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 North Portland
A sagging gate in North Portland is rarely just a hinge problem. In the 97203 corridor, it’s usually a clay-heaved post, rust-seized hardware, or a forty-year-old weld finally letting go. We handle all of it, usually the same day, with a welder that runs off the truck in your driveway. If your gate is dragging, binding, or hanging crooked, call (877) 610-2993 and Hal or one of his crew will come look at it. That’s the short answer. We’ve been fixing gates in St. Johns, Kenton, Portsmouth, and Arbor Lodge since 2001, so we know exactly what the soil here does to a post and what it takes to make the repair survive the next wet season.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is North Portland’s Preferred Gate Parts & Welding Company
A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that is where we start. Most companies want to unbolt the gate and haul it off, or worse, sell you a whole new gate when the old one just needs a fresh hinge and a square post. Hal’s shop has been owner-operated since 2001, and the name Gatewood is literally on the truck, the invoice, and the sign. That’s accountability you can’t fake. North Portland homeowners call us because we quote a price up front, in writing, before any work starts. No surprises at the door. And every job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not right, one call brings us back. That’s not a warranty buried in fine print, it’s a promise stamped on the work order.
We answer the phone with a live person, 24/7. Not a voicemail tree, not a call center. When you call about a gate dragging on its swing arc in St. Johns, you talk to someone who knows what Willamette clay does to a 6×6 post. We work the whole 97203 zip code, from the Columbia Slough lowlands up through Kenton. Our response time to North Portland is generally same day for urgent repair calls, because we schedule our crews around the neighborhoods we know, not around a dispatch map drawn three states away.
Our Gate Parts & Welding Services in North Portland
Every one of these starts with a look at the post, the footing, and the soil it’s sitting in. That’s the part most people skip, and it’s the part that determines whether the fix lasts six months or fifteen years. Here’s what we actually do in North Portland.
Post Replacement
In North Portland’s pre-WWII housing stock, the original gate posts were often set in shallow concrete or no concrete at all. Sixty to eighty years of wet season heave later, the post leans, the gate binds, and no amount of hinge adjustment will fix it. We pull the old post, inspect the footing, and re-set the new one at depth, with 4,000-psi concrete and proper drainage so the clay doesn’t push it out of plumb again. On a shared driveway off North Yale Street in Kenton, we found a 12-foot swing gate dragging by an inch because its hinge post had rotated a full degree out of plumb from winter clay heave. We cut the rusted LiftMaster hinge bolts, pulled the post, and re-set it in a 36-inch footing, then welded a new continuous hinge leaf so the gate cleared its swing arc and the UPS truck could keep using that right of way without dismounting. That’s post replacement done right, and it takes half a day, not a whole weekend.
Hinge Replacement
Original iron hinges on 1920s and 1930s gates near the Columbia Slough rust from the inside out. The damp microclimate down by the river and the Slough gets into the pin, seizes the bearing, and the gate either won’t swing or swings with a groan you can hear from the kitchen. We remove the old hinge, grind the post face clean, and weld or bolt a new hinge leaf that matches the swing arc. We stock heavy-gauge steel and iron hinges that survive North Portland’s October-to-May moisture, not the thin box-store hardware that rusts through in two seasons. If the gate was re-shimmed twice and still sags, the problem isn’t the hinge, it’s the post, and we’ll tell you that straight.
Rail Repair
Wood gates in North Portland sag because the horizontal rails rot at the joints where moisture collects. The Slough-adjacent blocks see more of this than the hillier ground up toward Willamette Boulevard. We cut out the rotted rail, sister in new wood or weld a steel stiffener across the gate face, and re-square the frame before rehanging. On welded steel gates, cracked rails from years of misalignment get ground back, re-welded, and gusseted so the stress doesn’t concentrate in the same spot. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. We fix both.
Custom Welding
Some repairs need a torch and a steady hand, not a parts catalog. We weld on site, right in your driveway, so the gate never leaves your property. That matters when the gate is the only thing keeping a shared driveway secure, or when it’s a counterweighted slide gate on a narrow right of way that can’t be out of commission for a week. Our Gate Parts & Welding crew carries mobile MIG and stick welders, and we’ve re-welded everything from broken latch mounts on St. Johns porch gates to cracked slide racks on commercial gates near the industrial edge of the Slough. Custom bracket, new mounting plate, a hinge leaf that doesn’t exist in a catalog, we build it in the truck and install it before we leave.
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 North Portland
We service and stock parts for the brands you actually find in 97203, including LiftMaster, Viking, Ghost Controls, and BFT. If your slide gate opener is a Ghost Controls or a Viking and the rack teeth are stripping, we can weld a new rack section onto the existing steel rather than replacing the whole rail. That’s the repair-first difference. Hal is certified on all nine major gate brands, but in North Portland, the brand matters less than the person installing and welding it. We keep common hinge sets, latch assemblies, and weld-in rack stock in the truck so we don’t have to order for a second visit on a simple repair.
Common Gate Parts & Welding Problems We See in North Portland Homes
- Hinge post lean from clay heave. On pre-1950 homes, the original post footing is too shallow for Willamette clay that swells all winter. A gate that swung freely in September drags the ground by February. Re-hinging a gate on a leaning post is a six-month fix at best. The post has to be re-set, and that’s the first thing we check.
- Rust-seized iron hardware near the Columbia Slough. The lowland damp gets into original iron hinges and latches faster than on higher ground. A rusted hinge pin can snap mid-cycle, dropping the gate onto a car or a pedestrian. We replace with sealed-bearing hardware rated for wet exposure, and we weld, not just bolt, when the post face is too far gone.
- Counterweighted slide gate failures on narrow shared driveways. The clay shifts, the track moves a quarter inch, and the rack and pinion strip. The gate jams against its post and the motor burns itself out trying to push it. We re-align, weld the rack back to true, and re-set the guide rollers. It’s a common fix on the tight driveways off Lombard and Denver.
- Wood gate rot at rail joints. Forty years of North Portland rain, especially in the low blocks near the Slough, rots the rail ends where they enter the stiles. The gate loses its square, the latch stops lining up, and the whole thing twists. We cut out the rot and weld in a steel corner brace or sister a new rail. The gate is usually tougher after the repair than it was new.
Pricing for Gate Parts & Welding in North Portland, OR
In North Portland, you should expect to pay between $180 and $340 for a standard hinge replacement on a single swing gate, including the hinge, hardware, and the labor to re-square the gate in its swing arc. Post replacement runs higher. A typical post pull and re-set in clay soil runs $350 to $650, depending on depth, footing condition, and whether we need to weld a new mounting plate. Rail repair on a wood gate runs $180 to $400, depending on how much of the rail needs to be cut out and whether we sister in wood or weld steel. Custom welding is quoted by the job. A simple crack repair or latch mount runs $120 to $220, while re-welding a slide gate rack or building a custom hinge assembly runs $250 to $600. These are the numbers we quote up front, in writing, before any work starts. No trip charge inside the county, $40 off any repair over $200, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote, estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Portland
Most of our North Portland work comes from the 97203 zip, but our crews regularly cross the line into Kenton, Bethany, Cedar Mill, and Oak Hills when a gate needs welding or a post needs re-setting. If you’re anywhere on the north side of Portland and your gate is binding, dragging, or seized up, call us. We know the clay, the damp, and the tight driveways on this side of the city. Read more about our Gate Parts & Welding in North Portland service area, or just call and tell Hal where the gate is.
Serving North Portland, OR - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Portland 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 North Portland
We excavate a narrow hole around the post, cut it at ground level, and pull the remaining stub with a farm jack, not a tractor. On a shared driveway in St. Johns, that means the excavation stays within a 12- to 18-inch circle and the concrete apron stays intact. We then bore a proper-depth hole, typically 32 to 36 inches, set the new post in 4,000-psi concrete with drainage gravel at the bottom, and weld the new hinge before the concrete sets. Your neighbor’s access is never blocked. The gate is back on its hinges same day. Call (877) 610-2993 to schedule a look at the post.
Yes, if the post above the rust line is still structurally sound. We cut the rotted section out, weld a new steel sleeve or replacement section onto the remaining post, and then weld the rack rail to the new metal at the correct height. The key is getting the post plumb and the rack straight before the weld cools. We’ve done this on commercial slide gates near the Slough where a full post replacement would have required tearing up a poured pad. Call us for a quote. The repair is usually half the cost of replacement.
That’s clay heave. In North Portland, the Willamette clay absorbs water all winter and expands, pushing your hinge post out of plumb. Even one degree of rotation can lower the gate’s swing arc by an inch or more at the latch end. That’s why the gate scrapes the ground in February but swings free in September. The permanent fix is to re-set the post deeper, with proper drainage, not just to adjust the hinges. Re-hinging a gate on a post that moved is a six-month fix at best. We check post plumb before we touch a hinge on any North Portland job.
Almost always, yes. If the pedestrian gate is on its own post and its own hinges, it stays functional through the whole job. We unbolt or cut the vehicle gate off, weld the new hinge on saw horses or a welding table, and re-hang it before we leave. The time the vehicle gate is off its hinges is measured in hours, not days. On shared driveways in Kenton and Arbor Lodge where the vehicle gate is the only security, we schedule the work so the gate is back up before dark. That’s a promise, not an afterthought.
Stop re-shimming it and look at the post. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. If it’s been re-shimmed twice and still sags, the post is moving, the post is rotted below grade, or the hinge leaf is worn to the point where shims are supporting the whole weight. In North Portland, that’s usually clay heave or post rot from the Slough damp. We check the post with a level and a probe, find the actual cause, and fix that. A new hinge won’t help a post that’s moving. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll diagnose it straight.
Get Your North Portland Gate Fixed Right
If your gate is dragging, binding, rusted through, or just not closing the way it should, call Hal Gatewood at (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, day or night. We’ll schedule a time that works for you, show up when we say we will, quote a price in writing before we start, and stand behind it with the 90-Day Done Right Promise. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving North Portland and the surrounding communities since 2001.