Do you service gates you didn't build?

Yes. We service most custom wood and metal gates in the Bay Area regardless of original builder. We routinely take over gates from builders no longer in business and from owners who've inherited a gate with a new home.

Do you offer maintenance plans?

Yes — annual or biennial plans cover inspection, hardware tuning, photo-eye realignment, operator service, and finish touch-up at a flat predictable rate. Most clients spend less on a maintenance plan than on one reactive service call.

Can a sagging gate be fixed without replacing it?

Usually yes. Most sag is hinge wear or post settlement, both of which are repairable on-site. We re-shim the hinge or re-set the post with engineered footing, and the gate is plumb again in a day. If the frame itself has failed at the joinery, that's a workshop repair — still cheaper than replacement.

My automatic gate is reversing on close — what is that?

Most often it's a misaligned photo eye, a UV-aged reversing edge, or an operator that has 'learned' the wrong obstruction force. All three are common, all three are inexpensive to fix, and all three are why UL 325 service is something we recommend annually.

Can you match my existing finish exactly?

Yes. We identify the original finish system from inspection, pull samples, and color-match in the workshop before we touch the gate. Mixing finish systems (film over oil, oil over film) is what causes most refinish failures — we don't do it.

What does an annual maintenance plan cost?

Most plans run $450–$950 per year depending on gate size, finish system, and whether the gate is automated. Multi-gate properties get a meaningful discount.

Restored and refinished hardwood gate by Heartwood Gates in the Bay Area

Services

Bay Area Gate Repair, Refinishing & Maintenance

A well-built gate is a multi-decade investment. Like every other piece of fine millwork on your property, it asks for routine care.

Gallery Schedule consultation (925) 570-3688 Gate estimator

What's Included

Every bay area gate repair, refinishing & maintenance commission carries.

01Full inspection — wood, joinery, hardware, posts, operators, access control
02Pressure wash, prep, and spot repair
03Restain and refinish with the original system — Penofin, Armstrong Clark, Cabot, Sikkens, Messmer's, TWP
04Hardware adjustment, replacement, and upsize
05Hinge re-plumb, post reset, and footing repair
06Joinery and structural repair on older mortise-and-tenon gates
07FAAC, BFT, LiftMaster, Viking, and DoorKing operator service
08Photo-eye alignment, edge-sensor replacement, and UL 325 re-certification
09Access-control re-pairing — keypads, intercoms, smartphone apps, vehicle loops
10Annual and biennial maintenance plans available

Chapter

Refinishing — done before the damage

Most hardwood gates in the Bay Area need a refinish every 2–4 years depending on sun exposure. Wait too long and you're not refinishing anymore — you're sanding off real wood fiber to expose fresh material under the gray. We pressure-wash with a controlled tip and pressure that won't fuzz the grain, hand-sand transitions, spot-repair any failing finish, and reapply the original finish system: Penofin Verde Marine Oil for marine and high-sun gates, Armstrong Clark for deep-color stability, Cabot Australian Timber Oil for warmer tones, Sikkens Cetol for film-finish projects, Messmer's UV Plus for higher UV resistance, or TWP for lower-VOC requirements. Matching the original system matters — film-finishes and penetrating oils are not compatible and trying to layer them is what causes peeling.

Chapter

Hardware and structural service

Hinges loosen. Latches drift out of alignment. Posts settle in Bay Area expansive clay, especially after wet winters and long dry summers. We re-shim, re-torque, re-plumb, and replace anything past its working life. On older gates with failing tenons, split rails, or rotted bottom rails we cut out the failed members, sister in matched Sapele or species-correct stock, re-joint the assembly with marine adhesive and stainless draw-bores, and refinish to blend. A structural repair done well can add 10–15 years to a gate that looked like a replacement candidate.

Chapter

Operator and automation service

If your automatic gate is hesitating, reversing on close, losing connection, or making new sounds you don't recognize, we diagnose the operator, sensors, control board, and access control end to end. We service FAAC, BFT, LiftMaster, Viking, DoorKing, and the other major brands. Common fixes: photo-eye realignment after a landscaping change, edge-sensor replacement after a UV-aged rubber failure, control-board surge replacement after a PG&E event, and re-pairing of myQ or U-Base smartphone apps. We also re-certify gates to current UL 325 standards — meaningful when you sell the home and the inspection report needs to be clean.

Chapter

When repair beats replacement

About 70% of the older gates we look at can be cost-effectively repaired rather than replaced. The structural shell — posts, primary frame, joinery — is usually still good. What's failed is the finish, the hardware, and (on automated gates) the operator electronics. We give you a written assessment that itemizes what can be repaired, what should be replaced, what the cost difference is between repair and replacement, and how many additional years of life you can realistically expect from a repair. The other 30% are gates built originally with the wrong wood, wrong joinery, or wrong post setup — and for those, replacement is the honest answer.

Materials

What we build with.

—Penofin Verde Marine Oil, Armstrong Clark, Cabot Australian Timber Oil
—Sikkens Cetol, Messmer's UV Plus, TWP — matched to existing system
—Sapele or species-correct stock for joinery and rail repair
—316 stainless or hot-dipped galvanized fasteners
—Stainless or oversized OEM hinges and pivots
—OEM operator parts — FAAC, BFT, LiftMaster, Viking, DoorKing
—Replacement photo eyes, reversing edges, and warning beacons
—Marine-grade exterior adhesives and stainless draw-bored pegs

Timeline

How long it takes.

Most service visits are scheduled within 1–3 weeks of your call. Standard hardware-and-tune visits are 2–4 hours on-site. Full refinishes typically run 1–2 days on-site depending on gate size and condition. Full structural restorations may take 3–5 days, sometimes with the gate temporarily removed to the workshop.

Pitfalls

Common mistakes.

—Waiting until the finish is fully gray before refinishing — at that point you're sanding off real wood instead of just the spent finish.
—Spraying a film-forming product over Penofin or another penetrating oil — they aren't compatible and the film peels inside a year.
—Re-torquing automated-gate hinges without re-tuning the operator's force, slowdown, and obstruction settings.
—Replacing photo eyes without realigning to UL 325 spec — they'll keep nuisance-tripping.
—Painting over rust on a steel sub-frame instead of stripping and re-coating — rust always wins.
—DIY-tightening a sagging hinge instead of pulling the post — the real fix is below grade.

Northern California

Service across the Bay Area's microclimates

We service gates everywhere from Marin and the Peninsula coast to the inland East Bay and the Tri-Valley, and the service plan changes city to city. Coastal gates in Tiburon, Mill Valley, and parts of Berkeley pick up chloride from salt fog — we replace zinc-plated hardware with 316 stainless and add a sacrificial finish coat we expect to refresh annually. Sun-loaded inland gates in Walnut Creek, Concord, Lafayette, Danville, and the Tri-Valley get UV-loaded Penofin and a refresh on a 2-year cycle. Shaded Oakland and Berkeley Hills gates get a finish with a fungicide pack to fight mildew and moss loading. We also see a lot of original 1990s and early-2000s hardwood gates in Piedmont, Lafayette, Orinda, and Ross that were built before today's finish chemistry existed. Those gates usually have great bones — solid posts, real joinery — but a failing finish and tired hardware. Restoring them is one of our favorite kinds of project, and almost always less expensive than replacement.

Compare

Repair vs. replace

	Repair	Replace
When it makes sense	Structure is sound; finish & hardware are tired	Wrong wood, failed joinery, or undersized posts
Typical cost	$1.5K–$6K	$12K–$40K
Time on site	1–5 days	1–3 days install + 6–12 wk lead
Added life	10–15 yrs	30+ yrs
Disruption	Gate stays in place	Opening unsecured during install
Best for	Quality gates that have been neglected	Catalog gates / failed designs

Case Study

A recent bay area gate repair, refinishing & maintenance project.

Problem: A San Rafael property had a 12-year-old hardwood entry gate from a previous builder. The gate was badly weathered with one sagging hinge, a split bottom rail from years of irrigation overspray, and an operator that was tripping its obstruction sensor on every other close.
Solution: Full strip, sand, and Penofin Marine Oil refinish. Replaced both original hinges with oversized 316 stainless straps. Cut out and sistered in a new Sapele bottom rail with marine adhesive and stainless draw-bores. Realigned the photo eyes to UL 325 spec, replaced the leading-edge reversing edge (UV-aged rubber), and re-tuned the FAAC 415 operator's soft-stop and obstruction force.
Materials: Penofin Verde Marine Oil, 316 stainless strap hinges, Sapele replacement bottom rail, OEM FAAC reversing edge.
Timeline: 3 days on-site.
Result: Owner extended the gate's life by an estimated 10+ years and avoided a $20,000+ replacement. The refresh has held for two seasons with no service calls.

Frequently Asked

About bay area gate repair, refinishing & maintenance.

Every 2–4 years for full-sun exposure; every 4–6 years for shaded gates; annually for coastal sites in Marin and Tiburon where salt-fog drift accelerates finish wear. We can put you on an automated reminder so it never goes past.

Service Areas