Get the scope in writing, part by part
Pennsylvania's Office of Attorney General, in its Rights and Resources consumer guide, tells homeowners to get a written contract before work starts, make sure it describes the work to be done, and put all guarantees in writing in the contract. It also suggests a clause requiring the company to clean dirt and debris away from the work area. For a gate, that means the quote should name each part of the job rather than lumping it together.
If a contractor offers both a repair and a replacement, ask for each to be priced separately so you can compare them. Ask the quote to list what is excluded and how any extra work found during the job will be agreed with you before it is done. Our checklist for hiring a home repair contractor in Philadelphia and Bucks County covers the wider questions to ask before you sign.
Hinges: adjustment or replacement?
The quote should say which hinges stay, which are replaced, what hardware goes in, and whether the work includes reattaching them. Hinge needs depend on the gate. Trex's guide to installing its gates says not all gates need strap hinges, but many wood and composite gates often do, and those straps must be strong enough to carry the gate's weight. It adds that its own aluminum gates have welded balusters for lateral stability, so they don't need a strap hinge. One manufacturer's arrangement isn't a rule for every gate, so a fair question is: “Why is this hinge setup right for this gate's material and weight?”
If the contractor recommends new hinges, ask what simply adjusting the existing ones would leave unfixed, and keep that separate from any upgrade that is mainly about looks.
Posts: what is included and what is still unknown
A gate hangs between a hinge-side post and a latch-side post, and the quote should say whether each will be kept, repaired or replaced. Ask what holds the hinges to the post and whether any reinforcement is part of the job. For example, Trex's composite fence installation guide calls for a steel stiffener inside the hinge-side post of its gates and says its fence posts should be set in concrete. That is a requirement for that product line, not a specification for every fence.
For iron fences and gates, ask whether rust treatment and repainting are included. The National Park Service's guide to iron fencing says painting inhibits rust, which it calls one of the leading causes of iron fence deterioration. Post condition below ground can't be judged from a photo, so expect a contractor to look at the posts in person and to say in the quote what remains uncertain. Our guide to the photos to take before a repair estimate can still help you show the problem clearly when asking for quotes.
Latch alignment: include both halves
A latch has two parts that meet: the latch or catch on one side and the striker or keeper on the other. Ask whether the work covers both and where they'll be mounted, not just moving whichever piece is easiest to reach. In the Trex fence guide, the gate is first adjusted at the hinges until it sits evenly in the opening, then the latch is installed, and the striker is attached so it lines up with the catch on the latch post.
A useful question is: “Will you set the gate's final position before fitting the latch?” If the quote only moves the catch but the gate also drags or the gaps are uneven, ask how the quote addresses those problems too.
Agree on how the finished gate will be checked
Before work starts, agree on what “working” means: how far the gate should open, that it clears the ground, and that it latches without lifting, shoving sideways or slamming. At the end, ask the contractor to show you each of those.
The Attorney General's guide says that after the work is done you should inspect it thoroughly, review the whole project with the contractor, ask about any maintenance the work needs and point out defects immediately. If you're asked to sign a completion certificate, it says not to sign until all the work in the contract is done to your satisfaction, and never to sign one at the same time as the original sales order. Keep the quote, contract and any written guarantee together; our list of documents to keep after a home repair explains what else to save.
Tell the contractor if the gate is part of a pool barrier
If the gate controls access to a pool, say so before agreeing to any hardware change. The CPSC's Childproofing Your Home guide lists self-closing and self-latching pool gates among the layers of protection around pools, and notes that most toddler drownings happen in a family's own backyard pool. Ask a qualified installer to check that the gate still closes and latches on its own after the repair, rather than treating a latch that works when pushed shut by hand as the whole job. The same guide warns that pet gates should never be used as child safety gates, so a gate chosen to keep a dog in shouldn't be assumed to protect children.
Trex is named here only because its public installation guides are useful examples. HomeFix isn't affiliated with Trex and isn't recommending its products.