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 Parts & Welding Across Boston
Gate parts and welding in Boston usually means one of two things: a historic wrought-iron gate that needs a repair only a welder can do right, or a newer gate where a specific part failed and the manufacturer no longer makes it. We do both, and we do them on site. Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001, and his crew carries welding rigs and a rolling stock of common parts into Boston’s oldest neighborhoods every week. If your gate is sagging, seized, or missing a hinge strap in Beacon Hill, Back Bay, or the North End, call (877) 610-2993 and someone will actually pick up.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Boston’s Preferred Gate Parts & Welding Company
Most gate companies in Boston will look at a 140-year-old iron gate and tell you to replace it. We won’t. Our Gate Parts & Welding team repairs what’s there when the metal is still sound, because a hand-forged gate from the 1860s is not something you can order from a catalog. Hal’s name is on the shop and on every invoice, and he has been at this long enough to know that Boston homeowners want the gate they already have to work again, not a shiny aluminum panel that looks wrong against a brick rowhouse.
Boston customers call us for the same reason our suburban customers do: a live person answers the phone 24/7, the price is quoted and agreed before any work starts, and every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. No voicemail tree. No call center three states away. When you call (877) 610-2993, you get a real person who knows what a strap hinge is.
We also know the city’s rules. In the Back Bay Architectural Commission district and Beacon Hill’s Landmarks jurisdiction, swapping a hinge or welding a repair often requires approval before the work starts. We prepare the submission and we know what the commissions look for. That saves Boston homeowners weeks of back-and-forth.
Our Gate Parts & Welding Services in Boston
Hinge Replacement
In Boston, hinge replacement on a historic gate is rarely a bolt-off, bolt-on job. Original 19th-century hinges were forged to match the gate’s profile, which means an off-the-shelf hinge either won’t fit or looks wrong enough that the Landmarks Commission will flag it. We remove the old hinge, take measurements and a profile pattern, and weld a replacement that matches the original’s shape and swing. On Beacon Hill garden gates, we often find the hinge is fine and the granite curb it was set into has shifted. We re-anchor the granite first, then set the hinge. Fixing one without the other means the gate binds again by spring.
Post Replacement
Back Bay gate posts sit in 19th-century hydraulic fill, which sounds like a footnote until your post is leaning three degrees every March. The fill settles, frost heaves it, and the post goes out of plumb regardless of how well the gate was built. We dig out the footing, set the post at proper depth with concrete and gravel drainage, and re-hang the gate so it swings true. If the post itself is still sound, we re-anchor it in place rather than tearing out masonry that may be original to the property. In Boston, matching the existing post matters more than speed.
Rail Repair
Wrought-iron rail sections on older Boston pedestrian gates crack at the scrolls and the picket welds after decades of freeze-thaw cycles and road salt. We cut out the cracked section, splice in matching iron, and weld it so the repair follows the original line. On ornamental work in the North End or along Commonwealth Avenue, we grind and finish the weld to match the surrounding patina. A sagging mid-rail often points back to a hinge-side post problem, so we check the whole gate before we weld anything, because fixing the rail without fixing the post means you’ll fix it twice.
Custom Welding
Sometimes the part doesn’t exist anymore. A Beacon Hill strap hinge from 1850, a curved top rail with a specific scroll pattern, a latch assembly that fit a gate made before standard sizing. That’s what our welding rig is for. We fabricate the part on site, match the iron profile, and age or finish it to blend with the original metal. Custom welding also covers gate motor brackets when a newer operator like FAAC or Viking gets retrofitted onto an old iron gate in the Seaport or South Boston. If it’s iron and it holds a gate together, we can fix or make it.
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 Boston
Boston’s older pedestrian gates rarely have operators, but the ones that do run on whatever was installed when the building last changed hands. We service and stock parts for FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators, along with several other major manufacturers. When a control board fails inside a 19th-century brick enclosure, we replace the board and adapt the mount rather than tearing out the original gate hardware. For South Boston and Seaport properties with slide gates, we see salt-air corrosion on the rack and pinion before anything else fails, and we keep those wear parts on the truck ready to swap.
Common Gate Parts & Welding Problems We See in Boston Homes
- Seized hinges on waterfront-facing gates. Salt air off Boston Harbor plus the city’s road brine turns a hinge stiff by late winter, especially in the North End and Seaport. We free, rebuild, or replace the hinge and swap in stainless pins where the design allows.
- Posts settling in hydraulic fill. Back Bay was built on 19th-century landfill, and that fill keeps moving. Gate posts lean, gates bind at the latch, and the post needs re-anchoring at proper depth before the gate will ever swing true again.
- Granite stoop curbs shifting on Beacon Hill. Original 1840s garden gates were set directly into granite stoop curbing without independent footings. A century and a half of frost cycles has rotated that granite, pulling the hinge side out of alignment in ways no hinge kit solves.
- Obsolete control boards and limit switches. Older operators in Boston brownstone enclosures fail when parts go out of production. We cross-reference and retrofit current FAAC, BFT, Linear, or Viking components into the existing gate so you don’t have to replace a perfectly good iron frame.
Pricing for Gate Parts & Welding in Boston, MA
A hinge replacement on an older Boston gate typically runs $220 to $480 per hinge, depending on whether we forge a custom match or adapt an available part. Post re-anchoring or replacement in Back Bay fill usually falls between $450 and $900 per post, including digging and setting at frost depth. Rail repair with splice welding runs $180 to $400 per section. Custom welding work in Boston’s historic districts is quoted per job after we see the gate, because no two 19th-century iron profiles are identical, but most small fabrication jobs land between $250 and $700. Every price is quoted and agreed before we start. We never show up and add a number at the door. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Boston
Our Boston crew works the whole metro, including South Boston, Chelsea, Cambridge, and Winthrop. The drive time doesn’t change the price: no trip charge inside the county, and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise applies in every neighborhood we serve.
Serving Boston, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Boston 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 Parts & Welding in Boston
Yes, in most cases. Any exterior change to a gate or fence in a Boston Landmarks district requires a certificate from the Back Bay Architectural Commission or the Boston Landmarks Commission before work starts. We prepare the filing, document the existing condition, and submit the proposal. On a Beacon Hill garden gate, we re-anchored the granite curb and welded a matching strap hinge, and the commission approved the work on the first submission. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you whether your address falls under commission review.
It’s usually both. The original 1840s gates on Beacon Hill were set directly into granite stoop curbing without independent footings, and 160 years of frost cycles have slowly rotated that granite. The hinge post goes out of plumb, the gate drops, and the bottom rail drags on the stone. We re-anchor the granite first with shims, then assess the hinge. If the hinge strap is original and sound, we reset it; if it’s cracked, we forge a replacement. Fixing only the hinge without re-anchoring the granite means the gate binds again by spring.
Yes, if the corrosion has not destroyed the rack teeth. We remove the rack sections, clean the mounting surface, and replace the hardware with stainless fasteners. Where the rack itself is too far gone, we cut out the bad section and weld in matching rack stock. Seaport and North End slide gates take more salt exposure than the rest of Boston, so we also check the pinion gear and limit switches while we’re in there. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote; estimates are free.
Because Back Bay was built on hydraulic fill, not native ground, and that fill keeps settling. A reset that goes down only two feet will heave with the frost or settle with the fill. We excavate to the proper depth for the post size, add gravel drainage, and use a concrete mass sized for Boston’s frost line, which is deeper than most people assume. If a post has been reset multiple times without depth and drainage, we’ll show you what we’re doing differently before we pour anything.
We can do it on old gates when access allows. Loop detector leads for vehicle or pedestrian gates on Beacon Hill and Back Bay properties are often surface-run and fail from moisture or damage. We can route and secure the lead inside the gate frame, weld a small protective channel, or run it through conduit underneath the gate. If the gate is ornamental 19th-century iron, we’ll do it in a way that doesn’t alter the visible profile and still meets commission requirements.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Boston since 2001.