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 McLean
A broken estate gate in McLean is rarely a simple fix. It usually involves a heavy ornamental leaf, an operator that’s been running since the first Bush administration, and a brick pillar that’s been slowly racking in Fairfax County clay for twenty winters. Gate repair here costs anywhere from $185 for a basic hinge replacement to $2,400+ for a full post reset and operator swap on a high-security estate. Call (877) 610-2993 and a live person answers, any hour. We’ll give you a real number before any work starts, written down and agreed to.
We know McLean’s gates because we work on them every week. The wooded lots off Georgetown Pike, the gated communities around Langley, the custom ironwork on brick colonials off Old Dominion Drive. This isn’t the kind of work you can learn from a manual. It’s the kind you learn by showing up, opening the pedestal, and finding out what the last company left behind.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is McLean’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Hal Gatewood started this shop in 2001, and his name is still on every invoice. When a McLean homeowner calls, they get a straight answer from someone who has repaired more Viking and Elite operators than most technicians will ever see. We don’t route calls through a phone tree and we don’t hand your gate off to a subcontractor. The person who quotes the job is the person who stands in your driveway and fixes it.
McLean customers tend to ask harder questions. They want to know if we’re insured, if we’re licensed, and whether the person at the gate knows the difference between a FAAC and a BFT control board. Fair questions. We’re insured and bonded, our license is published, and Hal has been owner-operated here since 2001. That’s 20-plus years of gates that still close square and run quiet.
We also back every job with a 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings us back. No runaround, no “that’s wear and tear.” Hal’s address is published and he plans on staying put.
We serve McLean from our Washington, DC office, with crews scheduled specifically for McLean and the surrounding communities. Response time to most of McLean runs same-day for urgent repairs, and we answer the phone around the clock.
Our Gate Repair Services in McLean
McLean’s gates demand more than a parts-swap. The estates here run heavy leaves, long driveways, and hardware that has to hold up to ice, clay soil, and daily use by people who expect it to work every single time. Here’s what we actually do:
Electric Gate Repair
Most McLean electric gates are integrated with intercoms, keypads, cameras, and sometimes crash-rated hardware. When the operator fails, the whole entry system usually isn’t far behind. We diagnose the full loop, not just the motor. That means testing the control board, the safety edges, the photo eyes, and the power feed before we touch a single bolt. We service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule operators.
Automatic Gate Repair
Automatic gates in McLean fail in predictable ways: frayed limit switches, worn capacitor starts, stripped gears in 1990s-era Viking and Elite operators, and control boards that have simply given up after 25 years of service. Hal carries parts for the brands McLean homes actually have. When a board is truly dead and replacement parts are no longer made, we’ll tell you straight and give you options, not a sales pitch. But if it can be repaired, we repair it. That’s the whole point of this company.
Hinge & Post Repair
This is where gate work in McLean gets real. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that is where we start. The heavy clay soil in McLean shifts with every freeze-thaw cycle. Brick and stone pillars rack, lean, and shear hinge bolts. We reset posts with helical piers where the footing has failed, weld cracked hinge barrels on site, and get the leaf carrying weight evenly again. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice.
Gate Realignment
A heavy ornamental gate that drags on the bottom track or binds against the latch post isn’t just annoying. It’s putting stress on the operator every time it cycles, which is how a $300 repair becomes a $2,000 replacement. We re-align the leaf, adjust the hinges, re-set the posts if needed, and verify the operator arm travels true under load. A properly aligned McLean gate should close silent, not groan.
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 McLean
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and we keep parts on hand for the ones McLean actually uses. Viking operators are everywhere in the older estates off Georgetown Pike and along Ballantrae Lane. Linear and Elite show up on 1990s brick colonials throughout the 22106 ZIP. FAAC and BFT are common on the newer high-security installations around Langley and along Old Dominion Drive. We carry common control boards, limit switches, receiver cards, and hinge hardware in our service vehicles, which means fewer return trips and less waiting for a part to ship.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in McLean Homes
- Pillars racking from clay soil freeze-thaw. McLean sits on heavy clay that heaves in winter. Brick and stone gate pillars shift, the gate leaf binds, and hinge bolts shear under the stress. We see this on nearly every estate gate older than ten years.
- 1990s operators at end-of-life. Viking, Elite, and Linear openers installed during McLean’s suburban estate boom are now 25 to 30 years old. Capacitors fail, gears strip, and boards corrode. Most are worth repairing, but some are beyond it, and we’ll tell you which is which.
- Hidden access control panels. McLean has a lot of properties with deliberately disguised or concealed gate controls, often behind false brick facings or inside locked pedestals. If a technician doesn’t know to look for these, they’ll burn an hour chasing the wrong fault. We do know, because we work these estates regularly.
- Ice storm damage to ornamental ironwork. Fairfax County gets several ice events a year. Ice load snaps thin ornamental scrollwork and can tear a gate leaf off its hinges if the post was already compromised. We do weld and rust repair on site so the gate stays in your driveway.
Pricing for Gate Repair in McLean, VA
A basic hinge replacement or latch adjustment in McLean typically runs $185 to $320. Electric operator repairs, including a new control board or limit switch set, usually land between $325 and $780. Hinge and post work is the big variable: re-aligning a leaf runs $250 to $450, while resetting a racked brick pillar with helical piers can run $900 to $2,400 depending on the footing and how much of the post has to be rebuilt. Full operator replacement on a heavy estate gate, including new safety edges, runs $1,200 to $3,500 installed. Every quote is agreed before work starts. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside Fairfax County, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans.
We Also Serve Cities Near McLean
Our crews work throughout McLean and the surrounding areas of Gate Repair in McLean‘s neighboring communities: Pimmit Hills, Dunn Loring, Idylwood, and Tysons Corner. If your gate is binding, sagging, or stuck halfway open, our Gate Repair team covers all of it.
Serving McLean, VA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the McLean 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 McLean
McLean’s heavy clay soil expands and contracts aggressively with freeze-thaw cycles, and the estate lots here were often graded with deep fill that settles unevenly over decades. Pillars built on shallow footings rack in that shifting soil. Neighboring areas like Tysons Corner have more commercial construction on engineered fill, but McLean’s residential pillars are older and carry heavier gates. We fix the footing, not just the pillar. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
No. A sagging gate is almost never caused by the panel flexing. It’s caused by the hinge post leaning or the hinge barrels wearing out. Welding a brace across the face might make it look stiffer, but the post is still moving and the hinges are still failing. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice. We re-set the post, replace the hinges, and then decide if the panel even needs any welding at all. Usually it doesn’t.
Yes. A lot of McLean properties, especially those owned by people in the intelligence community or senior federal service, have operators and control panels deliberately concealed behind false brick facings, inside locked pedestals, or mounted in underground vaults. We know where to look and we know how to work on them without compromising the concealment. It adds diagnostic time, but that’s built into our quote up front, not added at the end.
We coordinate directly with the HOA or property manager when a gate is part of a shared access system. That means getting the right approvals before we open a panel, matching the existing keypad and intercom protocol, and making sure any repair keeps the HOA’s access log intact. We’ve worked with several McLean HOAs on coordinated entry systems, and we understand that the gate isn’t just yours when it’s part of a community.
Yes, and we see it every winter in McLean. Ice accumulates on thin scrollwork and decorative finials, and when it drops or the wind catches it, the load can snap welds and crack castings. A gate that was already binding on a leaning post is especially vulnerable. We repair ice damage with on-site welding, and we check the whole leaf and post assembly while we’re there, because the ice usually finds the weak point that was already failing.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Repair in McLean
If your gate is stuck, sagging, grinding, or just not opening when you press the button, call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers. We’ll talk through what’s happening, give you a straight price, and schedule a time that works. Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001, and his name is on the shop and on every job. You don’t have to take a chance on a faceless company. Drive by the shop, look Hal in the eye, and ask him about your gate. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving McLean since 2001.