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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After
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Parts & Welding Across Westland
Gate parts and welding in Westland usually means one of two things: a hinge that gave up after forty Michigan winters, or a post the clay heaved out of plumb. Hal Gatewood has been fixing both since 2001, and the job gets done in your driveway rather than hauled off to some shop. If your gate drags, sags, or won’t latch, call (877) 610-2993 and a live person answers, day or night. We’re the local crew that shows up in the window we promised, with the welder on the truck and the price agreed before the first cut.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Westland’s Preferred Gate Parts & Welding Company
Hal’s name is on the shop, his address is published, and his license number is there for anyone to check. That’s the oldest kind of accountability there is. When Westland homeowners call about a gate that won’t close or a hinge that’s rusted solid, they get a straight answer, not a script. We’ve been owner-operated since 2001, and the person you talk to on the phone is the same person who stands behind the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing on every invoice.
Westland is a city of 1960s and 1970s tract homes, and we know what that means: original galvanized chain-link frames, pressed-steel hinges, and gate posts that Wayne County clay has been shoving around for decades. Our welders have cut out more fused strap hinges in Westland than we can count. When you call for hinge replacement or post reset off Merriman Road, off Henry Ruff, off Hunter Avenue, we know exactly what the soil has been doing to your gate all winter. We carry the parts that fit those original installs, and when a hinge has to be fabricated, we weld it on site. No haul-away, no waiting two weeks for a shop to get to it.
Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise, written plainly, not buried in fine print. If it’s not done right, we come back and make it right. That’s not a sales pitch. That’s how Hal’s operated for over 29 years in this business, and it’s why folks in Westland hand his number to their neighbors.
Our Gate Parts & Welding Services in Westland
We don’t push replacement on a gate that needs repair. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. Fix the hinge without understanding the frost heave in Westland, and you’ll be welding it again next March. Here’s what we do most in the 48185 and 48186:.
Hinge Replacement
In Westland’s 1960s subdivisions, the original pressed-steel strap hinges on driveway gates rust into a single fused unit after enough Michigan winters. The gate stops swinging on the hinge and starts pivoting on the post, which elongates the mounting holes until the frame drags the ground. We cut out the seized hinge, weld a new strap hinge with a brace plate, and reset the gate so it swings true again. Most hinge replacements on a standard chain-link swing gate in Westland run $180 to $340, including the part and the welding.
Post Replacement
A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that’s where we start. Wayne County clay heaves so hard each freeze-thaw cycle that hinge posts get lifted 1 to 2 inches out of plumb by March. That’s why latch strikes miss, photocells misalign, and openers fault out every spring. We pull the old post, dig a deeper footing, set the new post in concrete, and weld the gate back plumb. Post replacement in Westland typically runs $280 to $520, depending on post size and how much concrete the old installer actually poured.
Rail Repair
Top and bottom rails carry the gate’s weight, and on Westland’s older chain-link gates, those thin-wall galvanized rails are often crushed, kinked, or rusted through at the joints. We cut out the bad section and weld in new rail, or replace the rail assembly entirely when the frame’s had too many frost-heave seasons. Rail repair runs $150 to $300 for a typical residential swing gate.
Custom Welding
Some Westland gates can’t be saved with a stock part. Maybe it’s a heavy wooden gate on an old ranch that needs a custom strap hinge, or a decorative iron gate off Ann Arbor Trail with a snapped scroll. We fabricate on site, weld it solid, and grind it clean. Custom hinge fabrication and welding runs $200 to $450, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise still applies to every weld we lay.
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 Westland
We’re certified to service and install nine major gate opener brands, including DoorKing, Ghost Controls, and Viking. If your Westland gate operator is fighting a frost-heaved hinge or an icy slide track, we repair the operator and the steelwork in the same visit, so you’re not stuck waiting on a parts shipment or a second crew. We stock common hinge, roller, and latch parts for the brands Westland homes actually run, and what we don’t stock, we fabricate.
Common Gate Parts & Welding Problems We See in Westland Homes
- Frost-heaved hinge posts rack the frame out of square every spring. The gate frame twists just enough that the latch misses the strike and the safety photocell beam doesn’t line up. The operator then faults out, and sometimes that faults out the clutch on a LiftMaster or FAAC unit, which burns the motor up over time.
- Original pressed-steel strap hinges from the 1960s rust into a single fused unit. Instead of pivoting on the hinge pin, the gate pivots on the post itself, elongating the mounting holes until the frame drags the ground and the opener can’t move it at all.
- Icy slide gate tracks bind operators all winter. Ice loads up on the track and the spring-loaded hinges, the operator trips its internal clutch, and the motor burns out. We see it every March, right after the thaw, when Westland homeowners finally try to open the gate again.
- Latches and locks on 50-year-old gates were never upgraded. The original latch bodies are pot metal, the springs are gone, and the strike’s been shimmed with washers so many times it’s pointless. We replace the latch and lock assembly and set the strike where the gate actually lands, not where it landed in 1968.
Pricing for Gate Parts & Welding in Westland, MI
Gate parts and welding in Westland are priced by the part, the labor, and how deep into the freeze-thaw season the soil’s been working against you. Here’s what that looks like in this market:
- Hinge replacement: $180-$340
- Post replacement: $280-$520
- Rail repair: $150-$300
- Custom welding (strap hinges, brace plates, frame repairs): $200-$450
- Latch and lock replacement: $120-$240
We quote over the phone, in writing, before we ever load the truck. The number we quote is the number on the invoice. Every job gets the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. And for Westland customers, $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for veterans and seniors. No trip charge inside the county. Call (877) 610-2993 for a straight quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Westland
Our welders cover Westland and the immediately surrounding area: Wayne, Inkster, and Livonia to the south and east, and Canton to the west. If you’re a little further out and you’ve got a gate that won’t close, call anyway. The Gate Parts & Welding crew will tell you honestly whether we can get to you.
Serving Westland, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Westland 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 Westland
Wayne County clay expands and contracts with every freeze-thaw cycle, and Westland’s 1960s-era hinge post footings were usually poured shallow and undersized. Each winter, the clay lifts the post 1 to 2 inches out of plumb, and by March the gate frame is racked enough that the latch misses the strike and the photo beam faults out. We reset the post in a deeper concrete footing and weld the hinge back square; that’s how you break the yearly cycle. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll take a look at what your soil’s doing to your post.
Usually, yes. If the post itself is still structurally sound, we cut off the rusted or fused hinge, grind the post clean, and weld a new strap hinge or barrel hinge directly to the post, then reinforce the gate frame side with a brace plate. If the post has rusted through or the concrete is crumbling, we replace the post instead. We do it all on site in your Westland driveway, no haul-away. A hinge replacement like this typically runs $180 to $340, and the price is agreed before we start.
The short answer is you can’t fully prevent ice loading on an exposed slide track in a Michigan winter. What you can do is keep the track clean, keep the gate balanced, and have the spring-loaded hinges and rollers serviced before the first hard freeze, so the operator isn’t fighting both ice and a worn mechanism. We’ve pulled enough burned-out LiftMaster and FAAC motors off Westland slide gates to know that a $150 roller and hinge service in November beats a $500 motor replacement in March. Call (877) 610-2993 before the freeze settles in.
For a heavy wooden gate on a 1960s ranch, we usually weld a custom heavy-gauge steel strap hinge with a full-length brace plate rather than bolt on an off-the-shelf hinge. The original wooden gates were often hung on thin press-steel hardware, and the frost heave in Westland’s clay has been working those mounts loose for decades. We weld the new hinge to the post, through-bolt it to the gate frame, and set it so the gate swings true. That job runs $200 to $450, fabricated and installed on site.
Yes. Any modern gate operator needs a functioning entrapment protection system, typically a photo eye or sensing edge, and when we replace hinges or reset posts in Westland, we realign the photocell beam and test the operator’s closing force so it doesn’t fault or close on someone. We treat that as part of the job, not an upsell. If your operator is older and the safety system can’t be realigned, we’ll tell you straight and quote the replacement. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll walk you through it.
Need a hinge welded, a post reset, or a gate that’s been dragging since the thaw? Call Gatewood Fence & Gate at (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate. A live person answers, we quote the job in writing before any work starts, and every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise. Hal’s name is on the invoice, and the shop is down the road.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Westland and Wayne County since 2001.