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 Tiburon
Tiburon Gate Access Control installation runs $3,800 to $14,500 for most automated driveway gates, with manual ornamental gates starting around $1,900. We know because we’ve been quoting and building them here for years. The salt air off San Francisco Bay changes what works, and it changes what fails. If you live off Paradise Drive, on the Belvedere side of the peninsula, or up in the hills above Main Street, you already know the fog rolls in at night and settles on every metal surface you own. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get Hal or someone from his crew, not a menu. We schedule a free measure, write a firm price before any work starts, and show up when we said we would.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Tiburon’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood opened this shop in 2001, and the name on the building is the same name on every invoice. That matters in a town like Tiburon, where people talk. We’ve built driveway gates for homeowners on Reed Ranch Road, fixed pedestrian gates in the flats near Blackie’s Pasture, and replaced corroded operators on hillside estates off Tiburon Boulevard. When your neighbor asks who did their gate, we want your answer to be a name you can point to.
Tiburon properties sit close together on steep terrain, and the lots don’t leave much room for error. A swing gate that drifts into the street on a dead battery isn’t just an annoyance, it’s a liability that calls for Gate Repair - Tiburon expertise. We calibrate every operator for the actual grade of your driveway, not a factory default set for flat Kansas. Our response time to Tiburon is same-day for emergencies, and a live person answers the phone 24 hours a day. Not a call center. Not a chatbot. Hal or one of his crew.
Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings us back. No fine print, no “well, that’s normal wear.” We also don’t play pricing games. The price we quote is the price you pay, agreed before work starts.
Our Gate Installation Services in Tiburon
We build and install the gate your house actually needs. On this peninsula, that almost always means corrosion-hardened hardware and an operator rated for salt exposure. Our Gate Installation team handles everything from a simple manual side gate to a full double-armed automatic driveway entry, and we weld on site so your gate never leaves your driveway.
Driveway Gate Installation
Tiburon driveways are long, steep, and often curved, which means the operator has to work against gravity every single cycle. We install swing and slide operators from Viking, DoorKing, and Ghost Controls, set torque limits for your specific grade, and anchor posts in footings sized for hillside soil. A mid-century ranch on a 10% grade needs different hardware than a flat lot down near the water. We account for both.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Side gates and garden gates in Tiburon take a beating from the afternoon thermal winds that funnel off the Bay. Lightweight aluminum frames rattle loose, hinge screws back out, and latches fail. We install pedestrian gates with welded aluminum or steel frames, stainless hinges, and a mechanical latch rated for repeated wind loading. If you want a keypad or electric strike, we can run that too.
Sliding Gate Installation
On narrow Tiburon lots where a swing gate would block the driveway or arc over the property line, a sliding gate is often the only workable answer. The challenge here is grade. A sliding gate on a sloped driveway needs a properly set track and a rack that doesn’t bind when the ground settles. We pour a reinforced pad, set the track dead level, and install a salt-rated operator from Viking or DoorKing. Done wrong, a sliding gate will chew through its own rack in a season. Done right, it runs for 15 years.
Swing Gate Installation
This is the most common gate type in Tiburon, and the one most often installed incorrectly for this terrain. A swing gate on a hillside will free-swing downhill during a power outage if the limit switches and torque settings aren’t calibrated for grade. That’s a safety issue, not a minor annoyance. We set every swing gate operator with precise limits, install UL 325 compliant photocells and safety edges, and use heavy-duty hinge posts with galvanized anchors. If you have an existing ornamental iron gate, we can typically reuse it and just replace the operator, posts, and hardware. More on that below.
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 Tiburon
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and we keep common parts stocked so Tiburon homeowners aren’t waiting two weeks for a control board to ship from a warehouse in Ohio. The brands you’ll see most often on this peninsula are Viking, DoorKing, and Elite. Viking makes a salt-rated slide operator that holds up far better than standard units within a block of the Bay. DoorKing builds solid swing operators that we retrofit constantly on older Tiburon estates. Elite’s gear-driven units are common on hillside driveway gates. We don’t push whatever’s easiest to order. We install what survives this climate.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Tiburon Homes
After 29 years of gate work in Marin, we can tell you exactly what fails on this peninsula. The short list:
- Control boards shorting out from salt-air condensation. Nightly fog settles on the circuit board inside the operator housing. Tiny solder joints corrode, the board shorts, and the gate stops responding. We see it constantly on older FAAC and BFT units within half a mile of the water. The fix is either a new board or, more honestly, a new salt-rated operator.
- Hinge posts pulling out of footings on sloped driveways. Tiburon hills put constant lateral pressure on gate posts. Soil shifts, the footing was undersized to begin with, and the post leans. The gate sags, binds against the strike post, and burns out the operator. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. We re-pour the footing with depth and mass appropriate for the grade.
- Free-swinging gates during power outages on hills. A gate that appears to work fine on a flat lot turns into a runaway panel on a Tiburon grade when the power dies. The operator’s internal brake or torque setting wasn’t calibrated for the slope. We run the gate through a full cycle on battery backup and set the limits so it holds position, loss of power included.
- Rust at the motor housing and hinge pins from persistent bay-front humidity. Even powder-coated aluminum gates show corrosion where dissimilar metals meet. We use stainless hinge pins and salt-hardened fasteners as standard on bay-facing properties. It costs a little more up front and saves a lot later.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Tiburon, CA
You should know what this costs before you start making decisions. In Tiburon, a manual ornamental steel pedestrian gate typically runs $1,900 to $4,200 installed. A single automatic swing driveway gate with operator, keypad, and photocells runs $4,800 to $9,500. A double swing gate, the kind you see on the larger estates off Paradise Drive, runs $7,500 to $14,500. Sliding gates start around $5,500 and top out near $12,000 for long spans with heavy operators. Salt-rated components add 10 to 20 percent over standard hardware, and on most Tiburon properties we recommend them as default, not upsell. Any existing gate you want to reuse reduces the price. We quote a firm number before any work starts. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come measure, no charge inside the county.
We Also Serve Cities Near Tiburon
Our service area covers the surrounding Marin communities in addition to Gate Installation in Tiburon. If you’re in Sausalito, Tamalpais Valley, Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, or Corte Madera, the same local crew, same warranty, and same upfront pricing apply.
Serving Tiburon, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tiburon 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 Tiburon
It attacks the control board first. Nightly fog condenses on the circuit board inside the operator housing, and the salted moisture corrodes the tiny solder joints that connect the board’s components. Within two to five years on a bay-facing property, the board shorts and the gate stops responding. The motor housing and hinge pins rust next. Salt-rated operators and stainless hardware delay this by years. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you whether your existing unit is worth saving or if replacement is cheaper than repeated board swaps.
Yes, in most cases you can. If the gate itself is structurally sound, we can leave it in place and replace just the operator, hinge pins, and control board. Our Gate Parts & Welding - Tiburon team works on site, so the gate never leaves your driveway. We’ve done this on dozens of Tiburon homes with wrought iron gates from the 1990s and early 2000s. If the post has pulled out of its footing or the frame is rusted through at the hinges, replacement is the cheaper long-term answer. Call (877) 610-2993 for an honest assessment, and remember the estimate is free.
Because gravity is the difference. On flat ground, a swing gate operates against minimal resistance, and the factory limit switch settings are adequate. On a Tiburon grade of even five to ten percent, the gate wants to roll downhill with every unpowered moment. If the limit switches and torque settings aren’t calibrated for that slope, the gate will free-swing downhill during a power outage and can crush a car bumper or hurt someone. We set limits by testing the gate on the actual grade with the power cut, not by trusting a factory default. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll inspect your current settings.
Start at the post, not the panel. A gate sags in the hinge post. Digging out the old footing and re-pouring with a deeper, heavier base, galvanized anchors, and proper drainage is the real fix. Adjusting the hinges or grinding the gate to fit the lean treats the symptom and guarantees the problem returns. We do this work properly, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise covers it in writing. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free site look.
In some conditions, yes. A sliding gate operates on a track and rack, not on hinge pins that act as corrosion points. For narrow, steep lots where a swing gate would arc over the property line, a slide gate is often the better engineering choice. The track and rack need to be set level, and the operator still needs salt-hardened internals, but the failure modes are fewer near the water. On a hillside driveway off Paradise Drive a few years back, we replaced a 20-year-old FAAC swing operator whose control board had corroded from nightly fog condensation. The hinge post had also pulled out of its footing, so we poured a new post footing with galvanized anchors, upgraded to a salt-rated operator, and installed safety photocells to meet UL 325 entrapment protection. For your specific lot, call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you which style makes more sense before you spend a dollar.
Get a Free Gate Installation Estimate in Tiburon
If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of patching a gate that should have been built right the first time. We’ll come out, measure your driveway, look at your posts, and give you a written price. No pressure, no surprise line items. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is. Call (877) 610-2993 today and ask for Hal.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Tiburon since he started the shop in 2001.