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 Dunwoody
Gate repair in Dunwoody usually means one of two things: a sagging ornamental iron gate at a subdivision entrance, or an automatic operator that has finally given up after 35 years of Georgia weather. Most jobs we handle here run between $240 and $1,400 depending on whether we are re-plumbing a hinge post or swapping a control board. Either way, we fix it in your driveway or at your community entrance, not in some shop across town. Hal Gatewood has been at this since 2001, and if you call (877) 610-2993, a live person answers. Not a voicemail. Not a menu tree.
Why Dunwoody Homeowners and HOAs Call Us First
Dunwoody is its own animal. Most of the subdivisions around Ashford Dunwoody Road, Mount Vernon Road, and the 30346 ZIP were platted in the 1970s and 1980s, which means the entry gates are original equipment. The operators are early-generation Linear and Viking units wired into telephone-entry systems nobody manufactures anymore. We know what those look like before we pull up, because we have replaced dozens of them in Dunwoody alone.
Hal runs the shop with his name on the door and his address published, which means you can look up the license number and drive by if you want. The person who answers the phone at 2 a.m. is the same person who will stand in your driveway and tell you whether the post needs re-plumbing or the operator just needs a new limit switch. Dunwoody boards and management companies appreciate that, because they do not have time for a different sub every visit.
Our Gate Repair Services in Dunwoody
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gate repair in Dunwoody tends to be control board work. The original 1980s operators here were wired into loop detectors and telephone-entry cabinets that have been obsolete for two decades, so when the board fails, there is no “replacement part” to order. We install a current LiftMaster or DoorKing board and match it to your existing loop and phone wiring so the HOA does not have to re-bury conduit. That keeps the cost down and the gate up.
Automatic Gate Repair
Automatic gate repair in Dunwoody often traces back to a motor that burned out trying to push a gate that was already bound. Ice storms hit the Perimeter area hard some winters, and when a slide gate track freezes solid, the operator fights it until something gives. We replace the motor, true the track, and set the safety eyes so cold mornings do not trip them. If your gate opener is original to a 1980s build, it owes you nothing.
Hinge & Post Repair
Hinge and post repair is where Dunwoody’s red clay really shows its teeth. North Georgia clay expands when wet and shrinks when dry, so brick and stone pilasters breathe with the seasons. A gate that rubbed last summer will bind by February. We re-plumb the hinge post, pour a new footing where the old one has cracked, and weld the hinge back in plane. Fix the post, not just the panel, and you will not see us twice for the same gate.
Gate Realignment
Gate realignment in Dunwoody is rarely a bolt-and-go fix. The ornamental iron gates at older HOA entrances are heavy, and when a post heaves 3/8 of an inch, the entire leaf shifts out of plane and drags on the latch side. We pull the gate off its hinges, check the post with a level, re-set it if needed, and re-hang the leaf so it swings clean. Then we adjust the operator limits so it is not fighting the gate every open and close.
Trusted Brands We Service in Dunwoody
We carry parts and control boards for Linear, Ghost Controls, Viking, DoorKing, LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Elite, and Mighty Mule. Most Dunwoody community gates run on Linear or Viking from the original build, and we keep common boards and safety edge parts on the truck so a repair does not wait on a parts house across town. If your operator is too far gone to rebuild, we will tell you straight and quote a replacement that works with the gate you already have.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Dunwoody
- Heaved hinge posts on red clay. Dunwoody’s soil expands and contracts enough to lean a brick pilaster a half inch in a few seasons. The gate then rubs, the operator strains, and a $400 post repair becomes a $1,200 motor replacement if it is ignored.
- Safety photocells tripping on cold mornings. We see this on Ashford Dunwoody and Perimeter neighborhoods every winter. The gate shifts just enough in the cold that the beam breaks, and the operator refuses to close. Fixing the alignment, not bypassing the sensors, is the answer.
- Control boards dead from ice-locked gates. When a slide gate track freezes and the operator pushes anyway, the motor burns and the board usually takes damage too. Dunwoody’s ice storms make this a February special.
- HOA approval delays making small repairs big ones. A hinge post that needed re-plumbing in March becomes a full gate re-frame by July because the board had to vote on it. We write the scope clearly so the management company can push it through faster.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Dunwoody, GA
Here are real numbers for Dunwoody work. Gate realignment on a single swing leaf typically runs $240 to $380. Hinge and post repair with re-plumbing and a new footing is usually $600 to $1,100, depending on pilaster condition and how much weld repair the iron needs. Electric gate repair runs $180 to $450 for a control board or limit switch replacement, and a full operator replacement on an HOA entrance gate is $1,200 to $2,800 installed. The price is quoted and agreed before any work starts, in writing. No trip charge inside the county, $40 off any repair over $200, and seniors and veterans always get 10% off. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate on your specific gate.
HOA Approval in Dunwoody: What Actually Happens
Dunwoody has one of the highest concentrations of HOA-governed planned communities in the Atlanta metro. That changes how gate repair works here. Most boards require architectural approval for anything that alters gate style, height, or finish before work can start. Even a hinge post replacement with identical wrought iron has to go before the board in many subdivisions, because the covenants were written when the gates were new and the language never got updated.
What that means on the ground: a gate sagging in March might not get fixed until May. The management company has to open the work order, the board has to vote, and only then do we get a green light. We have done enough of these to write the scope the way boards need it: same material, same finish, same profile, no visible change. That usually moves it faster. If the board wants a different style or a different operator, we will quote that too, but we will not touch anything until the approval is in hand.
A Field Note from Dunwoody
We got called to a brick ranch community off Ashford Dunwoody Road inside 30346 because a swing gate’s operator, an original 1985 Linear, kept tripping its safety photocell on cold mornings. Our tech found the hinge post had heaved on the red clay enough to shift the gate leaf 3/8 of an inch out of plane, which broke the beam and confused the board. After the HOA approved the work order, we re-plumbed the post, poured a new footing, and replaced the control board with a LiftMaster that pairs with the existing loop detector. The gate has closed clean every morning since.
We Also Serve Cities Near Dunwoody
We work throughout the north Perimeter, including Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Doraville, and Brookhaven. If you are outside Dunwoody proper but still inside the county, call anyway and we will tell you straight whether the trip makes sense. For everything else, see our Gate Repair in Dunwoody page for local coverage details.
Serving Dunwoody, GA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Dunwoody 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 Dunwoody
Yes, in nearly every Dunwoody community with covenants, an operator replacement requires architectural approval because it changes the function of a shared entry system controlled by the board. The approval is usually faster than a style change because the gate itself is not altered, but the management company still has to open a work order. We can write the scope in the board’s preferred format to keep it moving. Call (877) 610-2993 and we will tell you exactly what your board needs.
In Dunwoody it is almost always a hinge post that has heaved on the red clay, shifting the gate leaf out of plane enough to break the beam when the metal contracts in the cold. It is not a sensor failure; it is a geometry failure. The fix is re-plumbing the post and re-hanging the gate, then testing the beam at 20 degrees so it holds through winter. Call (877) 610-2993 for a diagnosis on your specific entrance.
Yes, and that is the job we prefer. Dunwoody’s original wrought iron entry gates are well built and worth keeping. We weld on site, so the gate never leaves your community. We retrofit a current operator, usually a LiftMaster or DoorKing, to the existing post, the existing hinge points, and the existing loop detector, and we match the finish if the board requires it. The gate stays original; the operator finally enters this century.
Anywhere from a week to four weeks, depending on whether the board meets monthly or quarterly and whether the management company has already opened a work order. Emergency repairs are different: if a gate is stuck open or a post is leaning hard, most boards can approve an emergency scope in a few days. We write scopes that read as “like-for-like repair” because that language moves faster through covenants committees. Call (877) 610-2993 and we will walk you through the timing.
Yes. We run conduit and low-voltage wiring for operators, install and align safety edges and photocells, and tie into existing loop detectors or add new ones. On older Dunwoody gates, the original wiring is often buried under 40 years of landscaping, so we test the line before we quote the repair. The price is agreed in writing before work starts, no surprises at the end. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Dunwoody since 2001.