Gate Opener Installation

A gate opener is the difference between a gate you use and a gate you leave open. On the long driveways, lake lots and ranch entrances around Lake Livingston, getting out of the truck in the rain to open a gate gets old fast, and an opener with a remote and a keypad fixes that for years. We install openers on swing and slide gates we build and on existing gates that are up to the job, with solar or wired power, and we service the units we install.

One honest limit, up front

Opener types

• Swing gate openers. An arm on each leaf, or one on a single gate. The common residential choice for tube, ornamental and wood driveway gates up to about 16 feet per leaf.
• Slide gate openers. A motor driving a chain or rack along a gate that rolls sideways. Used where the drive rises behind the gate, where there is no room to swing, and on wide commercial openings.
• Solar. A panel and battery at the gate, sized for the opener and the number of cycles a day. The answer on driveways with no power at the road.
• Wired. Low-voltage from a circuit at the house or a nearby building. The most dependable where it is practical.

Access and safety

Remotes for the vehicles, a keypad at the entrance for guests and deliveries, an exit sensor or loop so the gate opens for a vehicle leaving, and a battery backup with a manual release for outages. Safety features that stop and reverse the gate if it meets an obstruction are not optional on a gate that children or animals might be near, and we install them on every opener. Intercoms and cameras come from your security installer; we coordinate the gate side so they work together.

Installing it right

An opener pushes and pulls on a gate thousands of times a year, and it finds every weakness in the gate and the posts. That is why we prefer to install the opener as part of the gate job: the hinge post is set and sized for the load, the gate is built square and balanced, and the opener is mounted where its geometry works. On an existing gate we check the posts, hinges and frame first and fix what needs fixing before hanging a motor on it. Power runs in conduit; solar panels face south and clear of the trees; controls are mounted where the driver can reach them from the window.

Gates we automate

Tube and driveway gates, ornamental gates, security gates and wood gates built on a steel frame. See the gates page for the full range.

Frequently asked questions

Do you repair gate openers?

We service and repair the openers we installed. We do not work on openers installed by someone else, because we cannot stand behind a unit we did not size, mount and wire. If an older opener has failed, we are glad to quote a replacement installed by us.

Solar or wired power?

Wired power is the most reliable if there is a circuit near the gate. Solar is the practical answer on long driveways where running power to the road would cost more than the gate; a properly sized panel and battery run a residential gate many cycles a day.

What happens when the power goes out?

Openers run on a battery, and the battery carries the gate through an outage for a while. Every opener we install has a manual release so the gate can be opened by hand if the battery runs down.

Can you add an opener to my existing gate?

Often, if the gate and posts are up to it. The opener puts a repeated load on the hinge post and the frame, so a gate that already sags or a post that leans has to be fixed first. We look at the gate before quoting the opener.