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AfterFAAC Welding & Fabrication: The West Hollywood Owner’s Guide
If a welded joint on your FAAC gate has cracked, or a mounting bracket has torn loose from the post, we can fabricate and install a replacement, typically for $275 to $650 in West Hollywood. Most weld repairs on FAAC swing and slide gates are completed in a single visit, and we carry the steel stock, gussets, and hardware on our trucks to match FAAC’s original geometry. Owners usually discover the problem the hard way: the gate starts dragging, the opener strains, or a hinge shears off entirely on a hillside driveway off Doheny.
We have been welding and fabricating gate hardware in West Hollywood since 1984, and the failures we see follow a pattern. Salt air drifting up from the coast works into hairline cracks, the added weight of a gate that was never rebalanced after a motor upgrade stresses old welds, and ground shift on hillside properties pulls posts out of square. Victor Salinas has repaired enough of them to know exactly what to look for before the first cut is made.
Which FAAC Models This Applies To
Our welding and fabrication work covers the full range of FAAC residential and light-commercial gate systems commonly found across West Hollywood: the 400-series swing operators (402, 412, 415, 422), the 750 and 760 slide gate operators, and the newer S418 and S450 lines. The welded components we most often fabricate are gate hinge assemblies, operator mounting plates, rack brackets for slide gates, and the steel posts that hold the whole system in place.
Before ordering or fabricating anything, we confirm the model number on the metal ID tag attached to the operator housing or the control box. FAAC uses different mounting plate thicknesses and bolt patterns between the 400-series and the newer S-series, and a plate drilled for a 415 will not line up on an S450 without field modification. For most West Hollywood homeowners, we recommend OEM FAAC hardware when the part is still available, because the bolt pattern and steel gauge match without guesswork. When OEM is discontinued or backordered for weeks, we fabricate from American steel stock to the same or better thickness, and we stand behind that work.
Signs Your FAAC Welding & Fabrication Is Failing
- The gate sags or scrapes the driveway at the latch end. This almost always means the hinge welds or the hinge brackets themselves have begun to stretch or crack. The gate’s own weight is working against the steel every time it cycles.
- You hear a pop or creak when the gate starts to move. A failing weld will often announce itself with a sharp sound as the metal flexes under load. By the time you hear it, the crack is usually visible if you look close.
- The operator mounting plate has shifted or shows daylight under one corner. FAAC operators are bolted to steel plates welded onto the gate or post. When the plate begins to tear away, the bolts stay tight but the plate moves, and the operator starts to chatter.
- Rust stains streak down from a joint near the coast side of the property. West Hollywood properties west of La Cienega catch coastal air, and rust works fast on unprotected welds. The stain is the tell that moisture is inside the joint, and the surrounding steel is thinner than it looks.
- The gate stops mid-cycle and flashes an obstruction code. When a weld fails and the gate drops even a quarter inch, the FAAC control board sees the added resistance as an obstacle and reverses. It is not a programming problem. It is steel that has moved.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
In West Hollywood, expect to pay $275 to $400 for a typical hinge or bracket weld repair, and $450 to $650 when we need to fabricate a new steel mounting plate, replace a section of post, or rebuild both hinge points on a heavy swing gate. The range depends mostly on gate weight, access to the back side of the post, and how much rusted steel needs to be cut out before new metal can go in.
Every quote we give includes the labor, the steel, the welding consumables, cleanup, and a clear walkthrough of what we found. The price is settled before any work starts, and it does not change unless we uncover something hidden and stop to show you first. Our welding and fabrication work is covered by our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it is not right, we come back and make it right. No paperwork, no arguing.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely inspect your gate. Look at every welded joint with a flashlight, especially the hinge mounts and the operator plate. If you see a hairline crack, rust bleeding from a joint, or a plate pulling away from the post, that is the time to stop watching it and start making a call. These welds carry hundreds of pounds, and a swing gate that breaks free on a sloped driveway off Sunset can do real damage before it stops.
We will not suggest you fire up a welder on this. Welding a gate post that is under tension, or trying to re-weld a cracked mount without grinding out the old bead first, usually makes the next failure worse. And a poor weld on a FAAC operator plate will tear out again within months. Call us at (442) 255-3886 and we will send a uniformed, background-checked technician to West Hollywood, diagnose it, and give you a price before anything gets cut.
FAQs
Original equipment welds on a FAAC gate typically last 12 to 18 years in West Hollywood before fatigue or corrosion catches up with them. Gates on the west side of the city, closer to the coastal air, tend to fail at the earlier end of that range unless the welds were sealed and painted at install. If the gate was welded without proper prep, we have seen failures in under five years, usually at the hinge-to-post connection.
Often yes, and we do it regularly. We grind out the old weld, re-bevel the joint, and lay a fresh, full-penetration weld, usually adding a small gusset plate for strength. If the steel around the crack has thinned from rust or the metal has torn rather than cracked, replacement is the honest fix. We will tell you which one you need and show you the difference.
Most single-hinge or bracket repairs are completed in 90 minutes to two hours, including grinding, welding, cooling, and paint touch-up. Fabricating a new mounting plate or rebuilding a post takes two to four hours. We schedule the work so your gate is back in service the same day, and we always quote the time before we start.
We carry common FAAC-compatible hinge assemblies, mounting plates, and steel stock on our service trucks, along with the welding equipment to fabricate what a parts catalog cannot. If your model needs a specific OEM bracket we do not have on board, we source it through our local suppliers, usually within one to two business days. Call (442) 255-3886, tell us your FAAC model number, and we will confirm before we head out.
We Are an Independent Gate Service Company
Ironworks Gate Co. is an independent gate repair and fabrication company based in West Hollywood. We are not affiliated with FAAC, and we do not represent them. What we do is service their equipment across West Hollywood and the surrounding neighborhoods, along with LiftMaster, Mighty Mule, Ghost Controls, and five other major opener brands, so the repair we make is the one that works, whatever is bolted to your driveway.
If the gate’s giving you trouble, let’s take a look at it – no guessing, no upselling, just a straight answer. Call (442) 255-3886 for a free estimate. A live person answers, 24 hours a day.
Written by Victor Salinas, Owner & Gate Repair Specialist, Ironworks Gate Co. at Ironworks Gate Co., serving West Hollywood and nearby areas.