Before & After Gallery - Vance Gate Repair Johns Creek

Gate Repair Before & After in Johns Creek, GA

Photos don’t exaggerate. A gate that sags two inches off the ground looks like what it is: a problem that got worse while someone hoped it wouldn’t. Below are real jobs we’ve completed in Johns Creek - what we found, what we did, and how it looked when we left. Every one of these carries a written price agreed before we started and a photo record filed under the Haven Standard.

Call (678) 394-1765

Recent Transformations

Sagging Wrought-Iron Driveway Gate - Johns Creek

The gate had dropped enough that the latch no longer met the strike plate on the post, and the homeowner was climbing out of the car to drag it shut every evening. We found the bottom hinge pin had worn an oval hole in the jamb bracket, and the gate frame itself had twisted about three degrees from years of being pulled against that slop. We welded a new steel bushing into the jamb bracket, squared the frame with a come-along and temporary brace, then re-hung it with a heavy-duty ball-bearing hinge rated for the actual gate weight. The latch clicked on the first try after that. We photographed the new hinge position and the gap measurement - three-eighths inch, even top to bottom - before we left.

FAAC Motor Burnout on a Sliding Gate - Johns Creek

The motor had been clicking and grinding for two weeks, then stopped entirely. When we pulled the cover, the armature windings were blackened and the capacitor had leaked onto the control board. This is what happens when a motor runs past its duty cycle trying to move a gate that’s dragging in the track. We cleaned the V-groove track, realigned the guide rollers that had shifted toward the motor end, and installed a replacement FAAC 746 with the correct amperage draw for this gate’s weight and length of run. We set the limit switches with a digital level, tested the safety reverse on a two-by-four, and recorded the amp draw at 3.2 under load - well within spec. The photo log shows the old windings, the cleaned track, and the new limit switch settings.

Broken Weld on Aluminum Pool Gate - Johns Creek

The vertical picket had snapped clean off at the weld where a teenager had kicked the gate open one too many times. Aluminum pool fence is thin-wall 6063 alloy, and a standard steel-wire MIG weld will crack again in six months from galvanic corrosion. We cut back to sound metal, pre-heated with a propane torch to drive out moisture, and laid a 5356 alloy TIG bead with argon shielding. The picket is now tied into the top and bottom rails with full-penetration welds, and we added a gusset plate on the back side that the original fabricator had skipped. The gate swings without rattling, and the magnet test confirms there’s no ferrous contamination in the repair. Photo record includes the prepped joint, the weld puddle sequence, and the finished gusset.

LiftMaster Gate Opener Safety Failure - Johns Creek

The gate would close on a parked bicycle. The photo-eye (the infrared beam that stops the gate if something crosses the path) had been knocked two inches out of alignment by a landscaping crew, and the homeowner had been overriding it with the remote rather than fixing it. We realigned the transmitter and receiver using a laser level, cleaned the lenses with isopropyl alcohol to remove oxidation film, and tested the beam interruption at six points across the opening. Then we traced the loop detector wiring and found a splice buried underground that had wicked water up the jacket - the resistance was 47 ohms when it should read under 5. We cut back to dry copper, crimped with heat-shrink butt connectors rated for direct burial, and sealed the splice in a gel-filled enclosure. The gate now reverses on a basketball, a tricycle, or a grocery bag. We photographed the alignment laser, the splice repair, and the reverse test with a two-by-four in the beam path.

Rusted-Out Hinge Post on a Farm-Style Driveway Gate - Johns Creek

The original post was pressure-treated 4×4 set in concrete that had cracked and let water sit against the wood for years. It had rotted through at ground level, and the gate was being held up by a temporary strap hinge screwed into the fence rail. We pulled the old post and concrete footing, augered a 14-inch hole below the frost line for Johns Creek’s clay-heavy soil, and set a 4x4x1/4 steel post in 3,000-psi concrete with a sloped crown to shed water. The new post is plumb within 1/8 inch over eight feet, and we hung the existing gate with adjustable J-bolt hinges so the homeowner can tweak alignment as the gate seasons. We recorded the post depth, the concrete pour, and the final plumb reading. The gate swings one-handed now, and the post doesn’t flex when it closes.

Viking Slide Gate Operator Stripped Gearbox - Johns Creek

The gate was moving six inches and stopping, and the motor was drawing 18 amps - nearly triple its rated load. Inside the Viking gearbox, the bronze worm gear had worn paper-thin and the output shaft bearing had seized, so the motor was essentially dead-heading against a locked load. We could have sold a full operator replacement, but the chassis and control board were sound. We sourced the OEM gear set and bearing kit, pressed the old gear off the shaft, installed the new assembly with lithium-moly grease rated for the 1,200-pound gate, and set the clutch pressure to slip at 12 amps. The gate now runs the full 22-foot opening in 14 seconds, and the amp draw holds steady at 6.2. We photographed the worn gear teeth, the new assembly, and the amp reading on our meter. Under the Haven Standard, that gearbox rebuild carries the same 365-Day Done Right Promise as a new operator would.

Want Results Like These?

Every job above started the same way: a phone call to (678) 394-1765, a technician who showed up with a name and photo already texted to the homeowner, and a written price handed over before any tool came out of the truck. If you’ve got a gate that’s sagging, grinding, clicking, or just not doing what it used to, call us. We’ll look at it, photograph what we find, and tell you exactly what it costs to fix - no “call for a quote,” no surprise at the end. If you already have a written estimate from another company, we’ll review it free. Live person answers 24 hours a day.

Written by Adrian Vance, Owner at Vance Gate Repair Johns Creek, serving Johns Creek since 2014.