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 Repair Across San Fernando
Gate repair in San Fernando usually costs between $180 and $340 for hinge and post work, and most jobs are completed same-day when we can get to the site that afternoon. If your gate sags, drags on the concrete, or will not close after the evening wind, call us at (951) 749-5734 and Hal will talk you through what he is seeing before anyone drives out. We know the tight lots, the shared driveways off Maclay and Foothill, and the way your gate behaves differently in August than it does in February, because we have been fixing gates in this valley for over two decades.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is San Fernando’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Hal Gatewood has been repairing gates since 2001, and his name is on the shop. That is not a slogan. When we quote a job in San Fernando, the price is written down before any work starts, and if the repair is not done right, you call and Hal comes back. It is the 90-Day Done Right Promise, and it is stamped on every invoice, not buried in a footer. Homeowners around San Fernando have learned that a gate fixed by Gatewood stays fixed, because we repair the post and the frame instead of swapping the cheapest part and hoping.
We do not route calls through a voicemail maze. A live person answers the phone around the clock, not a scripted dispatcher on the other side of the country. When you call about a gate dragging on a cracked driveway in San Fernando, the person who answers knows what a post-Northridge footing is and why it matters. That is the difference between hiring a local owner-operator and a faceless outfit. Hal has a published address and license number anyone can look up. He is not passing through.
Our Gate Repair Services in San Fernando
Hinge & Post Repair
In San Fernando, the hinge post is where most gate failures start. The 1994 Northridge earthquake is not ancient history here, a huge share of driveway and yard gate footings were poured during the mid-to-late-1990s rebuild, and those concrete footings are now 28 to 30 years old. Clay-heavy soil across the city heaves with winter rain and shrinks in summer, cracking the concrete and throwing posts out of plumb. We dig out the old footing, pour a new one at proper depth, and re-hang the gate so it clears the ground without scraping. Fix the panel without the post and you will fix it twice.
Gate Realignment
A gate that closes fine in dry August can drag or bind completely by February in San Fernando, because the soil under the post changes with the rain. We check footing depth and soil type before quoting any hinge adjustment, and that is the difference between a job that holds and one that fails again next winter. Our team re-plumbs frames, replaces bent hinge barrels, and adjusts the latch so the gate seats cleanly every time. These are the calls we make most often in this city, more than any hardware swap.
Weld & Rust Repair
San Fernando’s housing stock leans hard toward ornamental wrought-iron gates on small postwar lots, many of them 60 to 80 years old. After decades of the Valley’s thermal cycling, with summer days at 105°F and winter nights below 40°F, those decorative scrollwork joints stress-crack and corrode at the welds. We weld on site, right in your driveway, so the gate never leaves your property. Hal has been fixing what other companies want to replace since 2001, and he would rather repair a cracked weld than sell you a new gate you do not need.
Electric Gate Repair
When an automatic gate opener fails in San Fernando, it is usually the motor, the limit switch, or the safety sensor, but sometimes the opener is working hard against a post that shifted out of plumb. We service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule systems, and we diagnose the whole gate, not just the box on the post. If the opener is fine and the post moved, we tell you that, and we fix the post. You do not pay for a new opener you never needed.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Fernando
We carry parts and service all nine major gate opener brands, including Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing, which means we are not waiting on a distributor while your gate sits open. Most common replacement boards, sensors, and remotes are on our truck when we arrive in San Fernando. If your system is older and the manufacturer has discontinued the part, Hal can often wire around the failure or fabricate a bracket on site. That is the advantage of a repair-first shop with a welding rig, we do not tell you the opener is obsolete just because the parts counter is out of stock.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in San Fernando Homes
- Post-Northridge concrete footing failure: Footings poured in the 1990s are cracking and heaving in clay soil, pushing gate posts out of plumb and causing bind or drag in wet months. We reset the post and pour a new footing instead of shimming the gate.
- Shared driveway slide gates: Tight rights-of-way off streets like Maclay and Hubbard force slide gates into narrow clearances, and a shifted post or worn rack and pinion leaves the gate jammed mid-travel. We repair these without blocking your neighbor’s access.
- Wrought-iron weld fatigue: Decades of thermal cycling stress-crack scrollwork joints on ornamental gates throughout San Fernando’s older neighborhoods. A cracked weld is often stronger after repair than it was when the gate was new.
- Warped wooden gate frames: The Valley’s 60-degree seasonal temperature swing expands and contracts wood and hardware, loosening hinge bolts and sagging gate corners. We re-square the frame and add steel reinforcement where it is needed.
Pricing for Gate Repair in San Fernando, CA
A typical hinge and post repair in San Fernando runs $180 to $340, depending on whether the post needs to be dug out and re-poured or just re-plumbed. Gate realignment work is $150 to $280 in most cases. Weld and rust repair generally runs $120 to $300 per weld or section, and electric opener troubleshooting starts around $95 for the service call, with the repair itself quoted separately. We do not charge a trip fee inside the county, we take $40 off any repair over $200, and seniors and veterans get 10% off, permanently. Every price is written down and agreed to before we touch a tool, no exceptions. Call (951) 749-5734 and Hal will give you a straight number.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Fernando
Our Gate Repair in San Fernando team serves the surrounding valley communities too. If you are in Sylmar, Granada Hills, Panorama City, or Sun Valley, we can usually reach you the same day, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise applies everywhere we work. Call (951) 749-5734 and tell Hal where the gate is giving you trouble.
Serving San Fernando, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Fernando 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 - Gate Repair in San Fernando
Because the clay soil under your post expands when winter rain arrives, heaving a footing that was already cracked from 30 years of Valley heat and the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The post shifts a fraction of an inch, and suddenly the gate scrapes the concrete that it cleared all summer. We fix this by resetting the post at proper depth with a new footing, not by shaving the gate. Call (951) 749-5734 for a free estimate.
Usually not. If the LiftMaster opener still runs and the safety sensors respond, the problem is the post, not the motor. We re-plumb the post and re-hang the gate, then adjust the opener’s travel limits to match the new position. Replacing the opener would not fix the underlying problem. Call us first and we will tell you what actually needs to be done.
Yes. Slide gate repairs on shared driveways across San Fernando are common, especially off Maclay Avenue and in the tighter postwar lots. We work in stages so the gate stays operable or the pedestrian path stays open while we replace a worn rack, fix a shifted post, or re-align the track. Tell us about the shared access when you call (951) 749-5734 and we will plan the work around it.
Your automatic gate should have working photoelectric sensors, a contact edge or similar reversing device, and audible warning, depending on the installation class. If your gate reverses only when someone physically pushes against it, the protection is not working. Hal has been servicing electric gates since 2001 and will check the full safety circuit during any opener repair. High-voltage wiring and gate motors can cause serious injury, so this is a job for a trained professional, not a weekend project.
In most cases, yes. The scrollwork joints on San Fernando’s older ornamental iron gates take the most stress each time the gate swings, and a cracked weld will eventually tear through the metal. We weld the joint on site, grind it smooth, and rust-treat it so the repair blends with the original work. Replacing the gate would cost three to five times more and you would lose the original ironwork. Bring us a photo and we will give you a straight answer.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for San Fernando Gate Repair
A gate that will not close is not something you put off until next week, it is an open door to your yard and your home. If your gate is sagging, dragging, or dead in the track, call Hal at (951) 749-5734. You will get a live person on the phone, a straight price before any work begins, and a 90-Day Done Right Promise on every repair. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That is the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving San Fernando since 2001.