Free on-site gate assessment - hinges, posts, and your LiftMaster or Nice gate operator checked before anything is quoted
The assessment is free and the quote is the invoice.
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After
Before
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Installation Across Southlake
Gate installation in Southlake usually means one of two things: you’re putting in a new ornamental driveway gate on a custom home, or you’re replacing a builder-grade operator that gave out years before it should have. We’ve been doing both across Southlake since Hal Gatewood started this shop in 2001. Our crews know the soil, the HOAs, and the older automation systems on Timberline Drive, Continental Boulevard, and the estates off Dove Road better than any out-of-town outfit ever will. Call (903) 829-4499 and you’ll talk to a live person, not a queue.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Southlake’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Southlake homeowners tend to do their homework before hiring anyone. They want a name they can verify, a shop they can drive to, and someone who answers the phone. That’s who we are. Hal’s name is on the shop, the invoices, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise we stamp in writing on every job. If it’s not right, one call brings him back. No fine print, no “in most cases.”
We’ve worked on gates in Timarron, Carillon, and Vaquero for years. Those neighborhoods have a particular mix of heavy ornamental iron, powder-coated steel panels, and Viking or Elite operators that were top-shelf when installed but are now 10 to 20 years old. Our crews know what fails on those systems and what holds up. We also know Southlake’s architectural review boards. When your HOA says the replacement panel has to match the original ironwork exactly, we don’t blink. We fabricate to spec and handle the approval process without drama.
Every estimate is free, quoted upfront, and agreed before we start. No gate estimate changes at the door. That’s the point of Gate Installation done right.
Our Gate Installation Services in Southlake
Driveway Gate Installation
Most driveway gates we install in Southlake are ornamental steel or wrought iron on custom homes in Timarron, Carillon, and along Southlake Boulevard. The biggest decision isn’t usually the gate itself. It’s whether the operator can handle the weight. We size operators to the gate, not the other way around, and we tell you plainly when a builder-grade motor won’t cut it. Driveway gates here are heavy, and Southlake’s clay soil puts extra stress on hinge posts over time. We set posts deeper and in properly compacted footings so the gate doesn’t sag in year three.
Swing Gate Installation
Double swing gates are common on Southlake estate entrances, and they’re the most demanding to install correctly. Both leaves have to meet perfectly at the center, the hinge posts have to bear the load without leaning, and the automation has to be synchronized so one side doesn’t drag. We install swing gate systems from Viking and Elite, set the posts with deeper embedment for expansive clay, and run the safety edges and photocells exactly as the operator manufacturer requires. If a swing gate in Southlake binds at the latch, it’s almost always a shifted post, and we fix it at the post, not at the latch.
Sliding Gate Installation
Sliding gates work well on Southlake properties where a swing gate would need too much clearance or where the driveway slope makes a swing impractical. Rack-and-pinion slide systems need a flat, level track run, and Southlake’s black-clay soil moves enough that we set the track bed on a compacted base that won’t heave. We handle the power run, the operator mounting, and the safety loops that keep the gate from reversing on a car or a kid. If you’re replacing a slide gate that keeps jumping track, the track base was never right. We fix it properly the first time.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
A lot of Southlake homes with driveway gates also need a matching pedestrian gate at the side entrance. We fabricate or order panels to match the existing ornamental design so the HOA doesn’t have a complaint, and we install a separate keypad or intercom system so the walk gate works on its own without sharing logic with the driveway operator. This is a detail that gets skipped by companies who treat a walk gate as an afterthought.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Southlake
We stock parts and operators for the brands Southlake homes actually have: Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, and Elite. If your current system is one of those, we likely have the board, the limit switch, or the gear set on the truck or at the shop the same day. If you’re upgrading, we’ll recommend a Viking or Elite operator sized for your gate’s weight and your driveway’s usage, not whatever is cheapest on a warehouse shelf. Fast turnaround matters in Southlake where a stuck gate can block the only entrance to the house.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Southlake Homes
- Builder-grade operators paired with heavy ornamental gates. Southlake’s late-1990s and early-2000s custom homes often got lightweight operators that were never rated for an 8-foot wrought iron gate. Those motors burn out early, and the fix is a full operator replacement plus a control board that can handle the amp draw. We see this in Timarron and Carillon regularly.
- No power or conduit run to the gate. Manual gates installed during Southlake’s building boom frequently lack any electrical run. Adding automation means trenching through expansive clay that heaves and cracks new post footings if the trench isn’t backfilled and compacted right. We handle the power run from the house to the gate, including conduit, wire, and the disconnect.
- Posts shifted out of plumb by black-clay soil. Southlake sits on North Texas’s expansive clay. It swells after heavy rain and shrinks in summer drought. That seasonal movement shifts gate posts, throws swing gates out of alignment, and makes slide gates jump track. The repair cycle repeats every few years unless the posts are set deep and the footings are engineered for the soil. Most installers from the boom years didn’t do that.
- HOA design mandates on replacement panels. Southlake’s master-planned communities have architectural review boards that require replacement gate panels to match the original ornamental design. A simple post-collision repair can turn into custom fabrication plus approval before work starts. We warn clients about this upfront and fabricate to match the existing ironwork rather than installing something that will get rejected.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Southlake, TX
A new single ornamental steel driveway gate in Southlake, installed with a properly sized operator, typically runs $4,200 to $8,500 depending on panel width, weight, and whether you’re going with a Viking or Elite automation system. A double swing gate installation usually lands between $7,000 and $14,000. Retrofitting automation onto an existing manual gate, including the power run, keypad, and safety edges, runs $2,800 to $5,200. Pedestrian gate installations typically run $1,500 to $3,800. Every price is quoted and agreed before any work starts. Call (903) 829-4499 for a free estimate on your specific gate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Southlake
Our crews work throughout the Southlake area and regularly install gates in Colleyville, Grapevine, Flower Mound, and Bedford. If you’re in one of those cities and want the same local accountability that Southlake homeowners get, call the same number: (903) 829-4499.
Serving Southlake, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Southlake area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Gate Installation in Southlake
Yes, in most Southlake master-planned communities like Timarron and Carillon, you need architectural review board approval before replacing a driveway gate panel, especially if the replacement doesn’t match the original ornamental ironwork exactly. We fabricate to the original design spec and can help you document the submission. Call (903) 829-4499 and we’ll walk you through what your HOA will want to see.
Yes, and it’s one of the most common jobs we do in Southlake. The original builder usually stubbed power to the wrong side or never ran conduit at all. We trench a new power run from the house to the gate, install conduit, wire, and a disconnect, then mount the operator and safety edges. A typical retrofit runs $2,800 to $5,200. Free estimate before we start anything.
Because Southlake sits on expansive black-clay soil that swells after heavy rain and shrinks in drought, shifting your gate posts out of plumb seasonally. The fix is resetting the posts in deeper, properly compacted footings, not just cranking on the hinges. We do that work on site, and we stand behind it with our 90-Day Done Right Promise.
For a heavy ornamental double gate, we typically recommend a Viking or Elite operator sized to the actual leaf weight, which we measure on site. Builder-grade motors on Southlake’s custom iron gates fail early because they were never rated for the load. We’ll tell you exactly what your gate needs and quote the operator, control board, and installation before any work starts.
Yes, every new automatic gate in Southlake needs entrapment protection per current UL 325 standards. That means safety photocells or contact edges that reverse the gate if something blocks it, plus a control board that monitors the system. We install the full safety package on every automated gate, new or retrofit, and we do not cut corners on it. Call (903) 829-4499 with questions about your existing system.
Get Your Southlake Gate Installed Right the First Time
If you’re in Southlake and need a new driveway gate, a slide gate retrofit, or automation added to a manual gate that never had power, call us at (903) 829-4499. Hal Gatewood answers, or one of his crew does, and you’ll get a straight answer on what your job needs and what it will cost. We’ve been doing this since 2001. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Southlake since 2001.