FAAC Welding & Fabrication Nationwide

FAAC Welding & Fabrication: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide

If your FAAC gate has a cracked weld, a snapped hinge bracket, or a bent gate leaf that no longer lines up with the lock, the fix usually falls under welding and fabrication. We stock FAAC-specific mounting plates, hinge assemblies, and reinforcement steel on our trucks, and most weld repairs in Fort Lauderdale are completed the same day we arrive. Expect to pay $225 to $475 for a typical weld-and-reinforce job on a FAAC swing gate, including the steel, the weld, and the labor. Homeowners usually discover the problem the hard way: the gate starts dragging on the driveway, the opener strains and trips its breaker, or a weld finally cracks loud enough to hear from the kitchen.

Call (754) 354-9065

What makes this a FAAC issue rather than a generic gate problem is the way FAAC swing arms and hinge geometry carry weight. The operator mounts to a plate that takes every ounce of torque every single cycle. When that plate’s weld fails, the gate doesn’t just stop working. It starts tearing itself apart, slowly at first, then all at once.

Which FAAC Models This Applies To

Most of the welding and fabrication we do in Fort Lauderdale involves FAAC swing gate operators, specifically the 400, 412, 415, 770, and S800 series, along with the newer C720 and C721 hydraulic units. The hydraulic FAAC operators are common in South Florida because they handle heat and humidity better than some competitors, but their weight means the mounting plate and hinge posts take a real beating.

Before you order any part or schedule any weld, confirm the model number. On FAAC swing operators, look for a metal ID plate on the side of the housing or near the release handle. The model number is stamped there. Also measure the gate leaf: a single leaf over 10 feet typically needs the heavier mounting kit and a gusset plate added at the post. That’s a compatibility gotcha most suppliers won’t mention. The OEM FAAC mounting hardware is well-made, but when a weld fails, we often upgrade to a thicker aftermarket plate from a local Fort Lauderdale steel supplier and weld it in place, because the original plate was sized for a gate half the weight. If your gate is aluminum, the fabrication approach changes entirely: you need a steel backing plate on the inside and stainless hardware, never a direct steel-to-aluminum weld.

We are an independent service provider in Fort Lauderdale, not a FAAC dealer or authorized factory repair center. That independence means we can choose the best fix for your specific gate, whether that’s an OEM FAAC part or a heavier local fabrication.

Signs Your FAAC Welding & Fabrication Is Failing

• The gate sags visibly at the hinge side. The top hinge or the post itself has started to yield. The gate now drags on the driveway, and the FAAC operator is fighting that drag every cycle.
• You hear a creak or a sharp pop during operation. That pop is usually a weld bead separating under load. It sounds like a gunshot and it means the structure is now compromised.
• The gate scrapes a new groove in the concrete. Fort Lauderdale driveways show this quickly, especially after heavy rain softens the soil under the post. The post shifts, the gate drops, and the scrape begins.
• The FAAC operator trips its breaker or thermal overload repeatedly. The motor is pulling against a gate that no longer swings freely. This is the most misdiagnosed symptom: callers tell us the motor failed when the real problem is structural.
• You can see daylight through a weld or a crack in the gate frame. Rust from coastal air in Fort Lauderdale eats welds from the inside out. By the time you see the crack, the surrounding steel is thin.

Replacement Cost & What’s Included

A straight weld repair on a FAAC gate in Fort Lauderdale runs $225 to $375. Adding a reinforcement plate or gusset pushes it to $350 to $475. Replacing a failed hinge post with new steel and concrete typically lands between $500 and $800, depending on depth and whether the old post is reusable. Every quote includes the steel, the weld consumables, grinding and cleanup, and the labor. Nothing is hidden.

We give you a written price before the first weld is struck. That’s the rule, no exceptions. If the scope changes once we cut away the rust and see what’s actually inside the post, we stop, show you, and get your sign-off on the new number before proceeding. The finished weld and the surrounding fabrication are covered under our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it fails within a year, the return visit is free.

DIY or Call Us?

You can safely check a few things yourself. Wiggle the gate by hand and watch where the movement is: at the hinge, at the operator mount, or at the post base. Mark a crack with a sharpie and watch it over a week. If it grows, the structure is actively failing.

What you should not do is fire up a welder unless you are a trained welder. Welding a load-bearing gate hinge or operator plate is structural work. A bad weld looks fine on the outside and fails without warning, and a 400-pound gate coming off its post does real damage to whatever or whoever is in its path. Fort Lauderdale’s salt air also demands proper surface prep and coating, or the new weld rusts out in a year. Cole Rafferty has been fixing FAAC mounting failures long enough to know which welds can be saved and which need full replacement. If you’re not certain, call (754) 354-9065 and we’ll look at it with you.

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