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 Novi
Gate repair in Novi usually means a swing gate that’s sagged off its hinges, an electric operator that quit after a storm, or a shared entry system the HOA can’t figure out how to reset. We fix all three, and we do it without tearing out a gate that still has years left in it. Hal Gatewood has been doing this work since 2001, and when you call (877) 610-2993, a live person answers. Not a phone tree, not a callback queue. We know the neighborhoods off Ten Mile and Beck Road, we know the HOAs, and we show up with the right parts the first time.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Novi’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Novi’s subdivisions come with a particular kind of gate: ornamental aluminum or powder-coated steel, automated, and usually governed by a management company. That means the person on the phone needs to know how to talk to both a homeowner and a property manager, because half the time the service call starts with the HOA, not the resident. We’re used to that. We coordinate with property management companies across Novi’s planned communities, and we handle the paperwork side so the resident doesn’t have to play middleman.
Hal’s own name is on the shop, and the address is published where anyone can look it up. That matters when an HOA board is vetting a vendor. It also matters when the job is a shared entry gate that serves sixty homes and has to be back online before the school run. We’ve serviced gates in the subdivisions along Twelve Mile, Grand River, and Haggerty Road, and the reviews we get from Novi customers mention two things most often: we show up in the window we promised and the fix actually holds.
Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not right, one call brings Hal back, no runaround. That’s the kind of accountability a national outfit can’t fake.
Our Gate Repair Services in Novi
Electric Gate Repair
Electric gate operators in Novi are mostly Apollo, FAAC, and LiftMaster units installed during the late 1990s and early 2000s building boom. Those units are hitting end-of-life at roughly the same time across the city’s planned communities. We diagnose the operator on site, test the control board, and check the low-voltage wiring runs that Oakland County’s clay soil tends to crack and let water into. If the board is dead and the mechanicals are fine, we swap the board. We don’t try to sell you a whole new operator because the circuit died.
Automatic Gate Repair
An automatic gate that opens on its own, closes halfway, or refuses to respond to the keypad is usually failing at one of three points: the safety sensors, the limit switches, or the control board. In Novi, there’s a fourth failure point we see regularly on older subdivision gates: the programming. Many 1990s developers installed gates with proprietary access codes that were never handed off to the HOA, so when the board finally quits, nobody has the master code. We’ve rebuilt more than a few of those systems from scratch, and we’ll tell you straight what has to be replaced and what can be salvaged.
Hinge & Post Repair
Novi sits on Oakland County clay, and Michigan gives us fifty-plus freeze-thaw cycles a year. That combination heaves concrete footings and shifts the posts that anchor swing gates. A gate that scrapes the ground or binds at the latch is almost always a post problem, not a panel problem. We reset the post, weld or reinforce the hinge mounts, and realign the gate so the operator doesn’t have to fight the geometry. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice.
Gate Realignment
Frost heave is the single most common reason a Novi gate falls out of plumb. The concrete pad moves a fraction of an inch, and a twelve-foot aluminum gate that was perfectly balanced in October drags on the driveway by March. We realign swing and slide gates, reset the operator limits to match the new alignment, and recheck the safety edges and photocells so the gate complies with UL 325 before we leave. A gate that binds is also a gate that’s working its motor to death, so realignment is often the cheapest repair you can do.
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 Novi
We’re certified on FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators, alongside LiftMaster and the other major names. That matters in Novi because the mixed housing stock means we might see a Viking commercial slide operator at a subdivision entrance on Twelve Mile in the morning and a Linear residential swing gate off Beck Road in the afternoon. We keep common parts stocked for these brands, which means less waiting on a distributor when your gate is down. If your HOA’s gate runs on something proprietary or discontinued, we can usually source a compatible board or hardwire around the dead zone.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Novi Homes
- Frost-heaved gate posts. Clay soil holds water, water freezes, and the expansion shifts footings a little each winter. After a few seasons, a swing gate lists and drags. We reset the post in fresh concrete and realign the gate, and it stays put.
- Water-damaged low-voltage wiring. Underground conduit under Novi driveways and sidewalks cracks with ground movement. Water gets in, shorts the run, and the operator goes dead or intermittent. We trace the fault, pull new wire where needed, and seal the conduit properly.
- Dead control boards with no documentation. The developer-installed gate from 1998 works mechanically, but the board fried and nobody has the installer code or a wiring diagram. We replace the board and keypad, reprogram access for residents, and hand the HOA full documentation.
- Safety sensor failures at shared entrances. A photocell that’s misaligned or a loop detector that’s buried too shallow will make a gate reverse or refuse to close. We test every safety device on every repair, because a shared gate that closes on a car is a liability nobody wants to explain to the board.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Novi, MI
Here’s what gate repair in Novi actually costs based on the work we do most weeks. A hinge and post reset on a residential swing gate typically runs $450 to $850, depending on whether we’re pouring new concrete or just realigning and welding. A gate realignment alone is usually $250 to $400. Electric gate operator troubleshooting and board replacement lands between $350 and $900, with most common FAAC or Linear board swaps in the $500 to $700 range. A full control board and keypad replacement at a shared HOA entrance runs $1,200 to $2,800 depending on the operator and access system. You’ll always hear the price before we start, and it’s quoted in writing. We never show up and hand you a bill bigger than the estimate. We also offer $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll give you a real number over the phone, free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Novi
Our Gate Repair crews serve all four Novi ZIP codes, 48374, 48375, 48376, and 48377, plus the surrounding communities where we regularly work: Northville, Wixom, Walled Lake, and Farmington. If you’re near the Novi border in any of those towns, the same live-answer phone and the same 90-Day Done Right Promise apply. Learn more about our local coverage at the Gate Repair in Novi hub.
Serving Novi, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Novi 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 Novi
Yes, in most of Novi’s planned communities you’ll need written approval from your HOA or architectural review committee before changing a gate operator, keypad, or entry access system. The approval usually covers the equipment type, mounting location, and finish. We’ve worked with property managers and boards across Novi and can provide the equipment specs, wiring plan, and a written scope of work they’ll want to see. A quick call to (877) 610-2993 gets the process started, and we’ll help you navigate the approval so the job doesn’t stall at the board level.
You replace the control board and keypad, because without the master code there is no way into the old programming. This happens regularly in Novi, where 1990s developers installed gates with proprietary codes that were never transferred to the HOA board when the development was turned over. We pull the old board, install a current one, program new resident codes, and hand the association full documentation so it never happens again. The mechanical gate components can often stay exactly where they are. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll walk you through the scoping so you know what the HOA is looking at before the first invoice.
Yes, and it does every spring in Novi. The city sits on clay-heavy Oakland County soil that expands when frozen and contracts when it thaws, shifting the concrete footings under gate posts. When a post moves even a quarter inch, the gate geometry changes, the operator strains against the bind, and the motor, limit switches, and safety sensors all start working harder than they were built to. Over a few seasons, that strain kills operators that should have lasted twenty years. Resetting the post and realigning the gate before the operator dies is the cheap fix.
UL 325 is the federal safety standard for automated gate operators, and it requires working entrapment protection, such as photocells, safety edges, or contact sensors, on every automated gate. It matters for a Novi HOA shared gate because the association, not a single homeowner, carries the liability if a gate injures someone or damages a car. We test and verify every UL 325 safety device on every gate we repair, and we document it. If a safety device is bypassed, disconnected, or outright missing, we’ll tell you, and we won’t leave the gate running until it’s fixed. Call (877) 610-2993 and ask us to inspect your gate’s entrapment protection.
Usually within one business day for a shared or emergency gate in Novi. We’re accustomed to working through property management companies, so the process is straightforward: the manager calls us, we diagnose the gate on site, send a written estimate the same day, and schedule the repair around whatever access restrictions the community needs. Since a live person answers our phone around the clock, a manager doesn’t have to leave a voicemail and wait on a dispatch center. For a slide gate that won’t open at all, call (877) 610-2993 immediately and ask for Hal’s crew; we’ll get someone looking at it fast.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Novi since 2001.