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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Repair Across Kenton
Gate repair in Kenton usually runs $180-$460 for hinge, post, and realignment work, with most calls completed same day or next morning. If your gate sags, binds, or won’t close properly, call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person, not a voicemail. We’ve been fixing gates in Kenton since long before the MAX Yellow Line changed the neighborhood, and we know exactly what the Columbia Slough clay does to a post footing come February.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Kenton’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Hal Gatewood started this shop in 2001, and his name is still on the door, the invoices, and the work. Kenton homeowners call us because we fix things other companies want to haul away and replace. A gate that sags is rarely a lost cause. Usually the hinge post has rotted or heaved, and once that’s corrected, the gate itself is fine. We weld on site, in your driveway, so your gate never leaves the property unless it truly needs to.
Kenton’s housing stock is specific. Craftsman bungalows from the 1910s, post-war frame houses, narrow side yards, and a lot of original wood and chain-link gates that have never been replaced. That means the person who shows up needs to know how to work with a rusted hinge pintle set directly into a 60-year-old wood post, not just how to install a new panel. Gate Repair like this is a craft, and in Kenton it’s a craft built on understanding what the ground does to your gate over 50 years.
Our customers in Kenton tend to hear about us from a neighbor on N Willis or N Denver before they ever call. That’s how it should work. We’ve built our reputation one gate at a time, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise backs every job in writing. If it’s not right, one call brings Hal back. No runaround.
Our Gate Repair Services in Kenton
Hinge & Post Repair
This is the most common call we make in Kenton. The clay-heavy soil near the Columbia Slough absorbs winter rain, swells, and physically lifts the hinge post so the latch no longer lines up by February. We pull the old post, set a steel-reinforced replacement in a concrete footing below the frost line, and re-square the gate so it hangs true again. A hinge post repair in Kenton typically runs $220-$400 depending on how deep the rot goes and whether the gate needs re-hanging.
Gate Realignment
Kenton’s original gates from the 1940s through the 1960s have almost all racked out of square. The frame twists, the diagonal brace loosens, and the gate drags on the ground or misses the latch. We re-square the frame, reinforce the corners where needed, and reset the pickets. Most realignments in Kenton run $150-$300. If the post footing has sunk, which happens often on the lower streets near the Slough, we address that first before touching the gate itself.
Electric Gate Repair
If your gate is automatic and the motor strains or works fine one day and binds the next, the problem is rarely the opener itself. In Kenton, it’s usually a post that moved or a hinge that seized, forcing the operator to fight the gate. We service openers from Viking, DoorKing, LiftMaster, and more, and we diagnose the whole system, not just the control board. Electric gate repair in Kenton generally runs $280-$500 for typical motor, wiring, or safety-sensor work.
Automatic Gate Repair
Older operators in Kenton sometimes predate modern safety requirements. We can often retrofit a vintage LiftMaster or a DoorKing unit with new photo-eyes and current safety edges instead of replacing the whole system. That saves money and keeps your original gate. Automatic gate repair typically runs $250-$480 in Kenton, including on-site rewiring and alignment.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kenton
We’re certified to service and repair nine major brands, including Viking, DoorKing, Ghost Controls, and Elite. That means no guessing when a control board fails or a limit switch needs calibration. For Kenton customers, we keep common parts in stock so a bad circuit board or a worn hinge pin doesn’t mean waiting two weeks for a shipped part. If your opener is obsolete, we’ll tell you straight, and we’ll recommend the cheapest sensible retrofit that keeps your gate working safely.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Kenton Homes
- Winter latch bind from Slough clay. Streets at lower elevation near the Columbia Slough sit on clay that swells with winter saturation. Hinge posts lift unevenly, and by January or February the latch stops lining up. This is the single most frequent repair call we make in Kenton all winter.
- Rotted wood posts set directly in soil. Kenton’s older gates usually have wood posts buried without concrete. Forty years of persistent ground moisture wicks into the post, rots it at the base, and the gate sags. We replace the post properly, not with another chunk of wood dropped in the same hole.
- Racked frames on original 1940s-1960s gates. The frame twists over time and the brace loosens until the gate drags. A realignment and new hardware usually fixes it for another decade, provided the posts are still sound.
- New ornamental gates leaning on old footings. With the gentrification around the Kenton/N Denver Ave MAX stop, we see flipped houses where a new iron gate was hung over the original crumbling concrete footing. The gate leans within two years because no one reset the base before hanging it.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Kenton, OR
Hinge and post repair in Kenton runs $220-$400. Gate realignment runs $150-$300. Electric and automatic gate repair runs $250-$500. Weld and rust repair typically runs $120-$250 depending on how much patching the frame needs. The quote you get on the phone and the price on the invoice are the same number. We quote it before we touch a tool, and you agree to it before any work starts. No trip charge inside the county, and $40 off any repair over $200. Seniors and veterans get a standing 10% discount.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kenton
Our Gate Repair in Kenton crews also cover the surrounding areas of North Portland, Portland, Raleigh Hills, and West Haven. If you’re right on the edge of Kenton near the Slough or off Willamette Boulevard, we still count you as local and the no-trip-charge rule still applies inside the county.
Serving Kenton, OR - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kenton 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 Kenton
The clay soil around the Slough swells with winter rain and pushes your hinge post upward, so the latch bar no longer aligns with the catch. It’s a seasonal movement pattern specific to the lower-elevation streets in Kenton. We fix it by resetting the post on a deeper footing or adjusting the hinge geometry to allow for clay movement. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll look at it.
Yes, in most cases. A 1960s chain-link gate can often take a modern opener like a Ghost Controls or DoorKing unit, provided the hinge post is still sound and the frame is square. We’ll tell you honestly whether your post needs replacing first. That’s the cheaper order to do it in.
It’s common, but it’s not normal. What happens with many flipped properties in Kenton is that a new iron gate gets hung on the original concrete footing, which was never meant to hold that weight. The footing crumbles, the post leans, and the latch fails. The fix is resetting the post in a proper footing, not shimming the hinges and hoping. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
Because the gate is still binding somewhere, and the motor is forcing it through the bind. Usually the post has moved or the hinges are seized, and the operator is working against mechanical resistance every cycle. Eventually the gear strips. The answer is to fix the physical gate first, then the operator will stop destroying itself. In Kenton with our clay soil, the post is the culprit more often than the gears.
Yes. Any automatic gate in Kenton should have current safety photo-eyes and edge protection, both for code compliance and for basic safety. We retrofit older gates with photo-eyes and safety edges all the time, and we set the sensor height and alignment to work with your specific gate and driveway pitch before we call the job done. Call (877) 610-2993 if you want a free second opinion on an opener estimate.
If your gate is leaning, binding, or just refuses to latch after dark, call Gatewood Fence & Gate at (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, day or night. We’ll give you an honest price, written down, before any work begins. Hal’s 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 Kenton since 2001.