Frequently Asked Questions

You call, describe what's happening, and we schedule a time that works for you. One of our local team members shows up, diagnoses the problem, and gives you a written price before any work begins. If it's a quick fix and you approve it on the spot, we do it then and there. If it needs a part we don't have on the truck, we order it and come back. Hal Gatewood repairs what other companies want to replace, and he welds on site rather than hauling your gate away for two weeks. You'll know the plan before we start.

In many cases, yes. If we have the part, we can often complete the repair on the first visit. Common fixes like sensor realignment, hinge lubrication, limit switch tuning, and some operator board swaps are same-day jobs. For anything that needs a specialty part or a longer fabrication, we'll give you a clear timeline and a written price at the visit. The best way to know is to call (626) 628-9548 and describe what's going on. We'll tell you what's realistic, not what sounds good on the phone.

Most repairs take one to three hours on site. A hinge replacement on a residential swing gate is usually done in about an hour. A sliding gate with a seized roller and a worn chain might take a couple of hours. Weld repairs take longer because of prep, setup, and cooling time, but they're still usually completed in a single visit. We don't take your gate away for a fortnight. The shop is local, the truck carries the common wear parts, and we finish what we start.

Yes. Both types are common throughout Arcadia, Pasadena, and the rest of the San Gabriel Valley, and we work on them every week. Sliding gates typically fail at the rollers, the track, or the chain. Swing gates fail at the hinges, the post, or the operator arm. The fix is different for each, and we diagnose them differently. We also work on cantilever gates, which are the sliding gates you see on wider commercial and estate driveways where a ground track would get fouled by debris. If it opens and closes, we repair it.

First, check the obvious: is the operator plugged in, is the breaker tripped, and is anything blocking the gate's path? Photo-eye sensors get knocked out of alignment by wind, kids, and landscape equipment all the time, and that alone will stop a gate dead. If the gate moves but reverses, the safety edges or the force settings are usually the culprit. If the gate sags and drags, that's mechanical, not electrical. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. After you've checked the simple things, call (626) 628-9548 and we'll take it from there.

We work on all the major brands you'll find in Arcadia and the surrounding area, including FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking. Each has its own failure patterns. Linear residential operators are common on the swing gates we see in older Arcadia neighborhoods, and they're usually repairable with parts that are still widely available. FAAC and BFT show up more often on newer and higher-end installations. We diagnose by the symptoms, not by the badge on the cover, and we stock the common repair parts so you're not waiting a week for a capacitor.

Both. When an operator is worth saving, we repair it. When it's a twenty-year-old board with parts that don't exist anymore, we quote a replacement with something modern and serviceable. We sell and install FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators, and we size them to your gate's weight and duty cycle. A gate that cycles eighty times a day needs a different operator than one that opens twice. We'll tell you what you need and why. Estimates are free, and the price is flat before we start.

Often, yes. We keep common wear parts on hand for Linear, FAAC, BFT, and Viking operators, and we have sources for older components that the big box stores don't carry. If a board, capacitor, gear, or sensor is simply not made anymore, we'll tell you that too and show you what a modern retrofit would cost. You won't get a pitch for a whole new system just because one part died. That's not how this shop works. If the part exists, we find it. If it doesn't, we give you honest options.

Sometimes. For mechanical components like rollers, hinges, and chains, quality aftermarket parts are often fine and cost less. For control boards and safety sensors, we prefer OEM or proven-equivalent parts because that's where cheap substitutions cause real problems. A gate that reverses unpredictably or ignores its safety edge because of a knockoff board is a liability you don't want. We tell you upfront what we're installing and why, and we stand behind it. If a part fails under warranty, we replace it free.

Every pro working under the Gatewood Fence & Gate name is required to hold the licensing and insurance their trade and state require. That's a network standard, not a marketing line. When you hire us in Arcadia, you're hiring a local shop that puts its name on the work and answers the phone when you call back. We're happy to provide proof of coverage before we start your job. Ask us for it. A straight answer shouldn't be hard to get.

Hal Gatewood is the name on the shop, and that's the whole point. He builds gates in his own shop, and you can drive there and look at it. He welds on site rather than hauling your gate away, and he gets genuinely annoyed on your behalf when he finds safety sensors somebody bypassed. The name is on the truck, the address is in this county, and the accountability is built into the brand. You're not dealing with a phone menu and a rotating cast of subcontractors. You're dealing with a local shop that plans to be here when you need it again.

Because a gate company you'll never see again doesn't have to care. A local shop that works the same streets, eats at the same restaurants, and runs into you at the hardware store on a Saturday has a different kind of pressure to do right by you. That's the oldest accountability mechanism there is. We serve Arcadia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, El Monte, San Gabriel, San Marino, Rosemead, Alhambra, Altadena, Azusa, Monterey Park, and West Covina. We live in this county, we hire in this county, and we answer the phone when you call.

Yes. Always. A gate is a heavy, moving structure, and a company working on it without insurance is a risk you don't need. Ask for the certificate, verify it's current, and don't feel awkward about it. We expect the question and we're happy to answer it. Any company that gets defensive about insurance is telling you something. You wouldn't let an uninsured contractor put a roof over your family. Don't let one work on a gate that swings over your driveway either.

Yes. A gate stuck open is a security problem. A gate stuck shut is a different kind of security problem, especially if it's blocking the driveway and you can't get your car out. Call (626) 628-9548 and describe what's happening. We'll tell you whether it's something you can safely address right now or whether we need to come out. If the gate is stuck because a safety sensor failed or the operator died, we can usually get you moving again in one visit. Don't force a gate open or closed with the car. That turns a repair into a replacement.

We're open seven days a week from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. That includes weekends, because gates don't seem to fail on a convenient Tuesday morning. If your gate breaks on a Saturday afternoon, call us. If it breaks on a Sunday and the gate is blocking your car, call us then too. We'll answer, we'll listen, and we'll tell you what the next step is. (626) 628-9548.

We handle urgent gate failures during our operating hours, seven days a week, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. A gate that's stuck open, stuck shut, or posing a safety problem is a priority when you call. We'll get to you as quickly as the schedule allows and we'll be straight with you about timing. If the situation isn't urgent and you can wait for a regular appointment, tell us that too. Either way, you'll get a human voice and a clear answer when you call (626) 628-9548.

Grinding usually means metal-on-metal contact somewhere it shouldn't be: a worn roller, a dry bearing, a chain that's lost tension and is dragging, or a gear that's chewing itself up. Every cycle makes it worse. You can keep using the gate if you must, but you're converting a cheap repair into an expensive one with every pass. The smart move is to call us now, before the grinding turns into a locked-up gate and a dead operator. We'll diagnose it from the sound and the feel, and we'll tell you what it'll take to quiet it down.

Gatewood Fence & Gate publishes a ninety-day written warranty on every fences and gates job. That's the standard, and it's in writing. If something fails inside that window, one call brings us back. We also pass through whatever manufacturer warranty applies to the parts we install, whether that's a new operator board, a safety sensor, or a complete operator. We don't disappear after the invoice is paid. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. If it's our work and it wasn't right, we make it right.

No. We size repairs and replacements to the way you actually use your gate, not to an optimistic guess. A driveway gate that cycles forty times a day needs different treatment than a gate that opens for the gardener once a week. We ask about your usage when we quote, and we build and repair accordingly. If you told us it's a quiet residential gate and it's actually running a car lot's worth of traffic, that's a conversation. But normal residential use, even heavy daily cycling, is well within what our repairs are designed to handle.

Our ninety-day warranty covers the labor and the workmanship. If a hinge we installed fails because we installed it wrong, that's on us, free of charge. The manufacturer's warranty covers defects in the part itself. If a new Linear board fails out of the box, the part is covered by Linear. In practice, you call us either way. We handle the manufacturer claim for you, and we don't leave you hanging while you wait on a phone tree. One call brings us back. That's the promise, and it's in writing.

We can't promise a mechanical system will never fail again. Anyone who does is selling you something. What we guarantee is this: the work we do is done right, the parts we install are right for the job, and if our work fails inside ninety days, we come back and fix it free. A gate is a moving machine exposed to weather, dirt, and thousands of cycles a year. Things wear out. The difference is whether the company that fixed it last stands behind the repair. We do. Call (626) 628-9548 and ask us anything.

Call (626) 628-9548 and tell us what's happening. That's it. You don't need a claim number, you don't need to submit a form, and you don't need to wait for a call back from a service center in another state. We'll listen, we'll check the job record, and we'll schedule a return visit if the issue falls within your warranty window. That's how local accountability works. We'd rather keep you as a customer for twenty years than fight you over a warranty claim for ninety days.

Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Arcadia and the San Gabriel Valley since 2001.