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 Burke
A broken gate in Burke usually means one of two things: a hinge post that’s been shoved out of plumb by the Piedmont clay, or an operator that finally gave up after thirty years of Northern Virginia weather. Gatewood Fence & Gate fixes both, and we do it without making you wait through a phone tree. Hal Gatewood has been repairing gates since 2001, and when you call (877) 610-2993, a live person answers. Someone who knows Burke, knows the HOAs, and knows exactly what your gate is doing wrong before the truck even leaves the shop.
We work in Burke every week. The neighborhoods off Burke Centre Parkway, the older sections around Lake Braddock, the townhome clusters near the VRE station. We know the housing stock, we know the soil, and we know the covenants. That matters when a simple hinge repair turns into an Architectural Review Board question.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Burke’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Burke homeowners have a particular problem: their gates are aging, but their HOA covenants are not. A gate that needs work often needs two kinds of work done at once, the mechanical fix and the approval paperwork. That’s where we earn our keep. Hal has been through enough Burke Centre ARB submissions to know which profile matches which cluster, which aluminum picket styles are still available, and how to write up a repair so the board signs off without sending it back.
Our reputation in Burke is built on showing up when we say we will. We’re background-checked and uniformed, and the person who answers the phone at 2 a.m. is the same person whose name is on the invoice. No voicemail, no dispatch queue, no third-party call center. Hal Gatewood owns the company and still runs jobs himself. If you want to drive to the shop and look him in the eye before you hire us, you can do that.
Every job we do in Burke carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it isn’t right, we come back. One call. No runaround. That promise means something when the gate is dragging again two months later and the HOA is asking questions.
Our Gate Repair Services in Burke
Hinge & Post Repair
This is the repair we do more than any other in Burke. Hinge posts set in original 1980s concrete footings have spent forty years getting worked by freeze-thaw cycles in the clay. The post starts to lean, the gate starts to drag against the latch post, and the hinges take all the strain until they snap. We reset the post, pour the footing properly, and only then touch the hinges. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. Anyone who has lived in Burke long enough has learned that the hard way.
Automatic Gate Repair
Most Burke automatic gates run on builders’ equipment from the late 80s and early 90s. LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT operators that have been out in the weather for three decades. We repair them, and when repair doesn’t make sense, we replace them with operators that match the gate profile and the HOA’s expectations. We also handle the power side of it, which is where Burke gets tricky. Many original operators were installed without dedicated conduit runs, so the wiring is surface-mounted or routed through places it should not be. When we install a new operator, we fix that properly.
Gate Realignment
A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. That’s where we start with realignment. Burke’s clay soil heaves every winter and shrinks every summer, which means a gate that was perfectly level in October is dragging by March. We bring the post back to plumb, re-set the hinges, and adjust the operator limits so the gate closes cleanly without slamming. If the gate still doesn’t sit right, the problem is almost always the footing, and we address that before anything else.
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gates fail in predictable ways here. Control boards burn out after years of power surges. Safety edges crack. Photo eyes get knocked out of alignment by kids on bikes and lawn crews. We stock common parts for Burke jobs because we know which operators are in the ground out here. When we show up, we usually have the board or the sensor on the truck. That means one trip, not three.
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 Burke
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, including LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. In Burke, we see a lot of FAAC and LiftMaster operators from the original build-outs, plus Viking and BFT on the newer installations. We keep parts for these brands in stock because we know what’s out here. When your opener dies, you don’t want to wait a week for a board to ship from somewhere. Our Gate Repair team can usually get most Burke jobs done in a single visit.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Burke Homes
- Hinge posts pulling out of plumb. Original 1980s concrete footings have cracked and shifted through decades of freeze-thaw cycles. The post leans, the gate drags, and the hinges fail one by one.
- Builder-grade operators failing after 25 to 35 years. These units were never meant to run this long. Most Burke homes built in the 80s and 90s still have their original operators, and we replace them before they strand you outside the gate.
- Surface-mounted power and low-voltage wiring. Many original installations in Burke skipped the dedicated conduit runs. That wiring looks bad, violates Burke Centre’s design covenants, and fails faster because it’s exposed.
- ARB profile mismatches. Homeowners replace a damaged gate with a generic aluminum panel from a big-box store, and the Architectural Review Board flags it. Then the panel has to come out and a profile-matched one goes in. We source the right material the first time.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Burke, VA
Here are the numbers we actually quote in Burke. A hinge and post repair typically runs $340 to $780, depending on whether the footing needs to be re-poured or just re-set. Gate realignment runs $180 to $420. Automatic gate operator replacement runs $850 to $2,200, with most Burke jobs landing around $1,200 to $1,600 including the operator and the electrical work. Electric gate control board replacement runs $240 to $560. Weld and rust repair runs $180 to $450 per section.
The price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. Not an estimate that might change at the door. A fixed number on paper. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside Fairfax County, and a free second opinion on any written estimate. Seniors and veterans get a permanent 10% discount. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll give you the number over the phone.
We Also Serve Cities Near Burke
Beyond Burke, we run calls to Kings Park West, Fairfax, Springfield, and Merrifield most weeks. If you’re in one of those areas, the same crew and the same pricing apply. This page covers our Gate Repair in Burke work specifically, but the service area is bigger than one ZIP code.
Serving Burke, VA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Burke 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 Burke
Yes. We handle the ARB submission as part of the job when a repair or replacement triggers covenant review. We know which gate profiles are approved for which clusters in Burke Centre, and we write up the application so it gets approved without a redo. We’ve done enough of these to know what the board looks for, and we source profile-matched material before the pickets ever come off the gate. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you whether your specific repair needs ARB sign-off.
Because new hinges on a leaning post just move the problem to a different bolt. Burke’s Piedmont clay heaves and shrinks through every freeze-thaw cycle, and after thirty or forty years, hinge posts set in original builders’ footings lean out of plumb. The gate sags in the post, not in the middle. Until the post is re-set, every hinge replacement is temporary. We dig out the old footing, re-set the post in fresh concrete, and only then hang the gate.
Yes, but two things have to happen. First, the gate post has to be solid enough to carry an operator, which often means re-setting the footing before we mount anything. Second, Burke Centre covenants often require ARB approval before a manual gate becomes an automatic one, because the operator arm and the power run change the look of the installation. We handle both. We’ll submit the ARB paperwork, run the conduit properly instead of surface-mounting it, and install an operator that matches the gate style.
Usually not, as long as the operator is mounted the same way and the wiring is run in a way the covenants allow. The ARB is far more concerned with the gate panel itself than the operator behind it. That said, if the original installation had no dedicated conduit, we’ll need to run one, and that’s the part that sometimes needs board review. We’ll tell you up front whether your installation triggers anything, and we’ll handle the submission if it does.
The short answer is: sometimes you don’t. Burke’s older sections have mature tree canopy that blocks the direct sun a solar panel needs. If your panel gets less than four hours of full sun a day, the battery never fully charges and the gate fails on cloudy weeks. Our first move is to check the panel placement and see if we can relocate it to a sunnier spot. If that’s not possible, we recommend hardwiring the operator on a dedicated low-voltage run that we install in conduit. It’s more reliable in Burke’s shade, and it usually looks cleaner too. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free site visit and we’ll tell you what your gate actually needs.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Repair in Burke
When your gate won’t open or won’t stay straight, you want someone who will answer the phone and show up. That’s what we do. Hal Gatewood has been at this since 2001, and his name is on every invoice. We’re locally owned, owner-operated, and we serve Burke every week with 24/7 live-answer phone service, free estimates, and a 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job we write.
Call (877) 610-2993 now. A real person answers, and we’ll give you a straight answer and a fixed price. If you’d rather talk in person, the shop is down the road. The name is on the door.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Burke and Northern Virginia since 2001.