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
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Novato
A new gate in Novato costs between $4,800 and $14,000 installed, and most single driveway gate projects take two to four days from site measure to final trim. If you live in Ignacio, Hamilton Landing, or the 94949 corridor and the wind has already claimed your old gate, we can usually have a new one hung within a week of the first call. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll reach a live person who knows Novato’s soil, wind, and building quirks – not a menu system.
We’re Gate Installation specialists, and Hal Gatewood has been welding and hanging gates since 2001. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Novato’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Novato is not San Rafael, and it is certainly not the shelter of Mill Valley. That point gets missed by every out-of-area installer who unbolts a kit, levels a post, and leaves before the first Petaluma Gap wind finds the weak point. We live with those winds. They matter.
Our crew has been called to more Ignacio HOA courts and Hamilton Landing driveways than we can count, and the work reads like a Novato history lesson: military-grade concrete pads from the Hamilton Air Force Base conversion, 1970s tract-home gate posts that have shifted in adobe clay, and marine air that turns unprotected welds to rust scale within a few seasons. We quote the job in writing before the first cut, and the person who answers the phone is the same one who stands behind the 90-Day Done Right Promise.
You can drive to the shop and look Hal in the eye. You can ask to see license and insurance documents. He’ll show you. For 24 years, the business has stayed owner-operated, with a published address and a license number anyone can look up. Calls ring to a live person at 3 p.m. and at 3 a.m., and there is no trip charge inside Marin County.
We are proud to serve Novato and the surrounding communities around the 94945, 94948, 94949, and 94998 ZIP codes. If you are searching for Gate Installation in Novato, you have found the crew that actually understands what the Petaluma Gap does to metal.
Our Gate Installation Services in Novato
Driveway Gate
Driveway gates in Novato run anywhere from a 12-foot single panel across a flat Ignacio drive to a long, heavy double leaf up a sloped Lot 3 Hamilton Landing entry. We build for the wind load first. A gate that is perfectly balanced on a calm day can torque a hinge post out of plumb by August if the post was not set deep enough. We core-drill past the old military pad when we need to, and we never reuse a post that has more than a degree of lean.
Pedestrian Gate
Pedestrian gates are the workhorses of gated Novato communities. The 94949 HOA loops around Hamilton Landing put several thousand latch cycles a month on a single small frame. If your pedestrian gate binds after 6 p.m. when the marine layer blows in, that is not a hinge problem – it is a post movement problem from expansive clay. We fix that at the root, not with a latch shim.
Sliding Gate
Sliding gates make sense on Novato driveways that run parallel to the street or climb too steeply for a swing panel. The catch is the track. Novato dust – fine, dry clay in summer, sticky muck in winter – settles into rollers and eats bearings. We install self-cleaning V-track and heavier roller cages than a standard kit, and we set the concrete run so water drains away from the operator, not into it.
Swing Gate
Swing gates remain the most common choice in Novato, particularly across the wider lots east of Highway 101 and in the leeward pockets of Lucas Valley-Marinwood. A heavy custom ornamental steel swing gate needs more than a generic hinge plate. We use ball-bearing commercial hinges sized to the panel weight, and we match the operator to the actual wind exposure on your street, not the national average. For double swing gates, the center stop and the sequencing of the operators make the difference between a ten-year gate and one that fights itself.
Security Gate
Some Novato properties want more than a pretty face. A security gate integrates with an operator, an intercom or keypad, and exit loop detectors. On Hamilton Landing and in the larger estates around Mount Burdell, we have done full access-control integration where the gate should close behind a single car without trapping the next one. That is an art, and we have had 24 years to practice it.
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 Novato
We install and service operators from nine major brands, and for Novato we lean toward the ones that shrug off salt air and wind. FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking all make excellent operators, but a Viking direct-drive on an exposed 94949 gate is not the same install as a Viking buried under an oak canopy in drier inland weather. We stock common parts at the shop and we are certified on all four of those names, which means warranty work is straightforward and we are not guessing with your opener.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Novato Homes
- Salt-laden air from the Petaluma Gap corrodes unprotected post welds within a few seasons. We regularly open up motor housings in Ignacio and find white corrosion blooming on the board terminals. The fix is not just a new board – it’s sealing the housing properly for a marine environment.
- Retrofitted driveways at Hamilton Landing inherited non-standard post setbacks. The original military site plan left hardened concrete pads and odd entry angles. A standard kit puts the post in the wrong place, and the swing gate sags from day one. We core-drill new footings where they belong.
- Aging HOA gate systems in Ignacio fail on multiple fronts at once. A loop detector fails on a Tuesday, and the operator died two weeks ago without anyone noticing because the gate was stuck open. We diagnose the whole system, not just the part that burned.
- Wind torque loosens hinge bolts and cracks welds on double swing gates. The Petaluma Gap pushes a 300-pound gate leaf like a sail. We oversize the hinge barrel and use a stiffening cross-brace on the inside frame so the panel does not twist in the wind.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Novato, CA
A single steel driveway swing gate in Novato typically runs $4,800 to $7,500 installed, including the operator, hinges, and concrete work. A double swing gate with custom ornamental work runs $8,000 to $14,000. A pedestrian gate starts at about $1,500. Sliding gates run $6,500 to $11,000 depending on track length and whether we pour new concrete. An underground operator is the quietest option and adds $2,200 to $3,800, but it hides the motor and survives Novato’s wind much better than a surface-mounted arm. Most Novato jobs include site assessment, demolition of the old gate, and haul-away, and the price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. There is no trip charge inside Marin County, and seniors and veterans receive a permanent 10% discount. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact written quote – free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Novato
In addition to Novato, our crews work throughout the northern Marin corridor. You will find us in Lucas Valley-Marinwood, San Rafael, Fairfax, and San Anselmo on any given week. If you are in one of those communities, the same live-answer phone line and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply. Call (877) 610-2993 and ask for the next available site measure.
Serving Novato, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Novato 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 Novato
Ignacio sits directly in the Petaluma Gap wind corridor, which funnels salt-laden marine air from San Pablo Bay through the valley. In our experience, unprotected steel hinges in Ignacio begin to bind within two to four years, whereas the same hinge ten miles south in San Rafael might last twice that long. We install sealed-bearing hinges rated for coastal exposure and use a marine-grade lubricant schedule for maintenance customers. Call (877) 610-2993 and we will tell you if your hinges can be saved or need replacement.
Yes, we do it routinely. Many Hamilton Landing parcels in 94949 were laid out on the old Hamilton Air Force Base plan, which means the concrete pads and post locations do not match standard residential setbacks. We core-drill through the existing pad, set the track in a properly drained concrete bed, and align the gate to the actual driveway angle rather than a template. The price is quoted and agreed before work starts.
For exposed Novato locations, we prefer direct-drive or underground operators from FAAC, BFT, or Viking over a conventional arm. The wind buffering on a long swing panel shortens the life of a surface-mounted arm significantly, but an underground operator buried in a sealed vault avoids most of the salt air and has no arm to fight the wind. We stock FAAC and BFT units at the shop and install them with marine-grade cable seals. Call (877) 610-2993 for a specific recommendation on your property.
If the post is sound and the operator is healthy, we can often rebuild the panel and rehang it. If the post has moved or the operator is original to the 1990s, replacing everything is usually cheaper over five years than patching piecemeal. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle – and that is where we start. We will come out, put a level on the post, check the operator draw, and give you a written answer within a day.
Yes. We run the conduit and low-voltage cabling for keypad entry, intercom, and camera systems on nearly every new gate install in 94949 and Ignacio. We match the access control wiring to your existing community system, and we set the safety photocells and loop detectors so the gate will not close on a car. Hal will be there himself – or you can drive to the shop and look him in the eye.
Nothing, if the job is in Marin County. There is no trip charge, and the estimate is free and in writing. We also give a free second opinion on any written estimate you have from another company. Call (877) 610-2993 and ask for a site measure – a live person answers around the clock.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Novato since 2001.