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 Installation Across San Rafael
A new driveway gate in San Rafael typically costs $2,800 to $9,500 installed, and most projects take one to two days once materials are on site. Sliding gates run higher, often $4,500 to $14,000, because they need a steel track, a concrete footing, and usually a beefier operator if you’re automating them. That’s the honest range we quote before the first hole gets dug, and it’s the number we stand behind in writing. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person, not a recording, and we’ll talk through what your site actually needs.
We’ve been working driveways in San Rafael long enough to know the difference between a flat Terra Linda lot and a hillside off Wolfe Grade, where the gate post has to fight clay that swells all winter. This page is for San Rafael homeowners who want a gate that stays square, opens when they pull up, and doesn’t rust through in three years because somebody used hardware meant for a dry inland town. Our Gate Installation team surveys every site before we quote, and we won’t sell you a swing gate where a slide gate is the only thing that’ll actually work.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is San Rafael’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood has been welding and setting gates since 2001, and his name is on the shop and on every invoice. That matters when you’re spending thousands on something a stranger installs at the edge of your property. We publish our address. We publish our license number. If something isn’t right, you don’t have to chase a call center three states away: you call, Hal or one of his crew comes back, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise means we make it right at no charge.
San Rafael homeowners have a particular problem with fly-by-night outfits that quote a gate over the phone, then “discover” the post is rotten and the price jumps mid-job. We don’t do that. The price we quote is the price on the invoice, agreed before any work starts. We answer our own phone, 24/7. A live person picks up. That’s not a perk; it’s how we’ve done business for over two decades in Marin County.
The trucks are stocked for San Rafael jobs: marine-grade hinges, stainless fasteners, zinc-rich primer, and operators sized for high-cycle gates. When someone in the Canal district calls at 6 a.m. because a security gate won’t open for shift workers, we actually know the building. We’ve probably worked down the street.
Our Gate Installation Services in San Rafael
Driveway Gate Installation
A driveway gate in San Rafael has to survive winter rain, salt air, and whatever the hillside clay does in February. We build frames from structural steel, weld on site when it makes sense, and set posts below the clay layer in the 94903 hills so the gate doesn’t lean by spring. Whether you want a simple manual gate or a fully automated one with keypad entry, we plan the swing arc or slide path before we quote. Most driveway gate installs in San Rafael run $3,200 to $8,800 depending on width, automation, and access.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates take more daily cycles than any other gate on the property, and in San Rafael’s older neighborhoods the existing post is often the weakest link. We set new posts in concrete with proper drainage, hang the gate with adjustable stainless hinges, and match the latch to how the gate is actually used. A standard pedestrian gate install in San Rafael runs $900 to $2,600, more if we’re cutting into a masonry wall or matching an existing fence profile.
Sliding Gate Installation
When a driveway is too steep for a swing gate, or the setback is too tight, or a shared driveway means a swing arc would cross a neighbor’s easement, a sliding gate is the answer. We build the steel track and set the footing in San Rafael neighborhoods from the Canal to Terra Linda, and we run operators matched to the gate’s weight and cycle count. Sliding gates in San Rafael typically cost $4,500 to $14,000, and the extra money buys a gate that doesn’t fight gravity every time it opens.
Swing Gate Installation
On flat lots in eastern San Rafael, a swing gate is still the right call: simpler hardware, fewer moving parts, and a classic look. The catch is the post. If the post shifts even a half-inch off plumb, the gate sags, binds, and burns out the operator. We over-excavate, backfill with compacted gravel, and use posts thick enough that a teenager borrowing the car won’t twist them. Swing gate installations in San Rafael run $2,400 to $7,500 for a single gate, more for doubles.
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 San Rafael
We install and service FAAC, BFT, and Linear operators across San Rafael, and our trucks carry the boards, arms, and safety edges to get your gate running without a week of waiting on parts. If you have an existing Viking opener on a sliding gate or a BFT hydraulic arm on a swing gate, we’ll work with it. We stock the parts San Rafael gates actually need: marine-grade hinges for 94901, heavy-duty rack and pinion for slide gates, and commercial photo eyes for Canal district security gates that cycle all day. We’d rather fix your operator than sell you a new one, but when it’s dead, we’ll quote a replacement that’s sized right for the cycles you actually run.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in San Rafael Homes
- Post lean from hillside clay. In the 94903 hills and around Wolf Grade, winter rain saturates the clay soil, it swells, and by March the gate post is a degree or two off. A panel repair won’t fix it; the post has to come out and go in deeper, below the active clay layer.
- Rust at welds and hinges from bay air. The Canal district and low-lying 94901 sit at tidewater level, and San Pablo Bay pushes salt-laden air across those blocks every afternoon. Standard zinc hardware fails in a few years; we use stainless and marine-grade coatings there from day one.
- Swing arcs that conflict with shared driveways. San Rafael has a lot of shared driveways and recorded rights of way. A swing gate that looks fine on paper crosses the neighbor’s easement in practice. We survey clearances before we quote, not after the gate is hung.
- Undersized operators on high-cycle gates. A residential operator on a Canal district security gate won’t last a year. Those gates run hundreds of cycles a day. We specify commercial-duty motors and reinforced hinge posts for any gate that works for a living, not just a hobby.
Pricing for Gate Installation in San Rafael, CA
Here’s what San Rafael gate work actually costs, based on what we quote in the field:
- Pedestrian gate: $900 - $2,600
- Single swing driveway gate, manual: $2,400 - $4,200
- Single swing driveway gate, automated: $3,800 - $7,500
- Double swing gate, automated: $6,500 - $12,000
- Sliding driveway gate, automated: $4,500 - $14,000
- Security gate with access control (keypad, intercom): add $1,200 - $4,500
The post, the footing, the operator, and any access control are the big variables. A hillside lot off Merrydale Road that needs a four-foot-deep footing will cost more than flat ground in eastern San Rafael. A sliding gate that runs a twenty-foot steel track will cost more than a six-foot pedestrian gate. Every price we quote is written down, agreed to, and locked before the first shovel hits dirt. No trip charge in Marin County, free estimates, and $40 off any repair over $200. If you’re comparing quotes, bring us the other guy’s written estimate and Hal will give you a straight second opinion for free.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Rafael
If you live just outside San Rafael, we work those roads too. We regularly install gates in San Anselmo, where the lots get tight against the hills; in Fairfax, where the driveways are short and the gates are usually swing-type; in Lucas Valley-Marinwood, where long rural driveways often need solar-powered openers; and in Kentfield, where we match the gate to a more formal landscape. Same live person on the phone, same written quote, same 90-day promise.
Serving San Rafael, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Rafael 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 San Rafael
The post is moving, not the gate. In Terra Linda and other 94903 hillside areas, winter rain saturates the clay soil, and the post footing shifts enough to throw the gate off-pumb. We pull the old post, dig the footing down below the active clay layer, and set a new post in engineered fill with proper drainage. No panel adjustment will hold if the post is moving. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll check the post before we touch the gate.
Usually not without the neighbor’s cooperation or an easement survey. A swing gate’s arc covers ground beyond the post, and on many San Rafael shared driveways that arc crosses the neighbor’s right of way. We typically recommend a slide gate for shared driveways: it moves parallel to the fence line and doesn’t swing over anyone else’s property. We’ll survey the clearances and tell you what’s actually legal and workable before you spend a dollar.
It rusts standard steel hardware in a few years if you don’t plan for it. The Canal district and eastern 94901 sit at tidewater level, and the salt-laden air off San Pablo Bay attacks welds and hinges faster than anywhere inland. For gate installations in that part of San Rafael, we use stainless or marine-grade hardware, zinc-rich primer on all welds, and operators with sealed control boards. It costs a little more up front and saves replacing the gate in five years. Call (877) 610-2993 for a quote on a gate built for bay air.
Every automated gate we install in San Rafael meets UL 325 and current California safety standards for entrapment protection: photo eyes across the gate opening, safety edges or an inherent reversing system, and audible warning if required for the site. If we automate a gate, we won’t leave it running without the safety devices connected and tested. This is one of the reasons we handle the full install rather than just hanging the gate and walking away.
Because it’s probably a residential operator on a gate that runs hundreds of cycles a day. In San Rafael’s downtown and Canal district, commercial and multifamily security gates often cycle as much in a week as a residential gate does in a year. The fix is a commercial-duty operator matched to the gate’s weight, width, and cycle count, plus reinforced hinge posts and proper limit tuning. We’ll look at the actual cycle count and size the replacement so it doesn’t die again next year. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll do a site check.
Get a Written Quote from a San Rafael Gate Installer Who Lives Here
If you’re in San Rafael and you want a gate that’s planned for your actual driveway, your soil, and your air, call (877) 610-2993. You’ll talk to a live person, we’ll schedule a site visit, and you’ll get a written price before any work starts. Hal Gatewood has been doing this since 2001, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is in writing on every job. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving San Rafael since 2001.