FAAC Gate Installation Nationwide | Gatewood Fence & Gate

FAAC Gate Installation in Malibu: What to Know First

We install, retrofit, and replace FAAC gate systems all over Malibu, from the flats near Zuma to the canyon driveways off Kanan-Dume. Most FAAC installations take us one full day on site, sometimes two when the old gate post needs to be cut out and re-set. You’ll get a written price before we touch anything, and that price is the price.

Call (559) 314-7708

If you own a FAAC operator, a FAAC hydraulic ram, or a gate that ran on FAAC equipment before it quit, this page is for you. Call (559) 314-7708 and Hal or one of his crew will walk through what you’ve got and what it will take. We’re an independent FAAC service provider, not a factory shop, which means we fix what’s actually wrong instead of working our way down a corporate flowchart.

How FAAC Products Fail - and How We Fix Them

FAAC builds solid equipment, but Malibu has a way of finding the weak spots. Salt air, steep grades, and gates that weigh more than the manuals ever assumed. Here’s what we actually find when we show up:

• E024 control boards and the “ghost fault.” The FAAC E024 board will sometimes throw a fault with no obvious cause, especially on cooler coastal mornings. By late afternoon when the sun has warmed the housing, the fault clears. What’s happening is moisture accumulation in the photocell connectors. We open the connectors, clean the pins, pack them with dielectric grease, and re-seal the housing seam. In Malibu, right on the ocean, we see this every other month.
• The 750 and 770 series hydraulic pumps on steep driveways. FAAC hydraulic operators are what you’d find on a heavy Malibu driveway gate, and they’re good machines. The pump seals, though, wear faster here because gates on an 18% grade work against the operator constantly. If the gate creeps open an inch after it closes, the pump bypass valve is worn. We rebuild the valve and replace the seals rather than swapping the whole operator, since the motor itself will often run another decade.
• S450H swing arms on salt-rusted mounting plates. The FAAC S450H is a workhorse for double swing gates. In Malibu, the anodized housing holds up fine; it’s the mounting plate underneath that corrodes because the factory didn’t isolate dissimilar metals. We pull the arm, wire-brush the plate, install isolation gaskets, and use marine-grade fasteners. Without the gaskets, it rusts again within two years.
• The 391 and 412 gear-driven operators and stripped release keys. These smaller FAAC gear operators tend to be used on pedestrian gates. The manual release key is brass, and over a few seasons of coastal salt it binds in the housing and strips. If you ever have to force the release, it’s already rounding. We replace the key, chase the threads, and put anti-seize on the contact surface so the next owner doesn’t have the same fight.
• 402 and 415 24V systems on undersized wiring. FAAC’s 24-volt controls want a clean power supply, and older Malibu properties sometimes have a gate wire run that’s barely adequate. The operator works for years, then the board eats itself when the wire finally degrades in the salt. We check for voltage drop at the board before replacing anything, then run new properly sized service wire when the numbers call for it.

Our FAAC Gate Installation Process

Every FAAC job we do follows the same path, whether we’re hanging a new driveway gate or resurrecting one that hasn’t run in a year.

1. 1
   We show up and listen. Hal or one of his crew walks the gate with you, runs it, watches what it does. If it’s a new installation, we measure the opening, the posts, and the slope. Before any pricing is discussed, we know what we’re dealing with.
2. 2
   We diagnose before we sell. On a repair, we find the actual fault. On a new install, we figure out the right FAAC model for the weight, the wind exposure, and the way the gate swings or slides. We don’t sell you a larger operator than the gate needs, and we don’t sell you an undersized one to match a lower bid.
3. 3
   We decide OEM versus aftermarket in front of you. FAAC factory parts have a warranty, and we honor that when it matters. Some FAAC parts, like hydraulic fittings and release keys, have aftermarket versions that are built better than the factory original, and we’ll tell you which is which. You get the choice, with our honest read on what we’d do on our own gate.
4. 4
   We do the work, weld on site when needed. If the gate post needs reinforcement, we weld it right there in your driveway. We don’t haul it to a shop. The gate stays on your property, and you can watch the work happen.
5. 5
   We test the system like we’re trying to make it fail. We run it through obstruction tests, check the safety edges and photocells, cycle it repeatedly, and watch the limit stops. FAAC boards have a self-learning mode for travel limits; we make sure it actually learned instead of just being close enough.
6. 6
   We walk you through it and hand you the written 90-Day Done Right Promise. You’ll see the gate run, see it stop on an obstruction, and know how to use the manual release. The promise is in writing, on the invoice, with Hal’s name on it.

What FAAC Gate Installation Costs in Malibu

Here are honest ranges for the FAAC work we do most often in Malibu. An exact quote is free, and it comes after we’ve looked at your gate, not from a phone call script.

• New FAAC operator on an existing gate: $1,700 - $3,200 depending on model and gate weight
• New FAAC swing-arm system, two leaves on double gate: $2,800 - $5,100
• New FAAC sliding gate operator with rack and limits: $2,300 - $4,300
• Full FAAC gate installation including fabricated steel gate, operator, safety edges, and photoeyes: $7,000 - $14,000 depending on the design and run of concrete
• FAAC control board replacement: $480 - $850 installed

What moves the price is the gate’s weight, the quality of the existing posts, and whether the wiring from the house to the gate needs a fresh run. You’ll know all of this before we start. Call (559) 314-7708 for a written estimate, free, with no trip charge inside the county.

Why Malibu Homeowners Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for FAAC Work

Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the whole pitch. We’ve been out here since 2001, and the reason folks in Malibu keep calling is pretty simple: we show up when we say we will, and we fix the gate instead of selling you a new one. Tell me what it’s doing wrong and I’ll tell you what it actually needs, no runaround.

Every FAAC job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing. If it isn’t right, one call brings us back, no hedging. Calls are answered by a living person 24 hours a day, not a voicemail or a phone tree. And if a FAAC job turns out to need a part we’ve got experience with across LiftMaster, Mighty Mule, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing systems too, we’ll tell you which operator makes more sense for your gate and your budget. An honest answer, even when it costs us a sale, is how we’ve kept the lights on for 29 years across the county.

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