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 Lorenzo
Most gate repairs in San Lorenzo come down to two things: what the salt air has been doing to the metal, and what the clay soil has been doing to the posts. We’ve been fixing both since 2001. If your gate sags, drags, squeals, or won’t open on a foggy morning, call (877) 610-2993 and Hal will pick up. We work throughout the 94580 zip code, from the blocks off Bockman Road down to the homes along Hesperian Boulevard, and we show up when we say we will.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is San Lorenzo’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is. We’re locally owned and owner-operated, with a published address and license number anyone can look up. When you call, a live person answers, 24/7. Not a voicemail, not a call center three states away, not a chatbot.
San Lorenzo homeowners keep our number because we do something most gate companies won’t: we repair before we replace. Hal welds on site, in your driveway, rather than hauling your gate off to a shop. A sagging hinge post gets reset in fresh concrete with stainless brackets. A rusted frame gets ground back and re-welded. A stripped rack and pinion gets replaced, not the whole operator. That’s the repair-first philosophy, and it saves San Lorenzo families hundreds on jobs other companies would quote as full replacements.
Every job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise, stamped in writing. If it’s not done right, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no fine print. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside Alameda County, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans.
Our Gate Repair Services in San Lorenzo
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gates in San Lorenzo fail in predictable ways, and foggy mornings are usually when you’ll notice it. Salt-laden air moving through the San Lorenzo Creek corridor corrodes operator boards and control wiring faster than in drier inland East Bay cities. We see a lot of FAAC and Linear openers with burned relay contacts and corroded terminal strips. We stock replacement boards for major brands so we can often restore your gate the same day.
Automatic Gate Repair
Automatic gates stop working for three common reasons in San Lorenzo: a photocell knocked out of alignment by a post that shifted in clay soil, a limit switch corroded by marine moisture, or a gearbox fighting a gate that’s binding on rusted hinges. We service all nine major brands, and we fix the mechanical problem first so the new electronics don’t fail the same way in six months.
Hinge & Post Repair
This is the work we do more than anything else in San Lorenzo. Homes here were built in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the original hinge posts are now 70-plus years old. Winter rains saturate the expansive clay soil, the ground heaves, and swing gates go out of plumb by spring. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that’s where we start. We dig out the rotted post, reset it in a deeper footing, and use stainless steel hardware that will outlast the galvanized stuff that’s been rusting for seven decades.
Gate Realignment
When a swing gate drags on the driveway or won’t latch, realignment is often the fix, not replacement. On San Lorenzo’s flat lots, even a quarter inch of post movement translates to a gate that misses the latch by two inches. We use a laser level to check plumb, shim or reset posts as needed, and adjust the operator limits so the gate closes cleanly without fighting itself. Show me the gate closing on its own and I’ll show you where it’s failing, and in San Lorenzo it’s almost always the post, not the panel.
Lock Repair
Gate locks on postwar homes here are often original hardware: corroded, stiff, and one hard pull from breaking off in your hand. We replace lock bodies, repair strike plates, and key your gate lock to match your house key when possible. For electric gates, we install and service keypads, intercoms, and vehicle sensors.
Weld & Rust Repair
Salt air through the San Lorenzo Creek corridor means metal gates here rust years faster than the same gate in Castro Valley or Ashland. We grind back the scale, weld in new steel where the frame has thinned, and treat the repaired area with a rust-inhibiting primer before painting. It’s honest structural work, not a cosmetic patch.
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 Lorenzo
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. Around San Lorenzo we see a lot of FAAC, Linear, and older Viking openers on the 1950s ranch homes. We stock common parts for these brands so we’re not waiting on a distributor when your gate won’t open. If you’re not sure what brand your operator is, send Hal a photo and he’ll usually know before he gets in the truck.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in San Lorenzo Homes
- Rotted hinge posts below grade. Original wooden posts from the late 1940s and 1950s sit in clay-heavy flatland soil that holds water through the winter. By spring, the post is soft below the grass line and the gate is leaning. We reset these in concrete with stainless steel brackets and a post base that lifts the wood out of the wet zone.
- Corroded operator boards from marine moisture. San Lorenzo sits at the edge of the Bay plain, and the San Lorenzo Creek corridor funnels salt air inland. Foggy morning call-outs are common because condensation collects on corroded terminals and the board faults. We clean, repair, or replace the board and seal the housing properly.
- Seized metal gate frames. Original wrought-iron and chain-link frames from the postwar build-out have spent 70 years in damp air. Hinges seize, weld joints crack from rust expansion, and the gate becomes a fight to move. We cut out the bad steel and weld in fresh, then treat the whole frame before painting.
- Stripped rack and pinion gears. When a gate is out of plumb, the operator keeps pulling against a bind until the rack strips. On Via Alamitos, our crew pulled a twisted residential swing gate that had been sagging badly after a winter of clay-soil heave. The hinge post had rotted below grade and the rack and pinion had stripped from the constant fight. We reset the post in a deeper concrete footing with stainless steel brackets, sistered a new top hinge, and realigned the gate operator so the safety photocell stopped faulting.
Pricing for Gate Repair in San Lorenzo, CA
Here’s what repair work actually costs in San Lorenzo. A hinge and post reset typically runs $350-$650 depending on how deep we need to dig and whether the post needs full replacement. Gate realignment runs $180-$400. Welding and rust repair usually $250-$500 depending on how much steel we’re replacing. Electric gate board repair or replacement runs $200-$600 for common FAAC, Linear, and BFT models. A full operator replacement, including labor, starts around $900 and goes up from there based on the gate’s size and weight.
The price you get on the phone is the price you pay. We quote the job before we start, and we don’t change it at the door. No trip charge inside the county, free second opinion on any written estimate, and if your repair comes in over $200, take $40 off. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote on your gate.
Key Takeaways:
- Most San Lorenzo gate problems start with a failed post, not a failed gate panel.
- Salt air from the Bay via the San Lorenzo Creek corridor corrodes hinges and operator boards faster than inland East Bay locations.
- We repair in place with on-site welding. We don’t haul your gate away.
- Upfront pricing agreed before work starts. Free estimates. No trip charge in the county.
- 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job, in writing.
Local Knowledge: What Salt Air and Clay Soil Do to San Lorenzo Gates
San Lorenzo was built out almost entirely as a planned postwar tract community in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which means residential gate hardware across the neighborhood is the same vintage and failing at roughly the same time. That’s why you’ll see three driveways on one block with sagging gates in the same spring. The clay soil heaves when winter rain saturates it, pushing posts out of alignment, and the salt-laden air coming through the San Lorenzo Creek corridor keeps relative humidity high enough to accelerate rust on any steel that isn’t stainless.
We also deal with the fact that San Lorenzo is unincorporated Alameda County, not a city. That changes permitting for gate replacements, especially electric swing gates. County building jurisdiction applies, not San Leandro’s municipal rules, and that surprises homeowners who assume the shared boundary means shared approvals. If your gate project needs a permit, we’ll tell you what’s required and what the county will ask for, including setbacks for automatic gates with swing arms.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Lorenzo
Our Gate Repair crew works throughout the East Bay. Along with San Lorenzo, we regularly serve homes in Ashland, San Leandro, Cherryland, and Castro Valley. If you’re just over the line and wondering whether we’ll come out, call and ask. The answer is almost always yes.
Serving San Lorenzo, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Lorenzo 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 Lorenzo
The original gates in San Lorenzo all date to the same narrow building window, roughly 1947 through 1955. That means the hinge posts, gate frames, and hardware are all the same age, made of the same materials, and exposed to the same salt air and clay soil conditions. When one starts failing, the neighbors’ are usually right behind it. We see entire blocks with sagging gates in the same season. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you honestly whether your gate needs a repair or a reset.
San Lorenzo is unincorporated Alameda County, so gate work falls under county jurisdiction, not the City of San Leandro. Whether a permit is required depends on the scope of the work. A like-for-like repair or hardware replacement generally does not require a permit. A new gate with an automatic opener may, and the county has specific setback requirements for swing arms. We can tell you what applies to your property before any work starts, and we quote the job against that reality, not a guess.
The post fails before the panel. Original wood posts set in San Lorenzo’s expansive clay sit in wet soil through the winter, rot at grade, and the gate sags out of alignment long before the panel itself gives out. Even steel posts from that era rust where they meet the ground. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. We reset posts in deeper concrete with stainless hardware and the gate goes back to plumb like it should be.
Foggy mornings pull condensation onto corroded electrical connections inside the operator housing. San Lorenzo’s position at the edge of the Bay plain, with the creek corridor channeling marine moisture inland, means your operator board sits in damp air even on dry afternoons. Corroded terminals, relay contacts, and limit switches fault when they get wet. It’s a common service call here. We clean or replace the affected components and seal the housing so the next foggy morning doesn’t strand you.
Sometimes, but not always. San Lorenzo’s postwar lots are modest and most driveways don’t have the lateral room for a full slide gate track. In many cases we can convert to a slide gate with a cantilever configuration if the driveway is wide enough, but that depends on the setback and the existing fence line. It’s a job we quote on site after looking at the actual layout, not over the phone. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come out, measure, and tell you what’s actually possible.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Repair in San Lorenzo
If your gate is sagging, squealing, stuck, or stopping on foggy mornings, call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, any hour. We’ll give you a straight answer about what’s wrong, what it costs, and when we can be there. Free estimates, upfront pricing agreed before any work starts, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job in writing. I will be there myself, or you can drive to the shop and look me in the eye. That’s how we’ve done it since 2001, and that’s how it stays.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving San Lorenzo since 2001.