FAAC Welding & Fabrication Nationwide | Gatewood Fence & Gate

FAAC Welding & Fabrication: The Sherman Oaks Owner’s Guide

FAAC welding and fabrication in Sherman Oaks typically runs $225 to $675 installed, depending on whether we’re rebuilding a cracked gate frame, re-welding a hinge bracket, or fabricating a replacement post mount. We handle most FAAC weld repairs same day because we carry steel stock, MIG equipment, and the common FAAC brackets on the truck, so the gate stays in your driveway while we work. The way most Sherman Oaks owners discover this problem is not subtle: the gate starts dragging on one corner, the hinge side makes a grinding sound when it opens, or a weld crack shows up as a hairline line of rust where the paint used to be.

Call (818) 873-5061

We’re Gatewood Fence & Gate, an independent gate shop in Sherman Oaks. We’re not affiliated with FAAC, but we’ve been welding and fabricating FAAC gate components since 2001, and Hal Gatewood is the one who signs off on every job. If the weld on your FAAC gate failed, we’ll find out why before we put torch to steel, because a crack is usually a symptom of something else: a hinge post that shifted, a strike plate that was never shimmed right, or a motor mount that’s pulling out of alignment.

Key takeaways:

• Most FAAC weld repairs in Sherman Oaks run $225 to $675 installed, with price agreed before work starts.
• We weld on site, in your driveway, not in some far-off shop.
• Every weld and fabrication job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
• Live person answers the phone 24/7 at (818) 873-5061.

Which FAAC Models This Applies To

FAAC has been making swing gate operators and components for decades, and the welding and fabrication work we do in Sherman Oaks touches most of their residential and light commercial lines. We regularly weld on the FAAC 390, 400, and 412 swing gate operator series, the 750, 760, and 770 slide gate series, and the C-Series and S-Series operators that show up on older Sherman Oaks properties. The fabrication work usually splits into three categories: repairing the gate frame itself (stress cracks at hinges and mid-rails), rebuilding or replacing operator mounting plates and brackets, and fabricating custom steel posts or extension pieces when the original post has rusted out at the base.

The compatibility gotcha most owners hit is simple: FAAC’s European engineering means metric bolt patterns and tighter tolerances than you’ll find on a domestic gate. A mounting plate that fits a LiftMaster won’t necessarily line up with a FAAC 400 series, and drilling new holes in the wrong spot weakens the plate. We match the bolt pattern, the shaft height, and the throw distance from the operator’s manual before we cut or weld anything. When we repair a FAAC gate, we use American steel stock cut to the original metric dimensions, not whatever scrap is on the truck.

On the OEM-versus-aftermarket question: for FAAC-specific brackets and operator mounts, we recommend genuine FAAC parts or a reputable domestic equivalent where compatibility matters. For the gate frame itself, a good fabricator’s weld is often stronger than the original, because modern welding techniques and proper gusseting outperform what gates got in the factory twenty years ago.

Signs Your FAAC Welding & Fabrication Is Failing

If you’re in Sherman Oaks and one of these is happening, call us before the gate falls over. Here’s what we see on FAAC gates, and what each symptom actually means:

• The gate drags on one corner when opening or closing. This is almost always a hinge post that’s leaning or a weld that’s cracked and let the panel sag. A sagging gate is a port in the frame that’s already failing; shimming the hinges buys you a month, not a fix.
• You see a hairline crack with rust staining at the hinge side. That crack is fatigue, not cosmetic. Water gets in, rust expands, and the crack widens with every cycle. The fix is grinding it clean, welding it solid, and usually adding a gusset so it doesn’t re-crack in the same spot.
• The operator mounts are loose or the bolt holes are oblong. This means the FAAC operator has been running against an unbalanced gate, and the constant fight is wearing the mounting plate and the attaching bolts. We’ll re-weld or fabricate a new plate, but we’ll also address the gate balance so you’re not back in the same spot next year.
• The gate latches but won’t close all the way against the strike post. A strike post that’s drifted or a latch bar that’s cracked will keep the gate from seating. On a FAAC system, a gate that doesn’t fully close means the safety edges never engage properly, which is a whole other problem waiting to happen.
• You hear a grinding or popping sound from the operator area. That pop is often a weld letting go under load: a broken motor mount tab, a cracked frame member, or a bracket that’s worked itself loose. The longer it runs like that, the more collateral damage to the operator itself.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

Here’s what you can expect to pay for FAAC welding and fabrication in Sherman Oaks, installed by us, price agreed in writing before any torch lights:

What drives the range is how much steel we need to bring, whether we’re fighting years of rust, and whether we have to fabricate a part from scratch or can weld an existing piece back to true. The price includes grinding the old weld clean, proper penetration welding (not a surface tack that looks good for a photo), and rust-inhibiting paint on the repaired area. Every FAAC weld job we do carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, one call and we’re back.

We don’t change the price at the door. You’ll know what it costs before we start, and if you have a written estimate from another shop, we’ll give you a free second opinion on it. And if the repair is over $200, you get $40 off. Seniors and veterans get 10% off, always.

DIY or Call Us?

Here’s the honest split. You can check a few things yourself: look for visible crack lines, wiggle the gate by hand to see if the hinges have play, and check whether the operator’s mounting bolts are loose. That tells you what’s wrong. But welding it yourself is where I stop you, and I say this as someone who’s been welding since vocational school at Los Angeles Valley College.

MIG or stick welding on a gate that’s under tension, even resting tension, is easy to get wrong. A weld that doesn’t penetrate below the surface looks fine and fails in weeks. Grinding the crack clean without thinning the surrounding steel takes practice. And if that gate is a slide gate or a heavy swing gate, you’re dealing with weight that will hurt you if it shifts while you’re working under it. This is not a YouTube weekend project.

If you’re in Sherman Oaks and the gate’s already cracking, call (818) 873-5061. We’ll come look at it, tell you what it needs, and give you a price that won’t change.

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