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 Installation Across Corte Madera
Gate installation in Corte Madera runs $2,800 to $9,500 for most residential driveways, with pedestrian gates starting around $1,200 and sliding gates on the higher end of that range. We quote every job before any work starts, in writing, and that number doesn’t move. If you’re in the 94925 or 94976 ZIP and need a gate hung right the first time, call Hal at (877) 610-2993. You’ll get a live person, not a queue.
Corte Madera isn’t just another Marin town. The bay flats hold salt fog against your gate hardware year-round, and the hillside lots climbing toward Ring Mountain demand gates on grades that a flatland template can’t handle. We’ve been at this since 2001, and we’ve pulled enough corroded Viking operators and rotted hinge posts out of this town to know exactly what we’re looking at before we touch a wrench.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Corte Madera’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. Not a franchise, not a rotating cast of subcontractors. When you call about a gate install in Corte Madera, the person who shows up works for Hal directly, and Hal has been doing this since 2001. He fixes gates in driveways, welds on site, and doesn’t haul your gate off to some warehouse an hour away. Corte Madera homeowners keep our number because when a gate sags into the drive three weeks later, one call brings us back. That’s the 90-Day Done Right Promise, stamped in writing on every job, not buried in fine print.
We answer the phone. At 6am when your gate won’t open and you’re stuck. At 9pm when the wind off the bay slammed it shut. A live person, 24 hours a day. No phone tree, no call center three states away. Corte Madera residents have told us that alone is worth more than any discount.
And we’re not the outfit that quotes one price on the phone and hands you a different invoice at the door. The price we quote is the price you pay. Standing offers apply, no haggling required: $40 off any repair over $200, free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. You’ll find those same terms whether you call about a pedestrian gate in the flatlands or a sliding gate on a hillside.
Our Gate Installation Services in Corte Madera
Driveway Gate
Most Corte Madera driveways that call us fall into two camps: bay-flat ranch homes from the post-WWII build-out, and hillside lots cut into the slopes below Ring Mountain. Both have quirks. The flat homes often sit on fill that settles, shifting post footings. The hillside homes have drives that climb at angles where a gate swung on a standard arc will catch the grade. We measure the actual slope before we quote, and we build the swing arc to match it. A driveway gate in Corte Madera typically runs $3,200 to $8,000 installed, including the operator, posts, and safety sensors.
Pedestrian Gate
Pedestrian gates in Corte Madera are usually part of a larger fence line, and the most common mistake we see is someone hanging a wood gate on posts set for a fence, not a gate. Gate posts carry weight and movement; fence posts don’t. We dig them deeper, set them in concrete, and use hardware rated for the load. Typical Corte Madera pedestrian gate installation runs $1,200 to $2,800. That includes the slab or footing work, hinges, latch, and a frame that won’t sag in two years.
Sliding Gate
Sliding gates make sense on flat Corte Madera lots where a swing gate would need to swing uphill, or where the driveway is too tight for a swinging arc. The catch here is the bay moisture. Sliding gate tracks near the Corte Madera Marsh collect salt-laden grit, and if the track isn’t elevated and drained properly, the rollers seize. We install sealed-bearing rollers and elevate the track above grade on a concrete curb. Sliding gate installs in Corte Madera run $4,500 to $9,500 depending on length, automation, and the foundation work involved.
Swing Gate
This is the work we do most in Corte Madera, because the town is full of swing gates hung in the 1990s and early 2000s that are now failing. A single swing gate on a flat lot is straightforward. A double swing gate on a hillside driveway is another animal entirely. We account for the grade, the post depths, the hinge load, and the operator torque needed to move the leaf against gravity. Corte Madera swing gate installation runs $2,800 to $7,500 depending on whether it’s single or double, manual or automated.
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 Corte Madera
We service and install operators from FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, LiftMaster, DoorKing, Elite, Ghost Controls, and Mighty Mule. That matters in Corte Madera specifically because so many of the legacy operators around here are older Viking and LiftMaster units that are now aging out of parts availability. We carry common boards, remotes, and safety components locally, so we’re not waiting on a warehouse shipment when your gate is down. Hal is certified to service all nine of those brands, and he’ll tell you honestly if your old Viking control board is worth reviving or if a retrofit makes more sense.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Corte Madera Homes
- Salt-corroded hinge posts on bay-flat homes. The 94925 flatlands sit hard against the Corte Madera Marsh, and the marine fog rarely burns off completely. Posts set directly into bay-flat soil without corrosion-resistant coatings seize hinges and pit steel within a few years. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice.
- Buried conduit wicking salt moisture into operator boards. The salt air here doesn’t just sit on the surface. It works into buried conduit, shorting loop detectors and eating control board terminals. A sealed NEMA-rated enclosure is the baseline on a Corte Madera install, not an upsell.
- Legacy 1990s operators without entrapment protection. Gates hung before UL 325 became the standard usually have no photo-eyes, no contact edges, and no way to stop if a child or pet walks into the swing arc. Their legacy control boards often can’t accept modern safety sensors without a full board swap.
- Rotted posts inside concrete footings on hillside lots. Around Ring Mountain, we see gate posts that looked fine from the surface but had rotted inside the concrete footing, letting the whole gate sag into the drive. That’s the failure that no panel repair can fix.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Corte Madera, CA
Here are the ranges we quote in Corte Madera, and we stand by them: pedestrian gates, $1,200 to $2,800. Single swing driveway gates, $2,800 to $4,800. Double swing gates, $4,200 to $7,500. Sliding gates, $4,500 to $9,500. What moves the number is the post work, the operator choice, the grade, and whether existing concrete needs to be cut. The price we quote is the price you pay, agreed before any work starts. For an exact number on your gate, call (877) 610-2993. Estimates are free, and there’s no trip charge inside the county.
We Also Serve Cities Near Corte Madera
Our Gate Installation service extends to the towns around Corte Madera, including Larkspur, Mill Valley, Tamalpais Valley, and Tamalpais-Homestead Valley. If you’re in Gate Installation in Corte Madera territory or just across the town line, the same crew, the same pricing, the same 90-Day Done Right Promise applies. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get Hal or someone from his crew.
Serving Corte Madera, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Corte Madera 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 Installation in Corte Madera
Corte Madera sits hard against San Francisco Bay and the Corte Madera Marsh, so salt-laden marine fog settles on the lowlands almost every night and often lingers through the morning. San Rafael is further inland and warms up faster, which dries out the hardware. In Corte Madera, the moisture stays trapped around gate posts and hinges for weeks on end, accelerating rust and seizing. The fix is corrosion-resistant hardware, proper drainage around post footings, and sealed enclosures for any electronics.
In many cases, yes, but it depends on the control board. Many 1990s Viking operators run on control boards that predate UL 325 and won’t talk to modern photo-eyes or contact edges. If the board won’t accept a safety input, you’re replacing the board, and in some cases the whole operator is the cheaper long-term answer. We’ll tell you straight which one applies to your gate before we quote. Call (877) 610-2993 and Hal will look at it himself.
A gate on a grade has to be hung so the leaf doesn’t swing into the hill or drag on the high side. That means measuring the actual slope before ordering the gate, setting the hinge post plumb against the grade, and sizing the operator to move the gate’s weight against gravity. We also account for where the gate rests when open, so it doesn’t block the drive or swing into a retaining wall. On Corte Madera hillside lots, this is standard procedure, not an afterthought.
Loop detectors buried in the driveway work by sensing the metal of a car overhead, and their wiring runs through conduit in the ground. In the Corte Madera flatlands, salt moisture from the marsh wicks into that conduit and shorts the loop or corrodes the terminals on the detector board. The fix is a sealed NEMA-rated enclosure and conduit that’s properly sealed at both ends. We consider that the minimum on any bay-flat install.
If the post is solid and the panel itself is just out of square, a repair can be cheaper. But in Corte Madera, we often find the hinge post is the actual problem, rotted inside the concrete footing from years of bay moisture. If the post is gone, repairing the panel is throwing money away. Replace the post, set it right, and the panel will hang straight. We’ll show you what we found before we quote anything, so you can see it yourself.
If you need a gate installed in Corte Madera, call (877) 610-2993. Hal or someone from his crew will answer, and we’ll get you a written price before any work starts. Free estimates, no trip charge inside the county, and a 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Corte Madera since 2001.