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 Tecumseh
Gate hinge snapped on a Victorian iron gate near downtown Tecumseh? Farm swing gate dragging through the gravel off Occidental Highway? We fix both, and here’s what you need to know up front: most gate parts and welding repairs in Tecumseh run $180 to $750, and the job usually takes one visit. The real difference in this town isn’t the part itself, it’s the ground the post sits in. Lenawee County clay heaves every March, and that’s why we start every Tecumseh call by checking the footing, not just the broken hardware.
Our Gate Parts & Welding team has been working on Tecumseh’s gates long enough to know which historic-district iron is worth saving and which farm gate needs a heavier hinge than what the box store sold you. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person, not a phone tree. Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop. The shop is down the road. That’s the accountability that matters.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Tecumseh’s Preferred Gate Parts & Welding Company
We’re locally owned and owner-operated, and we have been since 2001. That matters in Tecumseh because this town runs on reputations. When we weld a hinge bracket on a gate off Chicago Boulevard, the homeowner knows they’ll see us again at Jerry’s Market or the Tecumseh District Library. That’s not a marketing line. That’s just how small-town service works.
Tecumseh homeowners call us because we answer the phone around the clock, we show up when we say we will, and every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the weld fails or the post shifts, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no re-dispatch through a call center three states away. The person who answers the phone is the person who owns the company.
We’re certified to service Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, and Elite operators, along with five other major brands. But more importantly, we weld on site. Your gate stays in your driveway. We don’t haul it off to a shop and bill you for trucking. For Tecumseh’s historic iron and working farm gates, that on-site welding is the difference between a repair and a replacement.
Our Gate Parts & Welding Services in Tecumseh
Hinge Replacement
On Tecumseh’s Victorian and Craftsman homes, original iron hinges are often seized or snapped. Homeowners force them with penetrating oil or a breaker bar, and the leaf cracks. We replace or rebuild those hinges in place, matching the period look instead of bolting on a galvanized barn hinge that would look wrong on a 1890s gate. For modern gates on the rural edges, we weld heavy-duty barrel hinges with grease fittings, because the clay dust and gravel fines grind through standard hardware fast.
Post Replacement
This is the job Tecumseh’s soil demands most. Clay-heavy ground plus a frost line that can exceed 40 inches means posts heave out of plumb every spring. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. We dig out the old footing, re-set the post below the frost line with gravel drainage at the base, and pack the hole properly. Skip the depth or the drainage and you’ll call us again next March. We’d rather do it once.
Rail Repair
Tube-steel farm gates and decorative iron driveway gates both fail at the rail joints eventually. We see cracked welds where the top rail meets the hinge stile, bent rails where a mower or a fence post bumped it, and rust-through at the bottom rail where Tecumseh’s soil moisture sits on the metal. We cut out the bad section, weld in new material matched to the original, and dress it down so the repair looks like the gate was built that way.
Custom Welding
Sometimes the part you need doesn’t exist anymore. That’s especially true on historic-district gates with cast-iron scrollwork or unique latch plates. We fabricate replacements in the truck on site, using the original as a pattern. We also weld custom brackets for solar gate opener arms, extension wings for wide farm gates, and reinforcement plates for gates that have been patched too many times by somebody else.
What happens when you call
- 1
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 Tecumseh
We service Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing operators regularly across Tecumseh and Lenawee County. We carry common replacement parts for these brands in the truck, so a hinge rebuild or opener repair doesn’t wait on a shipment from Texas. For historic iron gates, we match hardware by style and dimension, not by part number, because there usually isn’t a part number left to find. And if your opener is past saving, we’ll tell you straight, then quote you a replacement that matches the gate’s weight and swing, not whatever’s on sale.
Common Gate Parts & Welding Problems We See in Tecumseh Homes
- Frost-heaved posts breaking hinge welds. Every spring, the clay under Tecumseh swells and shifts. Posts that were set shallow tip forward, and the hinge welds crack under the strain. The fix is re-setting the post, not just re-welding the hinge, because the post will move again next winter.
- Seized period hinges on historic-district iron. Victorian gate hinges in the downtown core are often original cast iron. They seize when people soak them in modern spray lubricants that gum up with dust. We restore the original iron, ream the pin hole, and fit a new pin so the gate swings like it’s 1902 again.
- Residential-grade openers on farm gates. A 16-foot tube-steel pasture gate weighs more than a subdivision driveway gate, and a $300 residential opener will strip its gears in two seasons. We size the operator to the actual gate weight and swing, and we weld a proper mounting plate so the rack doesn’t flex.
- Rust through on lower rails near the River Raisin. Properties along the floodplain and the river bottom carry high soil moisture year-round. Lower rails and hinge stiles rust through faster than they would in Adrian or Milan. We cut out the rot and weld in new steel, then set the gate so it isn’t sitting in water or tall grass.
Key Takeaways: Gate Parts & Welding in Tecumseh
- Most gate parts and welding repairs in Tecumseh run $180 to $750 depending on the post condition and the gate’s weight.
- Post re-setting is standard on most Tecumseh jobs because of the 40-inch frost line and clay-heavy soil, not an upsell.
- Historic-district iron gates from the late 1800s and early 1900s need period-compatible repair, and we weld on site to preserve the original hardware.
- Solar gate openers make sense for farm driveways off Occidental Highway and across rural Lenawee County where running mains power isn’t practical.
- We answer the phone live around the clock, and every repair carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
Pricing for Gate Parts & Welding in Tecumseh, MI
Hinge replacement on a standard residential gate in Tecumseh typically runs $180 to $340. Post replacement with new concrete and gravel drainage runs $400 to $750 per post, depending on depth and whether we’re dealing with clay, roots, or a buried conduit. Custom welding work like rail repair, bracket fabrication, or crack repair runs $150 to $450. Gate opener repair on a Viking, Ghost Controls, or DoorKing unit generally runs $220 to $520, including the service call.
| Service | Typical Range in Tecumseh |
|---|---|
| Hinge replacement | $180 - $340 |
| Post replacement or re-setting | $400 - $750 per post |
| Rail repair / custom welding | $150 - $450 |
| Opener repair (Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing) | $220 - $520 |
| Full automated gate install (wide farm gates) | $2,400 - $5,800 |
Every Tecumseh job gets a written quote before any work starts. The price we quote is the price you pay. We don’t show up with a different number at the door. And right now, any repair over $200 takes $40 off, there’s no trip charge anywhere in Lenawee County, and seniors and veterans save 10% on every job, permanently. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Tecumseh
We handle gate parts and welding calls across Tecumseh and the surrounding Lenawee and Washtenaw County areas every week. That includes Adrian, Milan, Lambertville, and Ypsilanti. If you’re outside Tecumseh proper, call anyway. Chances are we’re already working a gate down the road from you.
Serving Tecumseh, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tecumseh 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 Tecumseh
A gate post in Tecumseh’s clay soil should be set at least 42 inches deep, below the frost line, with 6 to 8 inches of gravel at the base for drainage. Anything shallower will heave in late winter. We set every replacement post to that standard, which is why our post work doesn’t come back next spring. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll confirm the depth for your specific gate before we dig.
Yes, and we do it regularly in Tecumseh’s historic district. The key is using the right heat and filler rod for the original iron, with the gate braced so nothing warps. We weld on site, not in a shop, so the gate never leaves your property. Wrought iron from the 1890s welds differently than modern mild steel, and that’s experience you want on your side.
Yes. Solar-powered gate openers from Ghost Controls and Viking work well on Tecumseh farm driveways where running a power line costs more than the gate itself. We mount the panel, battery, operator, and safety photocells, and we size the system for the gate’s actual weight. A 16-foot tube-steel pasture gate needs a heavier operator than a subdivision gate, and we spec it accordingly. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free assessment.
Because the hinge post is moving or the post itself is undersized for the gate’s weight. In Tecumseh, clay frost heave shifts posts out of plumb every spring, and a new hinge on a tilted post sags within months. The fix is re-setting the post below the frost line and then aligning the hinge. We see this exact pattern on gates all over Lenawee County, and we’ll show you the plumb line before we start.
Yes. Any powered gate in Michigan should have entrapment protection per UL 325 standards, typically a monitored photocell or contact edge that stops and reverses the gate if something is in the way. That’s not optional, especially on a farm where kids, livestock, and equipment all cross the same opening. We install the safety edges and photocells on every automated gate we build or repair, and we test them before we leave. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll check your existing system too.
Why Tecumseh’s Soil Changes Every Gate Parts Job
Here’s what you won’t find on a generic gate repair website, and it’s the thing that actually matters for your gate: Tecumseh sits on Lenawee County clay that heaves more than 40 inches of frost depth every winter. That means even a minor hinge replacement on a Victorian iron gate almost always requires re-setting the post footing, a job that would be rare in neighboring Ann Arbor’s sandier glacial outwash. The decorative iron on a historic-district gate is almost always still repairable. The footing underneath it has moved. That’s the real repair.
We recently repaired a sagging tube-steel pasture swing gate on a farm driveway off Occidental Highway, where years of clay frost heave had pulled the hinge post 3 inches out of plumb. Our crew dug out the post footing, re-set it below the 42-inch frost line with gravel drainage, welded a new heavy-duty hinge bracket to match the original, and mounted a Ghost Controls solar gate opener with a safety photocell across the 16-foot opening. No mains power needed at the far end of the drive, and the gate swings clean even in March.
Tecumseh’s historic downtown core concentrates late-1800s to early-1900s Victorian and Craftsman homes whose ornamental iron gates often need period-compatible repair rather than off-the-shelf replacement. And the city blends directly into working agricultural Lenawee County, so the same service route that handles a cast-iron latch on Logan Street also handles a pasture swing gate off M-50. That dual residential-plus-rural repair market is specific to Tecumseh. A gate company that only does suburban driveway gates is going to struggle here. We don’t.
When you call Gatewood Fence & Gate for gate parts or welding in Tecumseh, you’re calling a local owner-operator who has been fixing gates since 2001. The name on the shop is Hal Gatewood. The address is published. The license number is public. If something isn’t done right, the 90-Day Done Right Promise means one call brings him back. Call (877) 610-2993 and get a live person, a straight answer, and a written price before any work starts. That’s how we do business in Tecumseh.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Tecumseh and Lenawee County since 2001.