cracked hinge bracket or a torn gate frame on your existing driveway gate gets repaired in place, not hauled off and replaced with whatever the vendor had on the shelf. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. We start at the post.
Our Gate Access Control Services in Kentfield
Access control is the brain of the gate. The opener is just the muscle. When the brain and the muscle stop listening to each other, you’re either locked out in the driveway or standing there with a gate swinging free. Here’s what we repair and install in Kentfield:
Keypad Entry
The number one keypad failure in Kentfield isn’t the keypad itself. It’s the relay on the control board, corroded from years of fog condensation inside the cabinet. We replace the relay, or the board if it’s too far gone, and we mount weatherproof keypads rated for marine air. A new keypad with sealed electronics, properly flashed and caulked against the wet side of the gate, runs $285 to $480 installed in Kentfield, depending on whether we’re wiring to an existing opener or adding a new receiver.
Video Intercom
On Kentfield hillsides, a video intercom does more than buzz a guest in. It tells you who is at the bottom of a driveway you can’t see from the house. We install hardwired and Wi-Fi video intercoms that work with your phone app, and we set the camera angle for the slope. A two-way video intercom kit with a phone app, installed and programmed to your existing gate opener, typically runs $650 to $1,100 in Kentfield. Steeper driveways and long cable runs push it toward the higher end.
Phone Entry
Phone entry systems are still the quiet workhorse in the 94914 area, especially on shared driveways and larger parcels where a homeowner wants to buzz a delivery person in from an office down in Larkspur. We install GSM-based phone entry units that call your cell when someone presses the button, no landline needed. For most Kentfield installs, a cellular phone entry system runs $550 to $900, including programming and the first year of data.
Card Reader
Card readers show up on a lot of Kentfield properties that used to be more rural. A reader that clicks but doesn’t release usually has moisture in the wiring, not a bad card. We trace the low-voltage line, replace corroded splices, and set up new fobs or cards on site. Retrofit card reader hardware, installed and programmed, runs $400 to $750 per gate, before any board repair the opener may need.
Smart Access
Smart access means controlling the gate from your phone, with a log of who opened it and when. We retrofit smart controllers onto almost any opener made after 1990, including the older Viking and Linear units still running all over Kentfield. A smart access module wired to your existing opener, programmed and tested, runs $350 to $600 for most gates. If the opener’s control board won’t accept a retrofit, we’ll tell you honestly and give you a written price for replacement.
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 Kentfield
We service all nine major gate brands, and in Kentfield we see a lot of Viking, Linear, and DoorKing units from the 1980s and 1990s. These are good machines, overbuilt for their day, but their control boards were never designed for decades of Ross Valley fog. We know which boards short, which relays stick, and which edge connectors fail first on each brand. When you live at the top of a hillside driveway, waiting a week for a part to ship is not an option. We keep common Viking and Linear relays, loop detectors, and photocells on the truck, so a dead keypad in October doesn’t turn into a call us back in November.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in Kentfield Homes
- Fog condensation inside older Viking and Linear control boards. The board works fine all summer, then the first dense fog of October rolls in and the keypad relay shorts. The gate opens from the remote but not the keypad, or it opens on its own at 2 a.m. This is the single most common access control failure we see in the 94914 ZIP.
- Oak and eucalyptus debris in the track and on the photocell. Kentfield’s tree canopy is beautiful, right up until a wet branch lands on the drive and the safety photocell trips. The gate reverses and won’t close, or the loop detector burns out trying to relearn. We clear the track, realign the photocell, and trim the branch run so the gate has a clear path.
- Deer-proofing hardware stripping the gears. Homeowners add heavy latches or brace weight to swing gates to keep deer out. The opener doesn’t know about the extra load; it just works harder until the rack and pinion strips. We can fit a deer-proof latch that releases before the operator engages, so the gate stays closed to deer and the opener sees its normal load.
- Hinge posts heaving from wet-dry cycling. The gate sags on the uphill side. The operator strains. People replace hinges and it helps for two weeks. The post is the issue, not the hinge. We re-bed the post, set new footings, and then the access hardware works like it should.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in Kentfield, CA
In Kentfield, a keypad relay repair runs $160 to $290. A full keypad replacement with new weatherproof hardware is $285 to $480. Phone entry systems run $550 to $900, video intercoms $650 to $1,100, and smart access retrofits $350 to $600. Control board replacement on an older Viking or Linear opener typically runs $400 to $800 parts and labor. Every job gets a written price before we start, always. If you have a written estimate from another company, bring it. We’ll give you a free second opinion, and if we can fix the existing hardware instead of replacing it, we’ll tell you. That’s been the deal since 2001. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge anywhere in Kentfield, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kentfield
Our Gate Access Control team works throughout the Ross Valley at the same live-answer service. If you’re just over the line in Larkspur, San Anselmo, Corte Madera, or Fairfax, the phone call is the same and the truck is just as close. For this page, we’re focusing on Kentfield, but we’ll come out to any of the surrounding towns on the same schedule.
Serving Kentfield, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kentfield 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 Access Control in Kentfield
Because the fog condenses inside the control board and shorts the keypad relay. Older Viking and Linear units from the 1980s and 1990s have boards that were never sealed for a marine-microclimate like the Ross Valley fog belt. The board dries out in summer and works; the first dense fog of October puts moisture on the edge connectors and the gate stops responding to the keypad. Call (877) 610-2993 and Hal will tell you over the phone whether it sounds like a relay or a full board, they’re both fixes we do same day.
Almost never. On Kentfield’s sloped lots, the hinge post rots or heaves from wet-dry cycling in the saturated clay, and the gate starts dragging on the uphill driveway. Replacing hinges on a failed post is money down a hole. We re-bed the post with new footing, hang and balance the gate, and then set the access control limits so the opener isn’t fighting the grade. A sag correction only lasts if the post is re-bedded.
It can, especially if the added load triggers the opener’s obstruction detection repeatedly. UL 325 requires the gate to reverse on contact and for safety sensors to function. When a homeowner adds weight to keep deer out, the operator often reads that as an obstruction, and the safety system begins responding incorrectly. We fit deer-proof latches and braces that work with the opener’s load sensing, not against it, so the gate stays compliant and the deer stay out. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come evaluate the latch you have.
Yes, and this is one of the most common retrofits we do on the Mt. Tam slopes above Kentfield. The old cantilever gear track can usually stay; we replace the control board with a modern unit that accepts a sealed keypad and wireless receiver, then re-set the open/close limits for the grade. A typical retrofit on an old cantilever slide gate runs $500 to $850 in Kentfield, depending on the condition of the track and whether the existing limit switches can be retained.
Because the photocell beam is interrupted by debris passing through its line of sight, and the opener reads that as an obstacle. Eucalyptus branches are heavy, wet, and fall often in Kentfield’s winter storms. Yours aren’t the only ones. We reposition the photo eye, add a hood to reduce false trips from leaf scatter, and adjust the beam width for your specific gate path. If the tree canopy over the drive is the real culprit, we’ll tell you that too and give you a written recommendation for the gate side, not the tree side.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Kentfield since 2001.