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 West Hills
Gate repair in West Hills usually means one of a few things: a motor that won’t move, a gate that sags and drags, or a panel that swung fine last week and now won’t budge. We fix all three, and we do it the way it should be done - at your house, with the gate still on its hinges, by someone whose name you can actually look up. Hal Gatewood has been running Gatewood Fence & Gate since 2001, and a live person answers our phone 24 hours a day. If your gate is stuck open, stuck shut, or making a sound it shouldn’t, call (818) 514-7606 and talk it through with us. We serve all of West Hills, from the flats near Roscoe Boulevard up to the foothill streets off Valley Circle.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is West Hills’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
We don’t have a call center, and we don’t have a rotating cast of subcontractors. When someone in West Hills calls about a gate, the person who answers is either Hal or someone who works directly for him and knows the neighborhoods. That matters here because the gates in West Hills are not all the same animal. A 1970s wrought-iron swing gate off Sherman Way is a different repair than a post-Woolsey automated slide gate up near Woolsey Canyon Road, and the person who shows up needs to know which one he’s looking at before he touches a wrench.
We have repaired hundreds of gates in West Hills and the surrounding valley. Homeowners here tend to be done with guessing games. They want a written price before the work starts, and they want the person who gave that price to stand behind it. That’s what we do. Every job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Not “up to” anything. Not “in most cases.” If it isn’t done right, you call and we come back. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road - that’s the oldest accountability there is.
Our Gate Repair Services in West Hills
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gates in West Hills take a beating. Summer days above 105°F bake capacitors on control boards, especially on older models. When a keypad goes dead or a remote stops opening the gate, the problem is usually at the board or the transformer, not the keypad itself. We troubleshoot the whole circuit before swapping parts. Hal doesn’t replace a board that’s fine, and he doesn’t band-aid a board that’s fried. You get an honest answer, and a price you agree to before we touch anything.
Automatic Gate Repair
Automatic gate operators in West Hills fail in patterns. On the sloped foothill lots, we see limit switches tripping over and over because the installer treated a pitched driveway like a flat one. On the valley floor, we see operators that were never sized for the weight of a solid steel gate, so the motor burns out in five years instead of fifteen. We service nine major brands - LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule - and we stock common parts for all of them. Call (818) 514-7606 and tell us what the gate is doing wrong. We’ll tell you what it likely is before we even get there.
Hinge & Post Repair
A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. That’s where we start. In West Hills, the Santa Ana winds that come through the Santa Susana Pass put real lateral force on swing-gate hinges, and over ten or twenty years, the post starts to lean and the gate follows. Welding a patch onto the panel doesn’t fix a post that’s moving. We dig out the footing, reset the post, and then align the gate to it. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice.
Gate Realignment
When a gate drags on the driveway or latches an inch too high, something moved. Gate realignment is not just loosening bolts and eyeballing it. We measure the plumb of the posts, check the grade under the gate, and set the hinges so the panel hangs square under its own weight. On West Hills homes with long sloped driveways, we also check the operator’s travel limits, because a gate that’s out of alignment usually means the motor is fighting the frame. That’s how operators die young.
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.
Trusted Brands We Service in West Hills
We’re certified to service all nine major gate brands: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. Around here, we see a lot of old DoorKing operators still running from the 1980s, and a lot of newer LiftMaster and Elite units on the post-Woolsey rebuilds. We keep common control boards, limit switches, gears, and remotes in stock for West Hills customers, so a repair doesn’t turn into a two-week wait for a part. If it’s a brand we service and we can get the part, we’ll fix it in your driveway rather than hauling the gate to a shop. Hal welds on site. The gate stays where it belongs.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in West Hills Homes
- Santa Ana wind debris jamming slide gates. The Santa Susana Pass funnels wind straight into the western edge of West Hills, and that wind carries grit, leaves, and small branches into slide-gate tracks. A single clogged roller can throw the whole track out of alignment, and the gate starts grinding against the rack and pinion.
- Post-Woolsey operators spec’d for flat driveways. Many rebuilt homes in the foothills got brand-new gates installed quickly, and the specs didn’t account for the pitch. The operator’s limit switches trip constantly, and the bottom rollers gouge the track within a year or two. This is the most common repair we do on newer gates in West Hills.
- Obsolete control boards on 1960s-1980s gates. A lot of original ranch homes in West Hills still have their original gate motors, or close to it. After two decades of 105°F summers baking the capacitors, the board gives out. We can often retrofit a modern control board into an older housing, which is cheaper than replacing the operator.
- Sagging swing gates from worn hinge posts. The wind load on exposed foothill streets loosens post footings over time. The gate starts dragging on the latch side, and the hinges start to tear out. We reset the post and re-hang the gate, which is the only repair that lasts.
Pricing for Gate Repair in West Hills, CA
Here’s what you can expect to pay in West Hills, based on what we actually charge:
- Gate realignment: $150-$300, depending on the number of hinges and whether the post needs shimming.
- Hinge and post reset with new concrete footing: $350-$750, depending on post size and access.
- Automatic gate operator limit switch reset and track cleanup: $180-$320.
- Control board replacement or retrofit: $250-$600, depending on the brand and board.
- Full gate motor replacement: $700-$1,800, depending on operator type and gate weight.
- On-site weld repair for a cracked steel frame or hinge: $200-$450.
These are real ranges, not phone estimates that balloon at the door. The price you’re quoted is the price you pay, and we agree on it before any work starts. We don’t charge a trip fee inside the county, and we offer $40 off any repair over $200. Seniors and veterans get 10% off, permanently. If you have a written estimate from another company, bring it to us - Hal will give you a free second opinion on it.
We Also Serve Cities Near West Hills
Our Gate Repair crew covers West Hills and the surrounding area, including Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, and Northridge. If you’re a few blocks over the line, don’t worry about it. Call us and we’ll tell you if we can get there. Most of the time, we can.
Serving West Hills, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the West Hills 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 West Hills
Because the gate was likely spec’d for a flat driveway, and your West Hills lot isn’t flat. On sloped foothill streets, the gate’s weight loads unevenly on the operator, and the limit switches trip as the motor tries to compensate for the grade. We see this constantly on rebuilds off Valley Circle and Woolsey Canyon. The fix is usually to reset the operator’s travel limits and add a wedge or adjust the rollers so the gate sits square on the slope. Call (818) 514-7606 and we’ll send someone to measure it.
Replace the hinge post. A gate that sags at the latch side is almost always hanging from a post that has moved, and no amount of panel welding will fix a footing that’s loose. We reset the post in a new footing, then re-hang the gate so it swings square. If the panel itself is cracked, we can weld that too, but the post comes first. That’s the repair that lasts.
Most gates installed before about 2001 don’t. Modern UL 325 standards require safety edges or photo eyes that stop and reverse the gate if it hits something, plus a secondary entrapment protection device. If your gate was here before the rules changed, it probably lacks one or both. We can retrofit safety edges and photo eyes onto almost any existing operator, which is a lot cheaper than replacing the whole system and keeps the gate legal.
Because the Santa Susana Pass funnels wind straight into western West Hills, and that wind drives debris into the gate track. Once a roller clogs, the gate starts grinding sideways, and the track gets bent. The permanent fix is a track cleaning and roller replacement, plus a brush seal along the bottom of the gate to keep debris out. We keep those seals in stock.
In most cases, we can cut out the warped section and weld in a new one, without replacing the whole gate. Steel expands in heat, and if the gate was built too tight in the frame, repeated 105°F days will bow it. We straighten what we can and replace what we can’t, and the repair is usually a few hundred dollars, not a few thousand. Bring us a photo and we’ll tell you straight.
If your gate is giving you trouble in West Hills, call (818) 514-7606. You’ll get a live person, an honest answer, and a written price before we touch anything. Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the way it should be.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving West Hills since 2001.