Driveway Gates, Operators and Access Control
Driveway Gates in Dallas and Fort Worth
Short answer
Professional Garage Concepts designs, installs, repairs and maintains driveway gates across Dallas and Fort Worth, covering the gate itself, the operator that moves it, the access control that opens it. Single swing gate with operator runs $4,500 installed in Dallas-Fort Worth. Same-day service is available.
A gate that opens every time you pull up, through Texas heat and Texas storms
Overview
Professional Garage Concepts designs, installs, repairs and maintains driveway gates across Dallas and Fort Worth, covering the gate itself, the operator that moves it, the access control that opens it and the safety devices that keep it from closing on a vehicle. We have worked on automated openings in DFW since 2001 and hold 532 Google reviews at a 4.8 star average.
Most driveway gates in this market are sold by fence companies. A fence company can build a beautiful gate. The part that fails is almost never the gate. It is the operator, the control board, the loop detector, the photo eye, the limit switch or the receiver, and that is machinery rather than fence. We have been servicing powered openings and their safety systems for more than twenty years. Same skill set, different motor.
You can also see hardware in person, which nobody else in this category offers. We run two showrooms, at 220 N Main Street in Keller and 801 Greenview Drive in Grand Prairie. Bring photos and measurements of your driveway and we will tell you what will actually fit before anyone quotes you.
Swing, slide, cantilever or bi-fold: what your driveway can take
Gate type is decided by the site, not by preference. Slope, driveway length and the room available alongside the opening eliminate options before style enters the conversation. Picking the wrong one produces a gate that drags in August, binds against the pavement, or cannot open once a car is sitting in the drive.
Here is how each type behaves and when it is the right call.
- Swing gates. One or two leaves hinged at the posts, swinging in or out. Correct when the ground is level or gently sloped through the swing arc, there is clear space equal to the leaf length, and nobody parks in the swing path. Best looking option for ornamental iron and the least expensive to install, because there is no track and no long concrete run.
- Roller slide gates. The gate rolls on a ground track across the opening. Correct when the driveway rises or falls at the gate line and a swing gate would hit the pavement, and when there is clear sideroom equal to the full opening width to receive the gate. The track has to stay clear of gravel, leaves and mud, and it needs a level concrete run.
- Cantilever slide gates. The gate hangs from rollers on posts to one side and never touches the ground. Correct on uneven ground, on drives that flood or collect debris, and anywhere a ground track cannot be kept clean. Needs roughly half the opening width in extra sideroom for the counterbalance tail, so plan on a total run of about 1.5 times the opening.
- Bi-fold and vertical pivot gates. The leaves fold or lift instead of swinging wide. Correct when the driveway is short, when a car stacks close to the gate, or when the property fronts a busy street and the opening has to clear fast. A bi-fold opens in roughly half the time of a comparable swing gate.
- Barrier arms and vertical lift. Used on commercial and multifamily entries where the opening only needs to control vehicles and throughput matters more than visual screening.
Gate materials that survive Texas weather
The metal you choose is a maintenance decision as much as an appearance decision. DFW puts a gate through 100 degree summer surface temperatures, hail, high wind, and humidity swings that move moisture in and out of every weld and joint. Finish quality matters here more than it does in a dry climate.
- Ornamental iron. The classic DFW driveway gate. Heaviest option, the most design freedom, and the strongest look against brick and stone columns. Needs a proper primer and topcoat and needs rust addressed early. The weight drives operator sizing, hinge selection and footing size.
- Steel tube frame with panel infill. Lighter than solid ornamental iron, less expensive, and easy to combine with horizontal slat, picket or privacy infill. A practical choice on wide openings where weight is the limiting factor.
- Aluminum. Will not rust, which makes it the right call for gates that catch sprinkler spray or sit in a low spot. Lighter on the operator and available powder coated in most colors. Less impact resistant than steel, so it dents where steel would bend.
- Wood-clad on a steel frame. Cedar or composite cladding over a welded steel frame gives the warm look with a structure that stays square. The steel frame is what keeps a wood gate from sagging, which is the failure that ruins most all-wood gates by year three.
- Finish over material. A powder coated gate, or one properly primed and topcoated, holds up in this climate for years. A gate painted once with hardware store enamel starts bleeding rust at the welds within a couple of Texas summers.
Gate operators: LiftMaster, DoorKing and All-O-Matic
The operator decides whether you are still happy with the gate in year five. It is sized by gate weight, gate or leaf length, and how many times a day the gate runs. Undersizing is the most common mistake we find on gates installed by crews that build fence for a living.
We install and service LiftMaster, DoorKing and All-O-Matic. All three are serious lines with real parts availability in this market, which matters the Sunday a control board fails and you need it back that day.
- Swing operators in arm, linear and underground configurations. Sized by leaf weight and leaf length, since a long light gate loads a motor as hard as a short heavy one.
- Slide operators in chain drive, belt drive and rack and pinion. Rated by gate weight and by duty cycle.
- Residential duty: roughly 10 to 20 cycles a day, a typical single family driveway.
- Light commercial duty: roughly 20 to 50 cycles a day, shared drives, small offices and ranch entries with staff traffic.
- Continuous duty: 50 cycles a day and up, with the thermal rating to run all day. Apartment communities, storage properties and commercial yards.
- Power options: standard line power, 24V DC with battery backup so the gate keeps working through an outage, and solar packages for entries where trenching power is impractical.
Access control: how the gate knows to open
How people get in is a separate design decision from the gate and the operator, and it is where most owners under-plan. Decide who needs access, how often they come, and whether you want a record of it. Doing that before the trench is dug is far cheaper than adding a conduit run after the concrete goes back.
All of these combine. A common DFW setup is a keypad for the family and the lawn crew, transmitters in the cars, cellular app control for guests, and a free exit loop so nobody has to do anything to leave.
- Keypads, wired or wireless, with an individual code per user so you can revoke the lawn crew code without changing everyone else's.
- Transmitters and remotes. Rolling code remotes, visor clips and HomeLink integration on most vehicles.
- Telephone entry. A call box at the gate that rings your phone so you can talk to a visitor and open the gate remotely. Standard on estates and small communities.
- Cellular and app control. Open the gate, add users, set schedules and see entry history from your phone. LiftMaster myQ and DoorKing cellular units both do this with no landline required.
- Card, fob and reader systems for staff, tenants and shared drives where you need per-user credentials and reporting.
- Free exit devices. A loop in the pavement, an exit wand or a photo sensor that opens the gate as you drive out.
- Emergency access. A Knox box, siren-activated sensor or click-to-enter receiver so fire and EMS can get in without cutting your gate open.
Safety systems and UL 325
An automatic gate is a heavy powered machine moving across a path that people walk through. That is why gate operators sold in the United States are built to UL 325, which requires at least two independent means of entrapment protection on a powered gate, and why a gate installed without them is both dangerous and a liability problem waiting on a bad afternoon.
Every gate we install gets the safety devices the operator listing requires, tested and documented at commissioning. Every gate we repair gets those devices tested before we leave, whether or not that is what you called about.
- Photo eyes. Infrared beams across the opening that stop and reverse the gate when the beam is broken. Usually required on both the opening and closing path.
- Safety edges. Pressure sensitive edges on the leading edge of the gate that reverse it on contact. The right choice where a beam cannot cover the pinch point.
- Safety loops. Wire loops cut into the pavement that detect a vehicle and hold the gate open. A shadow loop under the gate path is what keeps a gate from closing on a car that stopped in the opening.
- Exit loops. Detect a vehicle leaving and open the gate automatically, with no remote and no code.
- Inherent obstruction sensing. The operator senses a load and reverses. That counts as one means of protection and it is never enough on its own.
- Warning placards on both sides of the gate, plus screening where fingers can reach through moving members.
Why homeowners call a door company for gate work
A driveway gate is an automated opening with a motor, a control board, safety sensors and travel limits. So is a garage door. The failure list is nearly identical and the diagnostic sequence is the same one we have been running in DFW since 2001.
Fence contractors build the gate and usually subcontract or self-teach the operator side. We start at the operator. If your gate is the third one on your street to lose a control board in a storm season, you want the company that carries boards, receivers and loop detectors on the truck. We do the welding too, which means one contractor for the gate, the machinery and the warranty.
How it works
How a gate project runs with us
- STEP 01
Site visit and measurements
We measure the opening, the driveway slope through the gate path, available sideroom, existing post or column locations, stacking distance to the street, and where power can come from. Photos and dimensions go on the quote.
- STEP 02
Gate type and material
We recommend swing, slide, cantilever or bi-fold based on what the site actually supports, then work through material, infill and design. You can see hardware, finishes and operators at the Keller or Grand Prairie showroom.
- STEP 03
Operator and access control selection
The operator is sized to the finished gate weight, leaf length and your expected daily cycles. Access control is chosen around who needs to get in, how often, and how you want to manage users over time.
- STEP 04
Written quote and schedule
The quote names the gate, the operator model, every access and safety device, the electrical work and the lead time. Custom ornamental gates are fabricated to your drawing and take longer than stock panel gates.
- STEP 05
Installation
Posts and footings go in first, then power and low voltage, then the gate, then the operator and controls. Safety and exit loops are cut and sealed before the drive goes back into service.
- STEP 06
Commissioning and training
We set travel limits and force, test every safety device, program remotes, keypad codes and app users, install warning placards, and walk you through the manual release before we leave.
Straight pricing
What a driveway gate costs in Dallas Fort Worth
These are installed ranges for this market, not quotes. Opening width, gate weight, ornamental detail, operator duty rating, access control and how far power has to run all move the final number.
Single swing gate with operator
$4,500starting at, installed
A standard residential driveway with room to swing
- Steel or aluminum gate sized to the opening
- Post footings sized for the gate load
- Residential duty operator with battery backup
- Two remotes and a keypad
- Photo eyes and required safety devices, set and tested
Dual swing, slide or cantilever
$8,000 to $15,000installed
Wider openings, sloped drives and heavier ornamental gates
- Two leaf swing, roller slide or cantilever configuration
- Light commercial duty operator
- Keypad, transmitters and a free exit device
- Safety and exit loops cut and sealed into the drive
- Deeper footings sized for the gate weight and DFW clay
Custom ornamental iron entry
$15,000+installed
Estate entries, custom scrollwork and stone column openings
- Custom fabricated ornamental iron leaves
- Continuous or commercial duty operator
- Telephone entry or cellular app access control
- Full safety package with loops and safety edges
- Powder coat or primed and topcoated finish
Operator and access control only
Quoted after site visiton an existing gate
A sound gate with a failed or missing operator
- Operator sized to your existing gate weight and length
- Power and low voltage run to the operator
- Photo eyes, loops and required safety devices
- Keypad, remotes and app users set up
- Existing hinges, posts and hardware evaluated first
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Still stuck? Call (817) 381-6173 and talk to someone who does this every day.
How much does a driveway gate cost in Dallas Fort Worth?
A real driveway gate with an automatic operator generally starts around $4,500 installed in the Dallas Fort Worth market and runs well past $15,000 for custom ornamental iron. Opening width, gate weight, operator duty rating, access control and the distance power has to run set the final number. We quote after a site visit, not over the phone.
Sliding gate or swing gate: which is better for my driveway?
Swing gates cost less and look better on ornamental entries, but they need level ground through the swing arc and clear space for the leaves. Slide gates are the right answer when the driveway slopes at the gate line or the swing path is blocked, and they need clear sideroom equal to the full opening width.
What is a cantilever gate and when do I need one?
A cantilever gate slides across the opening while hanging from rollers on posts to one side, so it never touches the ground. It is the right choice on uneven ground, on drives that flood or collect gravel and leaves, and anywhere a ground track cannot be kept clean. It needs about 1.5 times the opening width in total run.
Which gate operator brands do you install?
We install and service LiftMaster, DoorKing and All-O-Matic gate operators in swing and slide configurations, with residential, light commercial and continuous duty ratings. All three lines have strong parts availability in Dallas Fort Worth, which matters when a control board fails on a weekend and you need the gate back the same day.
Will my gate still work if the power goes out?
Yes, if it is set up for it. A 24 volt DC operator with battery backup keeps running through an outage for a limited number of cycles, and solar packages work the same way. Every gate we install also has a manual release so the gate can be pushed open by hand when the batteries are done.
What safety devices does an automatic gate need?
UL 325 requires at least two independent means of entrapment protection on a powered gate. In practice that means the operator's built-in obstruction sensing plus photo eyes, safety edges or safety loops, along with warning placards on both sides of the gate. We test every device at commissioning and on every service visit after that.
Do I need a permit or HOA approval for a driveway gate?
Usually both. Most DFW cities require an electrical permit for the operator circuit, and many review gate setback from the right of way and vehicle stacking distance from the street. If you are in an HOA, expect an architectural review of the gate height, style, material and finish color before work can start.
Can you add an operator to a gate I already have?
Yes. If the existing gate is square, hangs true and the posts are sound, we size an operator to it, run power and low voltage, install photo eyes and loops, and set up your access control. If the posts have shifted or the leaves sag, the posts and hinges get corrected first, because an operator will not fix a gate that is already fighting gravity.
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Learn moreReady to get driveway gates handled?
Call (817) 381-6173 or send the form. We answer quote requests the same business day, and we have been doing this across DFW since 2001.