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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Before
AfterTrusted Gate Repair for Malibu Homeowners
A gate that won’t open, sags into the driveway, or groans every time the wind pushes against it isn’t something you put off. In Malibu, salt air works on metal all year long, and a gate that’s been ignored for a season becomes a bigger job than it needed to be. Gatewood Fence & Gate has repaired thousands of gates across Malibu since 2001, and we’re still owner-operated by Hal Gatewood, who answers the phone and stands behind every job with a 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
We answer the phone with a live person around the clock. If your gate is stuck open or stuck closed, call (559) 314-7708 and you’ll talk to someone who can actually help, not a voicemail. We offer same-day gate repair in Malibu for genuine emergencies, and we show up with the truck stocked and the welder ready.
What Our Gate Repair Service Includes
Most gate problems in Malibu trace back to a small handful of causes: a hinge post that’s shifted, a motor that’s given up after years of salt exposure, a panel that’s racked out of square, or a lock that no longer catches. We fix all of it, on site, at your property. Here’s what we actually do when we come out.
Electric Gate Repair
Electric Gate in Malibu fail more from corrosion than from worn-out parts. The coastal air gets into circuit boards, limit switches, and wire connections long before the motor itself wears out. Hal diagnoses the actual fault instead of guessing, repairs the component that failed, and leaves the rest alone. If a smart board or receiver has given up, we replace it with a quality unit and set it up right the first time.
Automatic Gate Repair
An automatic gate is just an electric gate with one or two clever controls attached - photocells, safety edges, keypads, loop detectors, remote receivers. When the gate won’t respond to the remote, or reverses for no reason, or slams shut instead of slowing, the problem is usually in the controls, not the motor. We service all of it and we don’t sell you a motor when a sensor is the issue.
Hinge & Post Repair
Here’s where we get stubborn. Most gate repair companies in the Malibu area will look at a sagging gate and tell you the whole thing needs replacement. Hal will tell you to fix the post before you touch the panel. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle - and that is where we start. We repair, re-seat, and reinforce hinge posts so the gate hangs straight and closes true again - that’s our Hinge & Post Repair approach.
Gate Realignment
Over years of sun, rain, and the occasional kid swinging on it, a gate drifts out of square and starts binding at the latch or dragging on the column. We check the posts, check the panel, and use the right combination of shims, weld tabs, and tension adjustments for Gate Realignment that brings the gate back to where it belongs. Malibu homes built on hillsides shift a little over time, and we’ll account for that.
Lock Repair
A gate that won’t lock is just decoration, and a lock that jams at 6 a.m. when you’re heading out is a different kind of problem. We repair and replace gate locks, install or re-key locksets, and make sure the latch and strike align perfectly so the gate actually secures. For automatic gates, we’ll tie the lock into your opener or install a magnetic lock that holds the gate shut without a padlock.
Weld & Rust Repair
Metal gates in Malibu rust. It’s not a design flaw - it’s salt and fog, endlessly. When a weld cracks or rust eats through a hinge point, we don’t bandage it with a bolt-on bracket. We weld it in your driveway, grind it smooth, and treat the repaired area so it doesn’t come back next season. On-site welding keeps the gate where it belongs and keeps the repair honest.
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.
Brands We Service for Gate Repair
We’ve been inside the control boxes of more BFT gate systems than we can count, and we keep most common BFT replacement parts on the truck. If your BFT opener clicks but won’t run, or the gate reverses mid-cycle, we’ll find the cause in one visit and you won’t get a long lecture or a replacement quote for a motor that only needed a capacitor.
Linear openers are workhorses, but the limit switches and battery backups eventually quit. We stock Linear parts and we know the failure points. Viking gates - more common in ranch and estate settings up Malibu Canyon - have a simple, rugged design that we respect, and we service them without turning them into a science project. Whether you have a Ghost Controls unit on a farm gate or something older and unlabeled, the same rule applies: we repair first, replace only what’s actually dead, and warranty the work in writing.
Signs You Need Gate Repair Right Now
- The gate groans or grinds when it moves. That noise is metal telling you something: a hinge is dry and wearing, a roller is seizing, or a chain is running loose. Let it go long enough and the noise becomes a snapped shaft or a stripped gear.
- The gate opens or closes noticeably slower than it used to. In Malibu, this is often corrosion inside the motor or a failing capacitor. A slow gate puts extra load on every other component, which turns a small repair into a big one if you wait.
- The gate sags or scrapes the ground. A gate sags in the hinge post, and every month it scrapes concrete, it’s pulling the post further out of alignment. Fix the post early and you won’t need a new gate.
- The remote only works when you’re standing right next to the gate. This usually points to a weak receiver, a failing antenna connection, or local radio interference - but it can also mean the receiver board is going bad. We trace it properly instead of selling you a new opener off the guess.
- The gate reverses for no reason, or slams shut mid-cycle. Safety edges and photocells exist to protect people, and when they fail, the gate behaves unpredictably. That’s not just annoying - it’s dangerous. We test and replace the sensors so the gate stops being a liability.
Our Gate Repair Process - Step by Step
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Call us and talk to a person. You’ll reach someone who works at Gatewood Fence & Gate, not an answering service. Tell us what the gate is doing, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it sounds urgent, what it likely is, and when we can get there.
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We come out and diagnose the gate where it stands. Hal or one of his background-checked, uniformed crew will pull up in a marked truck, bring out the multimeter and the diagnostic tools, and find the actual fault. No guesswork, no “you should just replace the whole gate” speech.
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You get a firm, written price before any work starts. We write the number down, you approve it, and that’s the price. It doesn’t change at the end, and there’s no trip charge inside the county. If you’ve been quoted elsewhere, we’ll even give you a free second opinion on the written estimate.
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We fix it on site, same visit in most cases. Most gate repairs in Malibu are done the same day we arrive. We carry common parts for the brands we service and weld on site so the gate never has to leave your property.
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You get the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If anything we did isn’t holding up, one call brings us back. Not a phone tree, not a warranty department - Hal himself handles it. The guarantee is stamped on every invoice because he’s been doing this since 2001 and plans to keep doing it.
How Much Does Gate Repair Cost in Malibu?
Gate repair in Malibu typically runs $180 to $650 for most common jobs, with a few outliers on both ends. A hinge and post repair might be in the $180 to $350 range, depending on how far the post has shifted and whether we need to fill and re-drill the mounting. Lock repair and realignment work usually lands between $150 and $400. Electric and automatic gate repairs - new circuit boards, limit switch replacements, receiver work - typically run $250 to $650 depending on the part and the complexity of the wiring. On-site weld repairs for cracked gates start around $200 and go up if we’re chasing rust into multiple sections.
What actually drives the price is the part that failed, how accessible it is, and whether we’re chasing one problem or three. A gate in Malibu that’s been limping along for two years has usually got a hinge post issue and a motor issue by the time we see it. We price each repair as its own line item, explain what’s actually needed, and won’t pad the quote with work you didn’t ask for. You also get $40 off any repair over $200, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount if you’re a senior or veteran. The estimate is free and it’s in writing before a single wrench comes out.
Gate Repair Near Malibu - Our Service Area
We work all over Malibu and the surrounding canyons and communities - from Point Dume and Malibu Park up to Gate Repair in Westlake Village, over to Gate Repair in Agoura Hills, and into Calabasas, Topanga, Lake Sherwood, Oak Park, and Hidden Hills. If you’re opening the gate to a place up a canyon road, we’ve probably been there before. In most of Malibu proper, we can be at your gate same day; the farther reaches like Lake Sherwood might be next morning. Call and we’ll give you a straight answer on timing.
Serving Malibu, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Malibu area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
Frequently Asked Questions - Gate Repair in Malibu
Gate repair means fixing the gate you already have so it opens, closes, locks, and runs like it should again - without replacing the whole system. It covers hinges, posts, panels, locks, electric motors, automatic openers, and welding. We repair first and replace only what’s actually failed, and everything we fix carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Call (559) 314-7708 and we’ll talk about what’s happening with your gate.
Most gate repairs in Malibu are completed the same visit - typically one to three hours depending on what’s involved. A hinge post repair or lock replacement is often done in under two hours. If we’re diagnosing an intermittent electrical fault or chasing rust through a large welded gate, it can stretch to a half day. We’ll give you a realistic time frame before we start and stick to it.
Most gate repair jobs in Malibu fall between $180 and $650, with basic hinge and lock work at the lower end and electric motor or control board replacements at the upper end. A welded rust repair might run $200 to $500 depending on the extent of the damage. The price is quoted and agreed to in writing before any work begins, so there are no surprises. Call (559) 314-7708 for a free estimate - we’ll tell you straight what it’s going to cost.
Yes. We regularly work on BFT, Linear, Viking, and Ghost Controls systems across Malibu and the surrounding area, plus FAAC, DoorKing, Elite, Mighty Mule, and LiftMaster. We keep common parts for these brands on the truck and we know their failure points from years of fixing them in coastal conditions. If you have something else, call us - we’ll tell you honestly whether we can source parts and what it will take.
Yes, we offer same-day gate repair in Malibu for genuine emergencies - a gate stuck open with no way to secure the property, a gate stuck shut trapping a car, or a gate that won’t stay closed. Call us any time at (559) 314-7708 and a live person will answer, even at 2 a.m. We’ll tell you what’s possible and give you a real arrival window, not a guess.
Every gate repair we do carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, we make it right - one call brings Hal back, no runaround and no fine print. It’s stamped on every invoice, and it’s been the backbone of this business since 2001. Our name is on the shop and the shop is down the road - that’s the oldest accountability there is.
You don’t need to do much - clear a path to the gate so we can get to it and make sure the area around the gate motor is accessible if you have an electric or automatic gate. If you have remotes or a keypad, have them ready to test. Keep any pets back while we’re working, and if you have a written estimate from another company, have it out so we can give you that free second opinion. Everything else is on us.
Schedule Your Gate Repair Service in Malibu Today
If your gate is acting up, call (559) 314-7708 right now and you’ll talk to a real person who knows gates, knows Malibu, and will give you a straight answer. The estimate is free, the price is firm before we start, and the work is guaranteed in writing. Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001 - the name is on the shop, and he’ll show up when he says he will.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Malibu since 2001.