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 Spokane
Gate repair in Spokane usually means one of three things: a swing gate that’s sagged out of alignment, an automatic opener that quit in a freeze-thaw cycle, or a hinge post that’s heaving out of the ground. A typical repair runs between $140 and $480 depending on what’s actually failed, and most hinge realignments and opener service calls can be done in a single visit. We’ve been doing this work long enough to know what Spokane basalt does to a post hole, and we quote the job right the first time. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person, not a recording.
Hal Gatewood started this company in 2001 with a welder and a rule: fix the gate in the driveway, not haul it off and sell a new one. That approach matters more in Spokane than almost anywhere else, because the ground here fights back. Basalt bedrock sits close to the surface across the South Hill and much of the city’s older residential footprint. When a hinge post starts leaning in March, it’s rarely the gate’s fault. It’s the post footing finally giving up after twenty frozen winters. We fix the post, not just the panel. Show me a gate sagging in the fall and I’ll show you where the frost is going to finish the job by April.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is the Gate Repair Company Spokane Homeowners Call First
We’re owner-operated, which means Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop and the invoice. The person who answers the phone at 2 a.m. isn’t reading from a script. We answer live, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you call about a gate that won’t open and your car is stuck in the driveway, you don’t want a callback in the morning. You want a person who knows what a FAAC 400 control board looks like in the dark and where the manual release is.
Our Spokane customers come to us two ways: word of mouth from a neighbor on the North Side whose cantilever gate we straightened after the January ice, and from someone who already paid a different company to “fix” it and watched the same gate sag four months later. That second group tells us the same thing every time: the other bid was lower because the other company didn’t know what basalt does to an auger. A gate sags in the hinge post, not the middle. We find that out before we quote, not after we’re standing in your driveway with the wrong plan.
We’re insured and bonded, background-checked on every job, and certified to work on nine major gate brands including LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. But the credential that matters most in Spokane is the 90-Day Done Right Promise. It’s in writing on every job. If we fixed it and it’s not right, one call brings us back. No runaround, no “that’s normal settling.”
Our Gate Repair Services in Spokane
Hinge & Post Repair
This is the most common call we get in every Spokane neighborhood, and for good reason. Freeze-thaw cycles lift shallow post footings above the basalt layer, which skews the hinge post, which throws the gate out of alignment. Replacing the hinge alone doesn’t touch the problem. We pull the post, core-drill through the rock when needed, set a new galvanized steel post below frost depth, then re-hang the gate with stainless fixings. On the South Hill around Manito Park, where rock is often just 12 to 14 inches down, a post-hole job without a core-drilling line item isn’t a bid. It’s a guess.
Gate Realignment
A gate that drags or won’t latch in Spokane usually isn’t the gate’s fault. It’s the post. But there are cases where the gate frame itself has twisted from years of heavy snow load, especially on cantilever slide gates across the North Side. We realign the frame, adjust the hinge geometry, re-set the latch, and check the operator’s limits so the opener stops fighting the gate. Every spring, the same thing happens in the 99205 and 99208 zip codes: people call because their gate worked fine in October and won’t close in April. The freeze did it. We see it coming.
Electric & Automatic Gate Repair
Spokane’s temperature range runs from below zero to over 95°F, which is hard on rubber seals, solder joints, and anything with a circuit board. We replace failed operator boards on LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule units, often the same day we diagnose it. We also repair and replace safety photocells that fail after repeated ice and condensation cycles. If the gate has power but won’t move, or moves halfway and reverses, we’ll trace it. And we stock common parts for Spokane customers so we’re not waiting on a truck from the coast.
Weld & Rust Repair
Rust and broken weld joints are a fact of life on older steel gates in Spokane, especially where snow gets piled against the base. We do on-site welding, so the gate stays in your driveway and we fix the steel in place. Flap-disk, gouge, weld, grind, prime, paint. The repair goes in the metal, not over it. For gates that have spent forty winters in 99206 and 99207, we’ll also check for internal corrosion you can’t see until we cut in.
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 Spokane
We work on FAAC and BFT hydraulic operators, Linear and Viking control boards, and LiftMaster residential swing and slide openers. These brands show up constantly in Spokane driveways because they’re what the big builders installed here twenty years ago and they’re what local gate companies still sell. The problem is when the Spokane winter gets to the control board and nobody local has the part. We do. We keep the most common boards and edge sensors in our van and our shop stock for this exact reason. If your FAAC operator is dead on a Tuesday in February, you shouldn’t have to wait a week for a part to ship from Seattle.
Common Gate Repair Problems We See in Spokane Homes
- Frost heave skewing hinge posts: Basalt bedrock 12 to 24 inches down means many Spokane post footings from the mid-century era were never deep enough. Every spring thaw lifts those posts, and a gate that latched in November won’t latch in April. The fix is re-anchoring below frost line, not shimming the hinge.
- Snow and ice bending slide gate hardware: Spokane averages over 40 inches of snow a year. When a cantilever slide gate’s track gets packed with ice and the owner hits the remote, the rack and pinion drive takes the entire load. We see bent racks and stripped gears every winter, especially on older ranches on the North Side.
- Control board failures from freeze-thaw condensation: Gate operator enclosures sweat during swings from below zero nights to 40-degree afternoons. That condensation sits on circuit boards and shortens their life. We replace them and add better weather sealing, because Spokane’s climate is not a coastal climate.
- Wrought-iron gate frames cracking at the weld joints: Repeated thermal expansion and contraction, combined with heavy wet snow loading, cracks the original welds on decorative iron gates. This is common in Browne’s Addition, where the gates are often original to the house and 60 to 100 years old. We weld them in place and repaint the joint properly.
In the 99203 South Hill near Manito Park, our crew was called to a 1950s ranch where a decorative iron swing gate had sagged so badly the latch no longer reached the strike plate. The auger bounced off basalt at 14 inches on the existing hinge post, confirming the original post footing was never deep enough. We core-drilled past the rock, set a new galvanized steel hinge post below frost line, re-hung the gate with stainless fixings, and replaced a failing LiftMaster gate operator board that had been hit by repeated sub-zero cold snaps. That’s a one-visit repair for us. For a crew that’s never worked on basalt, it’s a week of head-scratching and a second invoice.
Pricing for Gate Repair in Spokane, WA
Here are the honest numbers for Spokane’s market. A hinge and post repair on a standard single swing gate typically runs $380 to $680, including core drilling on the South Hill where basalt is close to the surface. Gate realignment without post replacement, which works when the post is still solid, runs $140 to $260. Automatic opener repairs start around $180 for a limit-switch adjustment or photocell replacement, and go up to $700 to $950 for a full control board replacement on a hydraulic operator. Weld and rust repair on a steel gate is usually $160 to $400 depending on how many joints need cutting out and re-welding. You’ll get the exact price before any work starts, and it’s in writing. For repairs over $200, we knock off $40. If you’re in Spokane County, there’s no trip charge. Seniors and veterans always get 10% off, every job, no conversation about it. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Spokane
Our service area covers all of Spokane proper, including the South Hill, Browne’s Addition, the North Side, and the East Side, and we regularly run jobs out to Gate Repair customers in Dishman, Country Homes, Opportunity, and Spokane Valley. If you’re in the county and wondering whether we’ll come out, the answer is yes. Dispatch for the Spokane area is coordinated from our Seattle office, but the crews live and work here in Spokane.
Serving Spokane, WA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Spokane 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 Spokane
Because your hinge post footing is probably above the basalt and above the frost line. The ground freezes, expands, and lifts the post. The gate frame doesn’t sag; the post moves. We fix it by core-drilling into the basalt and setting a new galvanized post below frost depth. Shimming the hinge is a temporary fix that will fail again next spring. The price runs $380 to $680 depending on the gate and how much rock we need to drill.
Usually yes, provided the gate structure and hinge post are sound. Old-growth wood from the 1950s is often in better shape than lumber sold today. We’ll check the post, reinforce it if needed, and install a residential operator with a gentle start and stop cycle so the gate isn’t slammed open and closed. If the post is rotting at grade, we’ll replace it first. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll give you a real price, not a range that doubles when we show up.
Photocells fail two ways in Spokane: condensation inside the lens housing from freeze-thaw swings, and snow or ice physically blocking the beam. When they fail, the gate usually refuses to close on automatic mode, which is the safety default. We’ll clean and re-aim first, then replace the cell if the circuit board inside is corroded. Most photocell replacements run $120 to $200.
Because basalt bedrock is 12 to 24 inches below the surface across much of the city, especially the South Hill. A conventional auger stops at the rock, and if the post gets set short, it’ll heave. We include core drilling in the quote so the number you get on the phone is the number you pay. Anyone who doesn’t account for the rock either doesn’t know Spokane or is planning to hit you with a change order.
Yes. When ice packs into the track and the operator pushes anyway, the rack and pinion takes the entire strain. Get the track cleared before you run the gate, and if the gate starts jolting or grinding, stop using it and call. A rack-and-pinion replacement in Spokane runs $300 to $550. Letting it destroy itself can double that. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come look before it gets worse.
Call Spokane’s Gate Repair Specialist
If your gate is sagging, stuck, or refusing to open, call (877) 610-2993. You’ll get a live person around the clock, a straight answer about what’s wrong, and a written price before any work begins. The name is on the shop, the shop is in your area, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is on the invoice. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Spokane and the surrounding county since 2001.