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 San Rafael
Gate installation in San Rafael runs $2,800 to $7,500 for most residential driveway gates, with electric operators adding $1,400 to $3,200 depending on the motor and safety package. We’re a gate-specific company, not a general contractor that does a gate on the side. When you call Carver Gate Repair, you get a background-checked technician in a uniform, a written price before any work starts, and a full-year guarantee in writing. Our crews work regularly in San Rafael, from flat Canal lots to the steeper drives in Gerstle Park, and we coordinate dispatch from our San Francisco Bay Area office. That means a real person answers the phone around the clock, and we give you an arrival window we actually keep. Call (469) 530-2485 for a free estimate and a straight answer on scope.
Why Carver Gate Repair Is San Rafael’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Our reputation in San Rafael comes from doing gate work the way homeowners expect: show up on time, write the price down, do the job, clean up, stand behind it. That is not marketing. It’s the Garrison Standard, and every Carver technician works to it. Part of the Garrison Partners family, operating since 2008, we built our name on gate repair and installation, not on running three other trades out of the same truck. When a San Rafael homeowner looks us up, they usually find the same thing: written prices that do not move, technicians who call before they arrive, and a live person on the phone at 2 a.m. when a gate goes down. Those are not extras. They are the minimum.
We do not promise same-day installation. A proper gate install involves digging, concrete, leveling, and electrical work, and anyone who quotes a same-day install is cutting corners you will pay for later. What we do promise is a free measure, a written scope, and a date we hit. Homeowners in San Rafael who have dealt with no-shows and moving prices tend to appreciate that.
Gate Installation Services in San Rafael
Gate Installation Services in San Rafael cover driveway gates, pedestrian gates, sliding gates, swing gates, double gates, and security gates. A proper installation is not just hanging a panel on a post. It starts with the footing. The hinge post is the load-bearing point for the entire system. If it is undersized, rotted, or sitting on loose soil, the gate sags, the operator strains, and the whole installation fails within a season. We dig out and pour new footings where the existing post cannot carry the weight, and we level the gate on a poured curb when the driveway has slope.
Setting the Post and Pouring the Footing
Most San Rafael gate installs run into the same thing ours do. Canal and North San Rafael lots often have old telegraph or utility poles still standing on fence lines. Crews have to set the hinge-post footing, or add a concrete pier beside the pole, before the operator can be mounted square. In hillside pockets like Gerstle Park, sloped driveways also mean the swing gate has to be leveled with a poured curb rather than a flat slab. We plan for this from the first visit, not halfway through the job.
Hanging, Leveling, and Adjusting the Gate
Once the footing has cured, we hang the gate, level it, and adjust the hinges so the panel moves without binding. A gate that is not level will pull the operator out of alignment within weeks. We check the gate’s travel in both directions, set the limit switches, and confirm the panel closes square against the stop. This is where a cheap install falls apart, and where a Carver install holds up through years of San Rafael wind and winter rain.
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.
Electric Gate Installation in San Rafael
Electric Gate Installation in San Rafael adds a motor, a control board, safety entrapment protection, and often an entry keypad or intercom. The operator itself typically runs between $1,400 and $3,200 installed, including the safety package. The most important part of that package is not the motor. It is the UL 325 compliance. Our installs include photo-eyes and edge sensors, wired and tested on every job. When a gate company skips those or bypasses them to save money, the gate becomes a safety liability for kids, pets, and anyone walking through.
Operator Selection and Wiring
We work on nine gate-motor brands, including FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking, so the right motor gets matched to the gate’s weight, swing, and cycle rate. For a sliding gate on a tight Canal drive, that means a gear-driven operator with enough torque to move a 14-foot steel panel without stripping the rack. For a swing gate on a sloped Gerstle Park drive, it means an articulating arm or ram operator that can handle the grade. We run the low-voltage wiring in conduit where needed, set up the control board, and leave you with a clean, labeled install.
Safety Testing and Compliance
After the operator is mounted, we run the UL 325 reversal test on both photo-eyes and edge sensors. That means we physically place an obstruction in the gate’s path on both the open and close cycles and confirm the motor reverses. We also test the manual release so you can move the gate by hand during a power outage. If the gate does not pass, it is not done. That is the line between a compliant install and a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Rafael
Our technicians are trained on LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule equipment. We keep a rolling stock of common parts and control boards at our Bay Area office, so a San Rafael install does not stall because a limit switch or safety photocell is on backorder from a wholesaler. If you already have a FAAC operator on one gate and a BFT on the other, we can work on both. If you are replacing an old Viking or Linear motor, we match the new operator to the existing gate weight and duty cycle rather than just bolting on whatever is on the truck. That is how a gate keeps running past the first year. For a full breakdown of what goes into a proper install, see our Gate Installation process.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in San Rafael Homes
- Undersized or rotted hinge posts on older wood fences. The panel sags, the gate operator strains, and the install fails within a season unless the post footing is replaced, not shimmed. On a lot of 1960s-era San Rafael homes, the original post was never meant to carry a motorized gate.
- Sloped Canal and Gerstle Park driveways that never got a level concrete pad. A swing gate binds on the grade, and the operator’s limit switches drift out of adjustment within weeks. We pour a level curb before the gate goes on, which costs more up front and saves a service call every month after.
- Missing or bypassed entrapment protection. Photo-eyes or edge sensors get skipped or disabled to save labor, leaving the gate out of UL 325 compliance. We have seen this on existing installs where the previous contractor simply wired around the safety circuit because the eye was misaligned and tripping the gate, which is not a fix.
- Salt air and winter rain off Richardson Bay corroding the control board and keypad contacts. Exposed canal-side properties with no drip loop or enclosure get pitted terminals and dead keypad buttons inside two years. We install boards with a drip loop and weathertight enclosure on every gate near the water.
Pricing for Gate Installation in San Rafael, CA
A standard swing gate with a basic operator and safety package in San Rafael runs $2,800 to $5,500. A sliding driveway gate, which needs a track or cantilever system, runs $4,500 to $7,500. Electric operators add $1,400 to $3,200, depending on the motor brand and whether you want a keypad, intercom, or loop detector. Footing replacement, a poured curb for a sloped drive, and conduit runs for power each add typically $400 to $900. These are not numbers we pull out of the air; they are what we write down before work starts. The price you approve is the price you pay, and we never start a job without your sign-off. Call (469) 530-2485 for a free estimate with a written scope.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Rafael
Carver Gate Repair handles gate installs across Marin County. We regularly work in Larkspur, Kentfield, Corte Madera, and San Anselmo, and our crews know the same old-post, sloped-drive, bay-air problems there that we see in San Rafael. If you are in one of those cities or anywhere in the area, call (469) 530-2485 and we will get you on the schedule. For more on our local coverage, see Gate Installation in San Rafael.
Serving San Rafael, CA – Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Rafael 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 About Gate Installation in San Rafael
A proper gate installation includes a new or verified hinge-post footing, gate leveling on a poured curb if the driveway slopes, operator wiring in conduit, a UL 325 safety package with photo-eyes and edge sensors, and a full reversal test on both cycles. In San Rafael, most installs also need the post footing checked first because many older lots have telegraph or utility poles on the fence line that were never meant to carry a motorized gate. If a quote skips the footing, the safety test, or the level curb, you are paying for a hang-and-hope, not an installation. Call (469) 530-2485 and we will walk you through exactly what your gate needs.
No, and we will tell you that up front. A proper gate installation involves digging, concrete, curing time, leveling, and electrical work. In San Rafael, conditions like sloped Canal driveways or rotted hinge posts add scope that cannot be rushed. Anyone who promises a same-day install is either bolting a gate to an unsafe footing or skipping the UL 325 safety test. We schedule a free measure, write the scope, and give you a firm install date.
You need the footing and post checked first. On San Rafael homes built before about 1980, the hinge post is often undersized or rotted, and the gate panel has sagged because the post is failing, not because the gate is bad. We replaced a 14-foot slide gate on a narrow drive in the Canal district after the old rack had stripped twice in two years. The previous installer had bolted the gate operator to a rotting hinge post, so we pulled the post, poured a new footing, set the rack and pinion, and paired a LiftMaster operator with a safety photocell. After the UL 325 reversal test and a keypad entry walk-through, the gate ran clean through a full open-close cycle without tripping. Sometimes the gate itself is fine and the install underneath it is the problem.
Yes. Our technicians are trained on all nine of those brands, including FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking, and we match the operator to the gate’s weight and cycle rate rather than reusing whatever was bolted on before. We keep common control boards and safety parts in stock at our Bay Area office, so a San Rafael install does not sit waiting on a backordered limit switch. If you have a specific brand in mind, we will tell you whether it fits your gate and why.
Because a gate without working entrapment protection can kill a child or a pet, and a gate that gets installed without a UL 325 test will fail inspection and expose the homeowner to liability. It is not an upsell. It is the law and the baseline. On San Rafael properties near the water, salt air corrodes photocell contacts and keypad terminals, so we install a drip loop and weathertight enclosure and then test the eyes with a physical obstruction on both open and close cycles. If the gate reverses, it is compliant. If it does not, it is not done.
Ready to get a real number for your gate? Call Carver Gate Repair at (469) 530-2485. We will send a background-checked technician to measure your site, write you a price, and give you a date we keep. No moving numbers. No surprises. Just a gate that works, installed right.
Written by Lonnie Burke, Owner at Carver Gate Repair, serving San Rafael and Marin County with written prices and a full-year guarantee.