Why gates sag and how that gets fixed
A dragging gate has two possible causes and they need opposite treatments. Either the gate frame has racked out of square, or the post it hangs from has leaned. Before touching anything I lift the latch side and watch what moves. If the gate squares up in my hands, the frame is the problem. If the post travels with it, the post is.
Racked frames get pulled back square and held there. A tension cable with a turnbuckle has to run from the top corner on the hinge side down to the bottom corner on the latch side, so that tightening it lifts the latch side. Fitted the other way round it makes the sag worse, and that is the single most common mistake I find on gates people have tried to fix themselves. A rigid wooden brace works in the opposite direction: it runs from the bottom of the hinge side up towards the latch side and holds the gate in compression.
Hinges come next. Screws driven into the end grain of a post pull out over time, and small hinges on a heavy privacy gate were never going to last a decade. Heavier strap or bolt-through hinges, fixed with carriage bolts where the post allows it, carry the load properly instead of hanging on threads.
Posts decide everything else
Posts rot at ground level, where the wood is damp, warm and still getting air. Even pressure-treated posts give out there eventually, and a post set in a concrete collar that dishes inwards fails sooner because the collar holds water against the wood. Once a post has gone, no amount of work on the boards will keep that section of fence standing.
Replacing a post means digging out the old one and its concrete, setting the new post deep enough to sit below the frost line, and backfilling with either compacted gravel or concrete crowned above grade so water runs away from the wood. Where only the buried section has failed and the rest of the post is sound, a galvanized post spur bolted to the good timber is a lighter repair that holds for years. I will tell you which one your fence deserves rather than defaulting to the bigger job. Before any hole is dug I have the underground services located through Ontario One Call, which is free and required by law.
Boards, rails and hardware
The rest of a fence is straightforward carpentry done with the right materials.
- Rotted or cracked boards replaced and matched as closely as the lumber yard allows
- Board bottoms kept clear of the soil so they stop wicking moisture upwards
- Sagging rails re-supported with galvanized brackets rather than more nails
- Hot-dipped galvanized or coated fasteners, because treated lumber eats plain steel
- Latches, drop rods, catches and self-closing hinges fitted and adjusted
- Chain link repairs: tension bars, top rails, caps and re-tensioned fabric
- Privacy screens and lattice panels refixed or replaced
- Cleaning and re-staining a fence once the repairs are finished
Property lines, by-laws and pool gates
Being upfront about this saves everybody trouble. A fence sitting on the boundary between two properties is normally a shared responsibility in Ontario, so a conversation with the neighbour before work starts is worth more than any argument afterwards. I do not decide where a property line runs. Only a surveyor can do that, and where there is real doubt I would rather you find out before I start digging.
Height limits come from your local fence by-law, and Toronto and the surrounding municipalities each set their own, with different rules for front and back yards. Putting a fence back the way it was is simple. Making it taller may not be allowed, so that is a question for the city before the lumber is ordered. Pool enclosures are the strict case: they carry their own requirements, need a gate that closes and latches by itself, and are inspected. I can fit self-closing hinges and a suitable latch, but the enclosure as a whole has to satisfy the by-law.
Fence and gate repair across the GTA
Send photos with your quote request: one of the whole fence, one of the gate from the latch side, and one of the base of any post you are worried about. That usually tells me more than a phone call does. Quotes are free, replies normally come back within one business day, and nothing is owed if you decide to leave it for now.
Spring and autumn are the busy stretches, and small jobs batch well. If the gate needs rehanging and there are three broken boards at the far end of the yard, they get done in one visit instead of two.
