Frequently Asked Questions
Most gate questions come down to three things: what’s broken, what it costs, and whether the fix will hold. Below are the questions Los Angeles homeowners ask us most, answered straight. If yours isn’t here, call us and a live person will pick up.
Pricing & Estimates
How much does gate repair service cost?
Most gate repairs in Los Angeles run between $150 and $650, depending on whether we’re replacing a latch, realigning a sagging gate, or getting into the operator and controls. A standard latch or hinge replacement usually lands at the lower end; a swing gate that’s dropped at the post and won’t close takes longer and costs more. You’ll see the exact number in writing before we touch anything, so there’s no guesswork on your end. Call (626) 649-4572 and we’ll give you a free estimate over the phone for the common stuff, or send someone out to look if it’s more involved.
Do you offer free estimates?
Yes, estimates are free. We give you a written price before any work begins, every single visit. That price doesn’t change because the job turned out to be a little harder than expected – if we missed something on the walkthrough, that’s our mistake to absorb, not yours. There’s no pressure to accept, and no charge just to find out what’s wrong.
Is it cheaper to repair my gate or replace it?
Repair is almost always cheaper unless the post itself has rotted or the operator is more than about 12 years old and parts are hard to source. A gate is two parts: the latch that holds it and the post that carries it. If the post is solid and the frame isn’t twisted, we can usually fix what’s there for a fraction of replacement cost. If the post is gone, we’ll tell you plainly – we’d rather give you the honest answer than sell you a repair that fails again in six months.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept cash, check, and all major credit cards. For larger installations, we can also take payment in stages so you’re not paying the full amount before the gate is hanging and tested. You’ll get a receipt and a copy of the written price for your records.
Service & Scheduling
Do you offer emergency gate repair service?
Yes. A gate stuck open is a real problem, especially with kids and pets in the yard, so we treat it that way. Call us at (626) 649-4572 and a live person answers – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including nights, weekends, and holidays. We don’t route you to voicemail or a callback queue. If we can talk you through a quick fix over the phone, we will; if not, we’ll get a technician out.
How fast can you respond?
For most of Los Angeles, we can get to you the same day you call, and often within a few hours for urgent jobs. Response time depends on where you are and what’s happening with traffic – the 405 at 4pm is its own kind of gate problem. When you call, we’ll give you a realistic window, not a vague “sometime today.”
What areas do you serve?
We serve Los Angeles and the surrounding neighborhoods, from the San Fernando Valley down through the city and out toward the South Bay. Whether you’re in Sherman Oaks, Silver Lake, or further south, we’ll confirm coverage when you call and give you a real arrival window. Each Cedarwell location is its own independently owned and operated business, so you’re getting a local crew that knows local gates, not a national dispatch center.
Licensing & Trust
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes – we’re licensed and fully insured, and our technicians are background-checked and uniformed. Every job is also covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right, no argument and no fine print. That’s on top of the standard coverage you’d expect from any reputable contractor, not instead of it.
Do you guarantee your work?
Yes. Every repair and installation is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If something we fixed fails within that year, we come back and make it right. We don’t hide behind “normal wear and tear” language or a list of exclusions – if it’s our work and it didn’t hold, that’s on us.
What should I expect from your technicians inside my home?
Our technicians work under the Cedarwell C.A.R.E. values – Clean up like it’s our own home, Ask before we move or touch anything, Respect your family’s time and quiet hours, and Explain the price before the work. In practice, that means shoe covers and drop cloths on every visit, a photo of the clean-up before we leave, and quiet tools if you’ve got a kid napping. If your gate work touches the interior – say, a control panel in the garage – we treat it like we’re guests in your house, because we are.
Specific Services
Do you handle gate repair?
Yes – gate repair is one of our three core services. We fix sagging gates, dragging gates, broken latches and hinges, bent posts, failed welds, and gates that won’t latch or won’t stay closed. We work on wood, wrought iron, steel, aluminum, and vinyl gates. Most repairs are done in a single visit, and you’ll know the price before we start.
Do you handle gate installation?
Yes. We install new gates and replace old ones, matched to your opening, your fence line, and how you actually use the gate day to day. Here’s how that works:
- We measure the opening and check the post, ground, and any slope.
- You get a written price covering the gate, hardware, and installation.
- We set the posts, hang the gate, and test the swing or slide.
- We walk you through it, then send a photo of the clean-up.
If you’ve already got an operator, we’ll confirm the new gate is compatible before we order anything.
Do you handle gate motors and openers?
Yes. We repair and replace gate operators and openers from the brands families actually own: LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. Our technicians are factory-trained on those brands, which means the right fix usually happens on the first visit instead of us ordering a part and coming back. Common jobs include a motor that runs but doesn’t move the gate, a remote that stopped working, and an opener that trips the breaker when it starts. Safety note: gate operators run on line voltage and store mechanical force – a misadjusted arm or a bad control board can injure someone or crush a pet. Some of it is a genuine hazard, so please don’t open the control box yourself; we’ll test it properly.
Do you handle gate access control?
Yes. We work on keypads, key fobs, intercoms, telephone entry systems, and the entry panels that run them, including DoorKing units common on Los Angeles driveways and multi-unit properties. That includes adding a new code, replacing a dead keypad, and wiring a new entry device into an existing operator. If your system is tied to a phone app or a management service, tell us which one when you call so we can confirm compatibility before we arrive.
How do I know if my gate needs repair or just an adjustment?
If the gate drags, sags, or needs a push to close, it’s usually an adjustment. If it’s cracked, bent, or the latch won’t catch no matter what, it’s a repair. In Los Angeles, the daily temperature swing between cool mornings and hot afternoons works wood and metal gates over time, so a sagging gate is often the post shifting rather than the gate itself. We check the whole assembly – latch, hinges, post, and operator – so we’re fixing the cause instead of the symptom.
Do you do preventative maintenance?
Yes, and it’s the cheapest gate work you’ll ever pay for. A yearly check – tightening hardware, lubricating moving parts, testing the safety reverse on the operator – catches the small stuff before it becomes a broken latch or a dead motor. We choose pet-safe lubricants where there’s a choice, and we can schedule around nap time if quiet matters at your house.
What parts of the gate do you actually fix?
Essentially everything on the gate itself and the hardware that makes it move: hinges, latches, springs, cables, wheels, tracks, operators, control boards, remotes, keypads, and the posts that carry the whole thing. If it’s part of how your gate opens, closes, or locks, it’s our job. And every gate ultimately comes down to two parts – the latch that holds it and the post that carries it – which is the work we focus on.
Why hire a gate specialist instead of a general handyman?
Because a gate is a moving, load-bearing, electrically operated assembly, and a general handyman usually isn’t factory-trained on the operator side. We’re a Cedarwell-family gate specialist founded in 2009, and we focus only on gate repair, gate installation, and electric gate repair. That focus is why we can say the right fix happens on the first visit, and why most gate companies don’t offer the care routine we do – written price, shoe covers, drop cloths, and a cleanup photo on every job.
Do you work with pets and kids at home?
Constantly. Most of our customers have both. We lay drop cloths and put on shoe covers before we step inside, choose pet-safe lubricants where there’s a choice, and keep tools and debris away from where a dog or a toddler might wander. If a gate is going to be off its track for a while, we’ll tell you so you can keep the pets inside until it’s back.
What brands do you service?
We’re factory-trained on LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. That covers the vast majority of residential and light-commercial operators in Los Angeles. If you’re not sure what you have, snap a photo of the operator or the control box and text it to us – we can usually identify it before we arrive.
Have a question we didn’t cover? Call Latch & Post Gate Repair at (626) 649-4572.
We’ve been part of the Cedarwell family since 2009, and every call is answered by a live person, day or night. Bring us your gate problem – whether it’s a latch that won’t catch, a post that’s given up, or an operator that’s stopped responding – and we’ll give you a straight answer and a written price. Call our Los Angeles gate repair team for a free estimate, or start at our home page to see everything we do.
Written by Cody Beckman, Owner at Latch & Post Gate Repair, serving Los Angeles since 2009.