Frequently Asked Questions

Most repairs finish in two to four hours. A hinge replacement on a walk gate in Collingswood might take 90 minutes. Rebuilding a dual-swing driveway gate with new operators in Cherry Hill can stretch to a full day. We don't rush. Our K.E.Y.S. code says "Krafted right" - trained journeymen, proper materials, no shortcuts. We'd rather take the afternoon and have you not see us again for years.

We inspect every moving part, test the opener and safety systems, check for rust or structural fatigue, then explain what we found in plain language. You'll get a written estimate with parts and labor separated. No pressure to decide on the spot. We've had homeowners in Camden call us back three days later with questions, and that's fine. We stand behind it either way.

We repair every brand and installation we encounter in the Philadelphia area, including gates put in by fence companies, landscapers, or homeowners themselves. We've fixed gates in Pennsauken where the original installer used deck screws on a 400-pound iron frame. We've corrected safety sensor placement in Wharton that was causing random reversals. The gate doesn't care who hung it. We make it right.

Yes, though our heart is in residential work. We service apartment complex gates in University City, warehouse security gates in Port Richmond, and estate entrances in Bala-Cynwyd. Commercial jobs often require heavier-duty operators and more frequent maintenance cycles. We quote those honestly, not trying to sell a residential-grade opener to a property that needs industrial hardware.

We install and service Linear, Viking, and Ghost Controls openers, chosen for reliability in Philadelphia's freeze-thaw climate. Linear's heavy-duty swing gate operators handle the weight of solid iron gates common in Center City and Society Hill. Viking's slide gate systems work well on the sloped driveways we see in Cherry Hill and Wharton. Ghost Controls offers solid battery backup options for properties where power reliability is a concern. We don't push one brand for every job. We match the operator to your gate, your usage, and your property.

We fabricate or source parts for gates long after manufacturers stop supporting them. A century ago every town had an ironworks, and the gates it made are still swinging - that's why we're named Ironworks Gate Co. We've machined custom hinge pins for 1960s wrought iron in Tacony, rebuilt circuit boards for discontinued DoorKing systems in Palmyra, and welded new receiver brackets where rust had eaten the originals. If the frame is sound, we keep it moving.

Chain-drive for heavy gates and high-cycle use, belt-drive for lighter gates where noise matters. Most Philadelphia row house walk gates don't need either - they're manual or use a simple linear actuator. For driveway gates in Collingswood or Pennsauken with daily use, we typically spec chain-drive. For a bedroom-adjacent courtyard gate in Rittenhouse where clanking would wake the household, belt-drive makes sense. We explain the tradeoff, then you decide.

We're state-licensed contractors, fully insured and bonded, with Philadelphia business licenses current since 1984. Gate repair crosses trades - structural welding, electrical work, low-voltage controls - and we carry the coverage for all of it. We pull permits when Philadelphia or your municipality requires them, particularly for new operator installations or structural modifications. We don't cut corners on paperwork because we plan to be in this town in thirty years.

We carry general liability, workers' compensation, and commercial auto coverage. Our journeymen are employees, not subcontractors, so they're covered on your property. We've seen too many "handyman" gate repairs in Camden and Pennsport where an injury left the homeowner exposed. That's not how Keystone companies operate. We hire local, train apprentices into journeymen, and carry the insurance that protects everyone involved.

We pull permits when the work triggers Philadelphia's requirements - typically new electrical circuits, structural modifications, or new installations in historic districts. Simple repairs like hinge replacement, welding cracks, or swapping a failed operator on existing wiring usually don't require permits. We know the line because we've been walking it since 1984. If your job needs a permit, we handle the application and inspection scheduling. You don't chase paperwork.

We offer same-day service for gates that are stuck open, stuck closed, or posing a security risk. Call (833) 624-0726 and we'll tell you honestly where you sit in the day's queue. A gate stuck open in Center City at 10 PM gets priority over a noisy hinge in Cherry Hill. We've had crews in Whitman by dawn and in Tacony by lunch. We'll be there when we say.

A gate that won't secure your property, a gate that's trapped a vehicle, or a gate with exposed electrical hazards qualifies as emergency. A squeak, a slow open, or a remote that needs new batteries does not. We're straight with you about urgency because our K.E.Y.S. code says "Your home first" - we work in your house the way we'd work in our mother's. That includes not charging emergency rates for non-emergencies.

We typically reach Collingswood, Palmyra, and Pennsauken within 90 minutes during business hours. Cherry Hill and Bala-Cynwyd run similar. Camden and Whitman, being closer to our Philadelphia base, often see faster response. We don't promise what we can't deliver. If we're backed up, we tell you the real arrival window and stick to it.

We warranty our repair labor for 90 days in writing under The Keystone Standard. Parts carry the manufacturer's warranty, typically one to three years depending on the component. If a weld cracks or an adjustment slips inside that window, we come back. No paperwork, no arguing. That's been our terms since 1984, and it's how a company acts when it plans to be in town in thirty years.

The Keystone Standard is our trademarked promise: 90 days, in writing, no arguing. Applied to gates, it means if anything we repaired fails due to our workmanship within 90 days, we fix it free. No claim forms, no "let us check if that's covered." We show up, we make it right, we leave. Our K.E.Y.S. values end with "Standing behind it" - if it's not right, we come back. Period.

We warranty our labor and any parts we supply, regardless of who installed the gate originally. We don't warranty another company's prior work or parts we didn't provide - that would be dishonest. What we do promise: if we touch it, we stand behind our touch. We've repaired gates in Camden that three other companies had "fixed," and we warranty only what we actually did. A square deal means clear boundaries.

Customer-caused damage, unauthorized modifications, or using the gate in ways it wasn't designed for voids coverage. Hitting the gate with a vehicle, letting a contractor drill into the frame, or overriding safety systems - these aren't defects in our work. Normal wear from Philadelphia's freeze-thaw cycles, salt exposure, or decades of use isn't a warranty issue either; it's maintenance. We explain the difference clearly when we finish the job so there's no confusion later.

Written by the team at Ironworks Gate Co., serving Philadelphia since 1984.