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 Repair Across San Francisco
Gate repair in San Francisco usually costs between $185 and $460 for most hinge, alignment, and motor work, and a technician can reach most San Francisco neighborhoods the same day you call. If your gate sags, screeches, or won’t latch, the problem is almost always the post, the spring tension, or the marine fog eating the hardware. Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001, and he still answers the phone himself. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll talk to a live person who can tell you exactly what to expect before anyone shows up.
We work in San Francisco every week, from the Mission District to Visitacion Valley. We know the hills, the fog, the narrow lots, and the shared driveways. More importantly, we know how those conditions wreck gates in ways that flatland repair shops never see.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is San Francisco’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
We’re not a franchise. Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is. When a San Francisco homeowner calls us about a gate that won’t close, they get an owner-operator who has been doing this work for over two decades, not a rotating cast of subcontractors.
Every job we do in San Francisco carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no “that’s normal wear and tear” excuses. We stand behind the work because we’re the ones who did it.
We’re certified to service Gate Repair systems from FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking, among others. More important than the certifications is this: we fix gates in the driveway, on site, with welding equipment in the truck. We don’t haul your gate to a shop and leave you without security for a week. The gate stays where it belongs, and the person who shows up is background-checked, uniformed, and knows San Francisco’s streets.
Our San Francisco customers call us for one reason most often: they had another company quote one price over the phone and charge another at the door. With us, the price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. That’s not a footnote. That’s how Hal has done business since day one.
Our Gate Repair Services in San Francisco
Here’s what we actually do in San Francisco, week in and week out. Each of these is a specialty, not a checkbox.
Gate Realignment
Most San Francisco gate problems look like a latch issue but are really an alignment problem. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that’s where we start. On the steep residential grades of Nob Hill and Russian Hill, an inward-swinging gate that opens downhill will creep open on its own unless the hinge spring tension is specifically calibrated for the slope. That’s a failure almost unseen in flat neighboring cities, and it’s why swapping the latch hardware without addressing the grade compensation is a waste of your money. A typical realignment in San Francisco runs $185 to $320, depending on post condition and gate weight.
Hinge & Post Repair
Rusted or rotted hinge posts are the single most common structural failure we see in San Francisco. The marine fog deposits salt on metal year-round, and the footing at the base of the post stays damp for months. We cut out the rotted section, reset the post, and weld new hinge plates on site. If the post is beyond saving, we replace it and match the surrounding ironwork. Expect $240 to $480 for a standard post reset and hinge replacement. For ornamental wrought iron gates on Victorian and Edwardian homes in the Mission or Noe Valley, we take extra care to match the original scrollwork and profile.
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gate issues in San Francisco are usually one of three things: a capacitor or board failure from salt-laden moisture, a stripped drive gear, or a gate motor and opener that’s undersized for a slope. We carry parts for FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators, and we diagnose on site. The fog is brutal on control boards, especially for slide gate rack-and-pinion systems within a few blocks of the bay. A board replacement typically runs $220 to $380. Full operator replacement with slope-rated torque runs $850 to $1,600 installed, depending on gate length and weight. We quote it before we touch it.
Automatic Gate Repair
Gate access control in San Francisco almost always has entrapment protection requirements because of the tight clearances. Shared driveways and zero-setback lot lines mean the safety photocells have to be placed exactly right or the gate won’t pass inspection. We recalibrate, re-wire, and re-sensor automatic systems so they open on command, stop on obstruction, and close fully every time. A service call and sensor realignment runs $150 to $275. If your gate reverses for no reason or the remote only works from three feet away, we can usually fix it in one visit.
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 San Francisco
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and in San Francisco we most often work on FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators. We stock common boards, capacitors, gears, and remote kits for these brands so we don’t have to order a part and make you wait a week with a gate stuck open. San Francisco’s salt air kills control boards faster than operators in Walnut Creek or Oakland, so we keep the parts that fail most often on the truck. If your brand isn’t on that short list, call anyway. We’ve fixed DoorKing, Elite, Ghost Controls, Mighty Mule in San Francisco, and LiftMaster systems across the city, and we’ll tell you honestly if a board repair doesn’t make sense versus replacing the operator.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in San Francisco Homes
- Fog-driven corrosion on hinge pins and drive gears. Karl the Fog deposits salt-laden moisture on metal components year-round. Hinge pins and operator drive gears within a few miles of the bay often show serious corrosion within 18 to 24 months, especially on slide gate rack-and-pinion systems.
- Downhill swing gates that drift open. On grades exceeding 20% in Nob Hill and Russian Hill, a gate’s own weight pulls it downhill if the hinge spring tension isn’t set for the slope. The latch can’t hold it, and your shared driveway is no longer secure.
- Rotted wrought iron posts on 80-120 year old gates. The Mission, Noe Valley, and Chinatown are dense with Victorian and Edwardian row houses with original ornamental iron pedestrian gates. The posts holding those gates have been in damp, salty soil for a century. We reset and weld them, and we do it in place.
- Zero-clearance installs with unprotected entrapment zones. San Francisco’s 25-foot lots force gates into extremely tight clearances. Some contractors respond by skipping the safety photocells entirely, which leaves an automatic gate that could close on a child or pet. We won’t do that, and we’ll fix it if someone else did.
Pricing for Gate Repair in San Francisco, CA
Here’s what you should expect to pay in San Francisco right now:
- Gate realignment and tension calibration: $185 to $320
- Hinge and post repair (single post reset): $240 to $480
- Electric gate board or capacitor replacement: $220 to $380
- Full operator replacement with slope-rated torque: $850 to $1,600 installed
- Weld and rust repair (per section): $90 to $240
- Lock and latch replacement: $110 to $250
The price you’re quoted is the price you pay. Hal walks the job first, points to what’s actually broken, and writes the number down before any work starts. Standing offers that don’t require haggling: $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Francisco
Our crews serve Gate Repair in San Francisco and the neighborhoods around it daily, including the Mission District, Noe Valley, Chinatown, and Visitacion Valley. If you’re in one of those neighborhoods and your gate won’t close or won’t stop screeching, call us. We’re already nearby.
Serving San Francisco, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco 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 Repair in San Francisco
The gate’s weight is pulling it downhill because the hinge spring tension was set for flat ground, not for your street’s grade. The latch isn’t the problem, and replacing it again won’t help. We calibrate the spring tension for the specific slope so the gate stays closed under its own geometry. Call (877) 610-2993 for a slope-corrected fix.
Salt-laden marine fog. San Francisco’s famous fog deposits sodium chloride on metal surfaces every night, and the dry season doesn’t wash it off. It concentrates on hinge pins, latch bolts, and drive gears. Oakland gets far less direct marine air, so the corrosion cycle is slower. We restore rust-damaged sections and treat the metal to slow the corrosion before it returns.
Yes. On a shared driveway off Russian Hill’s Hyde Street, we rebuilt a cast-iron pedestrian swing gate whose downhill-side hinge post had rotted at the footing, causing a 2-inch sag that dragged the gate across the concrete. We cut and reset the post, recalibrated the spring tension for the slope so the gate would stay latched, and installed a Viking operator with slope-rated torque, keeping the shared access open for the building’s two units the whole time. We plan every shared-access job so at least one lane stays passable.
It usually means the rack-and-pinion system is corroding and losing lubrication. The screech is metal grinding on metal. If you ignore it, you’ll eventually strip the rack or burn out the drive motor. We clean, de-rust, and re-lubricate the system, and replace worn gears if needed. A typical service call for this runs $150 to $275.
Yes. A gate that closes on a child, a pet, or a delivery worker is a tragedy you don’t want on your conscience or your insurance record. San Francisco’s tight lot lines make photo-eye placement more difficult, but that’s an argument for doing it correctly, not skipping it. We position and align entrapment sensors so your automatic gate is code-compliant and actually safe to use.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Repair in San Francisco
If your gate is sagging, drifting open, screeching, or refusing to close on a steep San Francisco street, call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers. Hal will ask what your gate is doing, tell you what he thinks over the phone, and set a time to come look. The estimate is free. The price you’re quoted is the price you pay. And the work is backed by the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. That’s how it should be.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving San Francisco since 2001.