The gate, the opener and the keypad, from one company
For your home
Open the driveway gate without leaving the car. We build drive gates with hardware and a secure steel frame, and we can often automate the gate you already have. On a driveway that climbs from the road, a swing gate may not have room to open uphill, so we’ll tell you whether yours wants a swing gate or a slide gate.
For HOAs and gated communities
A community entrance gate has to work for residents, guests and deliveries. We bid HOA and community gate jobs. We install and service entrance gates with keypads, telephone entry, and the loops and safety sensors that come with an operator. An annual maintenance plan puts a scheduled visit on the calendar instead of waiting for a breakdown.
For businesses
Automatic slide and swing gates and barrier arms for lots, yards and entrances, with keypads or telephone entry for staff and deliveries. Tell us how many people and vehicles come and go, and we’ll go through the options that fit.
Get a Free Gate Estimate
Rather pick a day? Request an appointment online →
Prefer to talk? Call (828) 665-8900.
Openers, keypads and entry systems
An automatic gate is three parts working together: the gate, the operator (the motor that opens and closes it), and whatever tells it when to open. That can be remotes, a keypad, telephone entry or an intercom, plus the loops and safety sensors that let the gate know a car is there.
We install and service LiftMaster gate operators.
Our Access Control Manager, Jason Rumler, holds the American Fence Association’s Certified Gate Automation Designer and Certified Gate Automation Technician credentials.
What suits your gate depends on the gate, the power at the gate and the driveway. An operator needs power, and if there’s none at the gate, that becomes part of the plan. Where running power to the gate is hard, a solar-powered operator may be an option. We’ll go through the options at the estimate.
Already have a gate?
Opens by hand?
We can often add an opener. It depends on the gate’s weight, whether it swings or slides, how level the driveway is at the opening, and whether there’s power nearby.
Automatic gate acting up?
Stuck open, won’t close, or the keypad quit? Tell us what it’s doing in the repair request. It takes about a minute.
Want fewer surprises? Ask about an annual maintenance plan →
Gate acting up?
A lot of gate trouble comes down to a few things: power, the safety sensors, or the remotes and keypad. Here’s what the usual problems tend to mean, and what you can safely look at before you call.
We usually try to repair an opener before suggesting a new one. We install and service LiftMaster gate operators. We repair most gate openers, including brands we don’t usually sell and openers another company installed. For a store-bought kit opener, we’ll usually quote a new system instead.
It won’t close, or it stops and opens back up
Often the safety devices are doing their job. The photo eyes (small sensors on posts beside the opening) or a sensor strip on the gate’s edge think something is in the way, or one has a fault, so the opener won’t close the gate.
It opens or closes by itself
Common causes are a vehicle loop (a wire buried in the driveway that senses cars), a sensor, a remote with a stuck button, or a setting on the opener.
It’s stuck open
Usually a sensor that keeps seeing something, a power problem, or the gate being set to stay open. Keep people and cars clear of it, and tell us what it’s doing.
The remote or keypad quit
If one remote works and another doesn’t, it’s probably that remote, often its battery. If nothing opens the gate, the trouble is more likely the opener, its power, or the receiver that picks up the remotes.
It’s dead after an outage, a storm or a cold snap
Many openers have a backup battery that runs down during an outage, and batteries weaken in the cold. Storms and power surges can also damage the opener’s control board.
It’s beeping, or a light is blinking
A beeping alarm or a blinking light is often the opener reporting a fault. Count the beeps or blinks and tell us. It helps narrow down the problem.
Before you call: look, don’t fix
- Is anything in the gate’s path or in front of a photo eye? Branches, bins, a parked car or a snowbank can stop a gate.
- Does the opener show a light or a display? If it’s beeping or blinking, count the beeps or blinks.
- Does a second remote or the keypad work? If one works and another doesn’t, the problem is probably the one that doesn’t.
- Is the gate off its track, hanging crooked, or damaged? Keep people and cars away from it and call us.
Please don’t adjust or repair the gate or the opener yourself, and never disconnect a safety sensor to get the gate moving. Gates are heavy. The gate makers’ own safety checklist says to leave repairs and adjustments to a trained gate technician.
It asks what the gate is doing, then you send the request. It takes about a minute. Or call (828) 665-8900.
Annual gate maintenance
Our annual maintenance plans put a scheduled visit on the calendar instead of waiting for a breakdown. How often a gate needs a visit depends on how much it’s used.
A visit checks the batteries, the safety sensors and the receiver that picks up the remotes, which are behind many of the problems above.
The form is on our gate maintenance page. Or call (828) 665-8900.
What a maintenance visit covers
- Hinges: working smoothly and properly lubricated
- Belts and chains: checked for looseness and wear
- Fluid levels
- Safety controls: safety loops and photocells tested
- Accessories: exit device, SOS, timer and the like, tested
- Gate reversing sensor
- Radio receiver and antenna connections
- Batteries, and the battery backup tested
- Telephone entry and keypad operation
- Every wire connection in the telephone entry, keypad and operator
- Operator cover cleaned
- UL 325 compliance checked (UL 325 is the safety standard for gate openers)
Three plans
Essential
One visit a year
Repairs and parts are billed separately, with your approval.
From $150 a year
Priority
Two visits a year
10% off parts and labor for repairs.
From $300 a year
Priority Plus
Two visits a year
15% off parts and labor for repairs.
From $420 a year
Every visit follows the checklist above. A plan covers one gate, and each extra gate is half the base price. Repairs and parts are billed separately, with your approval.
Price per year, by drive time from our Candler office
| Drive time | Essential | Priority | Priority Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 30 min | $150 | $300 | $420 |
| 31–45 min | $175 | $340 | $460 |
| 46–60 min | $200 | $380 | $500 |
| 61–75 min | $225 | $420 | $540 |
| 76–100 min | $250 | $460 | $580 |
| 101–120 min | $275 | $500 | $620 |
Prices are per year for one gate.
Safety and fire-department access
An automatic gate is a heavy machine that moves on its own. The safety standard for gate openers (UL 325) and your local fire code both have a say in how it’s set up. Every automatic gate we install meets both UL 325 and ASTM F2200, the standard for how the gate itself is built.
Why a gate refuses to close
Openers made since 2016 have to watch their outside safety devices, like photo eyes and the sensor strips on a gate’s edge. If one is blocked, missing or faulty, the opener will only run while someone holds the button. It’s a bit like a car that won’t start until the seatbelt clicks.
Controls at least 6 feet from the gate
The standard says the buttons and keypads people use should sit at least 6 feet from the gate, so nobody can reach through it while it moves.
A separate gate for people on foot
Automatic gates are for vehicles. The standard calls for a separate walk gate for people, and warning signs that can be seen from both sides of the gate.
Older openers
Openers made before 2000 may not have the safety features newer ones have, and may not meet the current standard. A maintenance visit includes a UL 325 check.
Fire trucks need a way through
Fire codes treat a gate across a road that fire trucks may need as something the fire department approves, with an approved way for fire crews to open it. We install fire-department access devices: most often a siren-operated sensor (it opens the gate when it hears a fire truck’s siren), the kind most local fire marshals ask for, and Knox key switches (a switch only the fire department’s key turns). Your local fire marshal decides what your gate needs, so it’s worth settling before the gate goes in.
Planning a new gate? Get a free gate estimate ↑
What your board gets from us
A community entrance has to work for residents, guests, deliveries and fire crews, and the board has to be able to trust who looks after it.
In the form, tell us the community, how many entrances and gates you have, the gate type, and the opener brand and age if you know them. Or call (828) 665-8900.
- We bid HOA and community gate jobs.
- Certificate of insurance on request. Our insurance agent sends it straight to you.
- A credentialed gate manager. Our Access Control Manager, Jason Rumler, holds the American Fence Association’s Certified Gate Automation Designer and Certified Gate Automation Technician credentials.
- Fire-department access. We install siren-operated sensors and Knox key switches. Your local fire marshal decides what your entrance needs.
- A maintenance plan with a published checklist, including a UL 325 check. See what a visit covers ↑
- Entry for everyone who needs in: keypads, telephone entry, and the loops and safety sensors that come with an operator.
- Family-owned and woman-owned since 1966, with our yard on Smokey Park Highway in Candler.
Gates for businesses and managed properties
A business gate has more people to let through: staff, customers, deliveries, and fire crews when they need it. Whether you own the business or manage the property, we install and service automatic slide and swing gates and barrier arms for entrances, lots and yards.
- Slide gate, swing gate or barrier arm. For a storage site, a lot or a yard, a slide gate is often the better fit: it rolls to one side, so it needs room along the fence instead of room to swing. A barrier arm is an arm that lifts to let a car through. We’ll look at the site and tell you which fits.
- Entry for staff, customers and deliveries: keypads, telephone entry or an intercom, and the loops and safety sensors that come with an operator.
- Gates someone else put in. We repair most gate openers, including brands we don’t usually sell and openers another company installed.
- Fire-department access. We install siren-operated sensors and Knox key switches. Your local fire marshal decides what your gate needs.
- A maintenance plan with a published checklist, including a UL 325 check. See the plans and prices ↑
- Certificate of insurance on request. Our insurance agent sends it straight to you.
In the form, tell us what the site is, how many entrances and gates it has, and who needs to get in. Or call (828) 665-8900.
Gates & Gate Operators Gallery
Automatic Gate Questions
How much does an automatic gate cost?
Why won't my gate close?
Why does my gate open or close by itself?
My gate is stuck open. What should I do?
Why doesn't my gate work after a power outage?
Why is my gate opener beeping?
My remote or keypad stopped working. What's wrong?
Why is my gate slow or dead in cold weather?
Do you repair gate openers, or replace them?
Do you work on openers another company installed?
Can you add an opener to the gate I already have?
Swing gate or slide gate?
Can an automatic gate run on solar power?
What does an annual maintenance visit cover?
How much does a gate maintenance plan cost?
Does a fire truck need a way through our gate?
