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 Seattle
Gate repair in Seattle usually costs between $180 and $480 for hinge, post, and realignment work, and $280 to $750 when a motor, control board, or electrical fault is involved. Same-week scheduling is standard for most repairs, and a live person answers the phone around the clock at (877) 610-2993. If your gate is dragging on a Seattle slope or the post is leaning after one of our wet winters, we can send Hal or one of his crew to your driveway, not a vague four-hour window.
We know Seattle gates fail differently than they do in Yakima or Spokane. The ground here stays saturated from October through June. Salt-laden air off Puget Sound eats mild steel. Hillside lots in Ballard, Queen Anne, and Phinney Ridge put a grade drop across almost every swing arc. That is the work we see, and we keep the parts and the welding rig on the truck to fix it where it sits.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Seattle’s Preferred Gate Repair Company
Hal Gatewood has had his name on the shop since 2001, and the shop is here, with a published address and license number anyone can look up. We are not a national brand with a call center three states away. The person who answers the phone is the person who stands behind the work. Seattle homeowners tend to appreciate that after they have been quoted one number on the phone and handed a different invoice at the door by somebody else.
Our Seattle customers call for one of three reasons: a gate post that has rotted at the soil line, a panel that drags into a slope, or an opener that stopped responding. We fix all three the way they should have been fixed the first time. On-site welding means we repair the gate in your driveway in Capitol Hill or Georgetown rather than hauling it off and returning it a week later. And every job, including emergency repairs in Seattle, carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it is not done right, one call brings Hal back. No runaround, no arbitration, no fine print.
Our Gate Repair Services in Seattle
Electric Gate Repair
Seattle’s damp air and persistent ground moisture are hard on electric gate systems. Control boards corrode, capacitor connections fail, and keypads take on water. We service nine major opener brands including FAAC, BFT, and Linear, and we keep common boards, photo eyes, and safety edges stocked locally so most Seattle electric gate repairs happen in one visit. If a gate opens but will not close, or closes halfway and reverses, we trace the circuit rather than throwing parts at it.
Automatic Gate Repair
Automatic gate operators on Seattle townhome driveways in South Lake Union and Georgetown get used several times a day, every day. A Viking or FAAC operator that has been running since the 2000s is now well past its expected service life, which means worn limit switches, tired capacitors, and stripped drive gears. We rebuild the operator when it makes sense and replace it when it does not. Hal will tell you which is which before you spend a dollar.
Hinge & Post Repair
This is the most common repair call we field in Seattle, and it is almost always the post, not the hinges. Western Red Cedar posts rot at the soil line where the ground never dries out, while the visible boards above still look perfectly sound. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that is where we start. We pull the old post, set a new pressure-treated post in a deep concrete footing, and fit stainless or hot-dip galvanized hardware that will survive Puget Sound salt air. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice.
Gate Realignment
Seattle’s hills are hard on gate geometry. A swing gate that dragged by half an inch when it was installed will drag by three inches after two wet winters and a little post movement. That is why gate realignment in Seattle usually involves more than adjusting hinges. We check the post for plumb, account for the grade drop across the swing arc, and rebuild the hardware so the gate clears the slope. On Ballard and Phinney Ridge hillside lots, we fit a rake-cut bottom rail and anti-sag cable as standard on slope work, not as a surprise add-on.
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 Seattle
We are certified to service nine major gate brands: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. For Seattle customers, we keep a running local stock of the parts we replace most: control boards, photo eyes, keypads, hinges, and safety edges for FAAC, BFT, and Linear openers. That means most automatic gate repair calls in Seattle do not wait on a ground shipment from a distributor. If your opener is a brand we do not service, Hal will say so on the phone rather than waste your afternoon.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Seattle Homes
- Rotted hinge posts from perpetual soil saturation. Seattle’s ground stays wet from October through June, which keeps the below-grade section of Western Red Cedar posts perpetually damp. The post rots at the soil line while the gate boards above look sound, so the first visible symptom is usually a gate that starts dragging or a post that leans after a rainstorm.
- Slope-induced gate binding on hillside lots. A six-to-twelve-inch grade drop across the swing arc is common in Ballard and Phinney Ridge. The gate digs into the slope within a season of installation. Flat-city contractors often replace hinges and call it fixed, but the gate binds again in three months because the geometry was never addressed.
- Corroded mild-steel hinges and latches from Puget Sound salt air. The combination of chronic humidity and salt-laden air attacks mild steel faster in Seattle than in inland cities like Spokane. Hinges stiffen, latches seize, and eventually the gate has to be lifted to open or close. Stainless or hot-dip galvanized hardware is not an upgrade here; it is the only hardware that lasts.
- Worn automatic gate operators on 2000s-era townhome driveways. A large share of South Lake Union and Georgetown townhomes were built with automatic driveway gates during the 2000s. Two decades of daily cycles, rain exposure, and salt air have pushed many of those original Viking, FAAC, and Linear operators past their service life, and we now see a steady stream of control board failures, dead capacitors, and seized drive gears.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Seattle, WA
Here is what we quote most often in Seattle, and we quote it before any work starts:
- Hinge and latch replacement: $180-$340, depending on gate weight and hardware grade.
- Gate realignment with hardware adjustment: $220-$420.
- Post replacement with new concrete footing: $380-$750, depending on digging conditions and whether the post is set in clay or rock.
- Automatic opener repair (control board, capacitor, or limit switch): $280-$640.
- Full opener replacement: $850-$2,400, depending on brand and gate type.
- On-site weld and rust repair: $160-$480, depending on the extent of section replacement.
No trip charge inside the county. $40 off any repair over $200. A permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. If you have a written estimate from another Seattle company, bring it and Hal will give you a free second opinion. The price we quote is the price you pay, agreed before we touch the gate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Seattle
Beyond our Gate Repair work inside Seattle city limits, we make the short drive to White Center, Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Kirkland. If your gate is somewhere around Lake Washington or on the south end, call and we will tell you straight whether the trip makes sense for your job.
Serving Seattle, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Seattle 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 Seattle
Because Seattle’s soil stays saturated from October through June, and Western Red Cedar rots fastest below grade, where oxygen and moisture meet at the soil line. The boards above ground dry out between rains and look fine, while the buried portion of the post steadily decays until the hinge post leans and the gate drags. We replace rotted Seattle posts with pressure-treated lumber set in deep concrete, and we fit hardware that will not contribute to the next failure. Call (877) 610-2993 and Hal can tell you over the phone whether your post is salvageable.
Yes. A gate that drags into a Queen Anne slope is usually a combination of a rotted or leaning hinge post and a grade drop across the swing arc and both must be fixed together. We set the post plumb in a new footing, fit hot-dip galvanized hinges, and cut the bottom rail on a rake or convert the gate to cantilever so it clears the slope. Our crew did exactly that on a shared Queen Anne driveway while keeping the neighbor’s car access clear the whole time. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
Salt-laden air off Puget Sound combined with near-constant humidity corrodes mild-steel hinges and latches noticeably faster in Ballard than in inland Pacific Northwest cities. Hinges stiffen, latches seize, and weld joints develop rust bloom within a few years of installation. In Seattle, stainless steel or hot-dip galvanized hardware is a practical necessity, not an upgrade, and we stock both. For a quote on hardware replacement, call us at (877) 610-2993.
Yes. We service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule operators, including the original units on South Lake Union townhome driveways built during the 2000s. Common failures on those operators are control boards with corroded contacts, capacitors that have dried out, and drive gears worn past adjustment. We carry common parts in local stock and can usually repair a South Lake Union opener in one visit. Call (877) 610-2993 and describe what the gate is doing; Hal can often tell you the likely fault over the phone.
Yes, and that is standard practice for us on any shared driveway or right-of-way in Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, or Ballard. We plan the repair so vehicle and pedestrian access is maintained throughout the work. On a recent Queen Anne swing gate replacement, we kept the driveway clear for the neighbor’s car the entire time. When you call, tell us about the shared access and we will plan the job around it. Estimates are free at (877) 610-2993.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Repair in Seattle, WA
If your gate is leaning, dragging, or refusing to open, call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hal will ask what the gate is doing, give you a straight answer, and schedule a time that works for you. Free estimates, upfront pricing, and every job backed by the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Seattle since 2001.