Automating an Orinda estate gate is usually a power problem before it is a gate problem. Long private drives put the operator hundreds of feet from the nearest panel, and the tree canopy rules out solar on most Sleepy Hollow lots. We plan the trench and conduit run in the same drawing as the gate elevation.
An automatic gate is two builds in one: the gate itself, and the operator system that drives it. We design and engineer both in-house. The gate is built from hardwood or steel (or both) to your architectural vision; the operator system is sized for the gate's weight, wind load, duty cycle, and access pattern.
In Orinda we install FAAC, LiftMaster, Viking, and Nice operators most often. Selection depends on gate weight, swing or slide configuration, daily cycle count, and whether the system needs battery backup for power outages. Every install includes UL325 safety: loop detectors at entry and exit, photo eyes, sensing edges where required, and clearly placarded warning signs.
Access control is configured to how you actually use the property — keypad entry, RFID, intercom (audio or video), smart-home integration with Apple HomeKit / Google Home / Alexa, telephone entry, license-plate recognition, and remote management apps. We size the system to last; we don't oversell features that won't get used.
Installation in Orinda typically takes two to four days. Post-install we provide a written maintenance schedule, set up your access codes and remotes, and walk you through the safety systems. Most operator issues we've seen in the field come from skipped annual service — we offer maintenance contracts to make sure that doesn't happen.
Estate-scale Mediterranean, Tudor revival, and modern hillside homes dominate Orinda's tree-lined private drives. Coastal fog rolls in over the Berkeley Hills, then bakes off by mid-morning — finishes must handle both UV and dew cycling without cupping.
Three renderings, one finish sample left outside through a fog cycle, then eight weeks in the shop. The arch radius was set off the home's entry portico so the two curves agree from the street.
Built to match a 1931 front door we could not touch. We took the clavos spacing off the original and had matching heads forged rather than approximating with catalog hardware.
The owners wanted to see who was at the gate without a camera. A single quatrefoil opening at head height solved it, and picked up the same motif from the home's stair balustrade.
The signature Orinda commission: an arched Sapele leaf with a hand-forged iron grille at the upper third, so the gate reads solid from the road but lets light and view through at eye height.
Tudor-revival homes here want heavy vertical boards, exposed clavos, and oversized strap hinges. We forge the straps rather than buying stamped stock; the difference is obvious at three feet and invisible at thirty, which is exactly why it matters on a Tudor.
The contemporary hillside rebuilds want an unbroken plane with a hidden frame. We laminate a steel armature behind the Sapele so the face can stay flat and unbraced over a 9' leaf.
"We compared three builders. Heartwood was the only one who showed up with a 3D rendering and a finish sample we could leave outside for a week. Three years in and the gate still looks new."
Heartwood Gates is headquartered in Concord, CA, roughly 11 miles from Orinda. We serve the whole of Contra Costa County within a 150-mile service radius of the shop, with a dedicated install crew on the road most weeks.
It depends on gate weight, daily cycles, and whether you need battery backup. FAAC underground operators are ideal for premium estates; LiftMaster surface-mount operators are workhorses for high-cycle residential gates. We recommend the right system after we measure the gate and walk the site.
Properly engineered, yes. We install every system to UL325 — loop detectors, photo eyes, sensing edges, and warning placards. Most safety incidents come from non-compliant installs; we don't cut those corners.
Yes. Every operator we install supports remote app control, and we integrate with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Alexa for whole-home automation.
Browse all custom gate services, see the full Bay Area service map, or view recent automatic gates projects in the gallery.
Browse the full Heartwood Gates journal for materials, joinery, and design deep-dives from projects across Northern California.
Tell us about the entrance you want to build. We respond same-day to consultations booked before 2pm, next business day after.
