Our San Jose factory

GateFrames gates are not picked off a shelf. Each one is cut, welded, finished and crated in our own shop in San Jose, CA, from the dimensions you typed into the configurator. This page walks through what happens between your order and your driveway, and what that means for the gate you end up with.

How a gate is made

1. Your order becomes a cut list. The configurator does not just price the gate; it resolves every tube length, picket count and post spec from your width, height, layout and style. Sizing to the inch costs nothing extra because the cut list is generated, not hand-drawn, for every order.
2. Cutting. Steel tube is cut to that list — frame members, pickets, and the posts if you ordered them.
3. Welding. The frame is squared and welded on the table; pickets and any arch or finial details go on next. This is the step the warranty is about: a welded steel frame either holds its geometry for decades or it does not, and ours does.
4. Finishing. The welded frame is prepped and powder-coated — a baked-on finish, not paint — with a weather-resistant anti-gassing primer underneath. Black satin is standard; white and custom colours are options on the product page.
5. Wood, if you chose it. Ironwood infill is fitted and protected with a transparent oil and wax, then installed or packed for do-it-yourself fitting, as ordered.
6. Crating. The gate, hardware and hinges are packed on a pallet built for LTL freight, insured for full value, and handed to the carrier. See Shipping & delivery.

Materials & construction

• Frame: 2-inch steel tube. The perimeter of every gate is 2" steel tube, welded at the corners. In plain terms: it is the size of tube that makes a 14-foot gate hang straight for years, rather than the lighter stock that sags.
• Pickets: steel tube in single, double or "puppy" spacing, or a frame-only gate ready for your own infill.
• Ironwood infill, vertical or horizontal, for the wood-and-metal look — dense hardwood, oiled and waxed rather than painted, so it weathers instead of peeling.
• Posts: two wall thicknesses. Standard posts are 0.120" wall; heavy-duty posts are 3/16" (0.1875") wall. The heavier wall is what you want for wide or automated gates, because the post carries the whole gate's weight on its hinges. The posts guide explains how to choose.
• Finish: powder coat over anti-gassing primer. Powder coat is applied as a dry powder and baked, which gives a harder, more even skin than paint and no drips or brush marks. Minor rust weeping from crevices the coating cannot reach is normal after rain and is cosmetic; see the warranty page.
• Hardware. Hinges and the hardware your design needs ship with the gate. Openers, operators and access control are separate products from their manufacturers, chosen on the product pages.

Quality standards

Every gate is checked before it is crated: the frame is measured against the order, welds are inspected, the finish is checked for coverage, and the hardware is counted against the design. It is a made-to-order shop, so the checks are done by the people who built the gate, not a separate line at the end — and a gate that does not pass is fixed before it ships, not discounted. Handmade steel can carry minor marks; the lifetime limited structural warranty is our statement that the structure will not.

Visit the shop

GateFrames
23 Las Colinas Ln #109, San Jose, CA 95119

We like showing the shop off, and a visit is the honest way to judge a gate — you can see the tube wall, the welds and the finish that photos flatten out. Come by any time we are open (Mon – Fri, 7am – 5pm Pacific); a quick call ahead means someone is free to walk you through the floor. Local customers can also collect a finished order here and skip freight — will-call pickup.