Materials & finishes
What it is made of, and what keeps it that way.
Metal choice sets what the piece can do. Finish sets how long it does it. Both get decided at the estimate rather than at the end, because both are a real part of the cost.
- Default metal
- Mild steelStrong, weldable, repairable.
- For corrosion
- AluminumOr galvanized steel.
- Longest-lasting
- Hot-dip galv.Powder coat over it for colour.
- Decided
- At the estimateNot left to the end.
The metals
Mild steel — the default, and usually right
Most of what leaves the shop is mild steel. It is strong for its cost, it welds cleanly, it takes any finish, and — the part people undervalue — it can be repaired. A steel gate hit by a car can be straightened and re-welded on site. That repairability is worth a great deal over the life of something that lives outdoors in front of a driveway.
Its one weakness is that it rusts if left unprotected. That is entirely a finish problem, and it is solved, which is why the finish section below matters as much as this one.
Ornamental steel, sold as “wrought iron”
The traditional look — scrollwork, collars, twisted bar, hammered texture, spear tops. The material is steel; the word describes the style and the technique. We will say “ornamental steel” on a quote because that is what it is, and mention wrought iron only because that is the phrase people search for.
Aluminum — when rust is the dominant risk
Aluminum does not rust, full stop. On an exterior balcony taking salt air, or on any piece where you know honestly that nobody is ever going to repaint it, that is worth paying for. The trade-off is strength: for the same section, aluminum carries less, so the piece needs a heavier profile or closer supports. It is also harder to repair well in the field.
Stainless — specific jobs only
Stainless comes up mainly for cable railing hardware and for pieces where a bright, uncoated metal finish is the point. It is expensive, and outdoors in a marine-influenced environment even stainless can tea-stain if the wrong grade is used. We spec it where it earns its place rather than as a default upgrade.
Dissimilar metals touching is a real failure mode
Aluminum bolted directly to steel, or steel set straight into concrete without a break, corrodes at the junction — and it corrodes from the inside of the joint outward, where nobody sees it until something moves. We isolate dissimilar metals and detail against water sitting in a post base. It is invisible work and it is a large part of why some metalwork lasts and some does not.
The infill
Infill is what sits inside the frame, and it drives both how the piece looks and what the frame has to be.
| Infill | Reads as | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical pickets | Traditional, transparent | Cheapest, easiest to make code-compliant, not climbable. |
| Horizontal slats | Modern | Privacy without going solid; climbability is a question where children are a consideration. |
| Cable | Minimal, view-preserving | Needs a much stiffer frame — the cable is tensioned against it. Slack cable is a spacing problem, not just a look. |
| Wood / composite boards | Warm, fully private | Steel frame carries the load, boards can be replaced. Solid infill means wind load, so bigger posts. |
| Welded mesh | Functional, commercial | Defeats reach-through. The right answer for cages and yard security, rarely for a front elevation. |
| Ornamental panels | Decorative, bespoke | Almost pure labour, so it is the easiest lever if a quote comes in high. |
| Glass (frame only) | Invisible | We build the frame; a glazier supplies the glass. All the load goes through the frame and its fixings. |
The finishes, worst to best
Bare or shop-primed steel
Not a finish. Red-oxide shop primer keeps steel from flash-rusting between the shop and the site; it is not protection. Anything leaving in primer is either going indoors somewhere dry or is getting a proper coating afterwards. If a quote elsewhere is notably cheap, check whether it is priced primed.
Primed and painted
Cheapest real finish, easiest to touch up, and the one that needs attention soonest — especially on the faces that take afternoon sun. Perfectly reasonable on interior work and on exterior pieces someone is prepared to maintain. On a long fence run, understand that you are signing up to repaint a lot of surface area eventually.
Powder coat
Electrostatically applied and oven-cured, so it is far tougher and more even than sprayed paint, available in any RAL colour, and it lasts years longer. Two things to know: it needs proper preparation underneath to bond, and it chips rather than scuffs — a chip exposes bare steel and wants touching up. The piece also has to be sized to fit the coater’s oven, which occasionally affects how something is detailed.
Hot-dip galvanizing
The piece is dipped in molten zinc, which coats every surface — including the inside of hollow sections, which no sprayed finish reaches. It protects electrochemically, so it keeps working at a scratch. On exterior fencing and structural work it is generally the best value across the life of the piece.
The costs are cosmetic and logistical: a distinctive matte grey, a sometimes uneven surface, and a trip to a galvanizer that adds days. Fabrication also has to be detailed for it — vent and drain holes so the zinc flows and nothing explodes.
Galvanized, then powder coated
Belt and braces: zinc doing the protecting, powder coat doing the colour. The most durable exterior finish we offer and the most expensive. On a large gate or a long fence you want in a specific colour and do not want to think about again, it is the right answer.
East Bay conditions, specifically
Inland Hayward, Castro Valley and Fremont are relatively kind to painted steel. Closer to the bay — Alameda, parts of San Leandro and Oakland — salt-laden air is a real factor and it shortens the life of a painted finish noticeably. If your job is within sight of the water, we will push you toward galvanizing or aluminum, and we will explain why rather than just quoting the more expensive option.
Maintenance, honestly
Almost none of it is difficult, and most of it is just looking. Twice a year, walk the piece: check for a chip that has started to rust, check that a gate still latches without lifting, check that water is not standing in a post base or a bottom rail. Touch up a chip when you see it, not after it has spread.
Moving parts want attention too — hinges and latches on a gate that gets used daily benefit from a wipe and a little lubrication once a year, and an automated gate is worth having its operator serviced on the schedule the manufacturer specifies rather than when it stops.
Materials & finishes
What people ask about metal and coatings.
Steel or aluminum — which should I pick?
Steel unless corrosion is your dominant concern. Steel is stronger for the same wall thickness, welds and repairs easily, and costs less; with a proper finish it lasts decades outdoors. Aluminum will not rust at all, which is genuinely valuable on something nobody will ever repaint and on a balcony taking salt air — but it is weaker for the same section, so an aluminum piece has to be heavier or more closely supported to do the same job, which claws back some of the cost advantage. For a driveway gate that will be automated, steel is usually the answer. For a coastal balcony rail nobody will maintain, aluminum often is.
What actually is "wrought iron"?
Almost never literally wrought iron. True wrought iron has not been produced commercially for a long time; when a contractor says wrought iron today they nearly always mean mild steel worked in the traditional ornamental style — scrolls, collars, twisted bar, hammered texture. That is what we mean too, and we would rather tell you that than let the word do work it does not deserve. The style is real, the material is steel, and steel is the better material anyway.
Is galvanizing better than powder coat?
For durability on exterior steel, yes, and by a clear margin — hot-dip galvanizing coats every surface including inside hollow sections, and it protects the steel electrochemically even where it gets scratched. Its drawbacks are cosmetic and logistical: it has a distinctive matte grey finish, it can leave a slightly uneven surface, and the piece has to be sent out to a galvanizer, which adds time. The best of both is galvanizing with powder coat over the top — most durable, most expensive, and worth it on a big exterior piece you want in a specific colour.
How long before exterior metalwork needs repainting?
It depends entirely on the coating and the exposure, and we are not going to give you a number that pretends otherwise. What we can tell you is the ranking, which holds everywhere: bare steel starts to rust in weeks. Primed-and-painted needs attention soonest and the south and west faces go first. Powder coat lasts far longer but eventually chalks and can chip. Galvanizing outlasts all of them and needs essentially nothing. What we will do at the estimate is tell you what your specific piece, in its specific spot, will realistically need — and if the answer is 'more maintenance than you want', say so and we will spec differently.
Can you match an existing colour?
Usually close, and sometimes exactly. Powder coat can be matched to a RAL number precisely; matching an existing faded paint by eye is approximate by nature, because the thing you are matching has changed colour since it was new. If the match has to be invisible, the honest options are to repaint both, or to accept that the new piece will look newer for a year or two until they converge. We will tell you which situation you are in before you commit.
Free estimate
Not sure which finish your job needs?
Tell us where the piece lives and how much maintenance you honestly want to do. That answers it faster than a spec sheet.
Licensed, bonded and insured — CSLB #1037852. Free estimates, no obligation.
Based in Hayward. Serving the East Bay. Not sure if it’s something we do? See the full list of services, or book a consultation.