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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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Access Control Across Plano
Gate access control in Plano usually means one of two things: a control board that stopped talking to the remote, or a gate that won’t move because the post underneath it drifted out of plumb. Both feel like an emergency when you’re sitting in the driveway at 6:40 on a Tuesday morning. Most Plano calls we take are diagnosed the same day and fixed within 24 to 48 hours, because the parts for LiftMaster, FAAC, Victory, and Viking operators are already on our truck when the truck pulls up. Call (979) 291-0947 and you’ll get Hal Gatewood or a member of his crew, not a phone tree. If the gate is stuck open, stuck shut, or beeping at you, we’ll walk through what’s actually wrong before anyone charges you a dime.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Plano’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
Hal Gatewood has been fixing gates since 2001 and has worked on Plano properties from Willow Bend to Kings Ridge to the older west-side subdivisions off Legacy Drive and Parker Road. The work isn’t new to him. What Plano homeowners deal with, season after season, is something most national gate companies never account for: Blackland Prairie clay that shrinks in July and swells in April, slowly pushing gate posts out of vertical until the safety beam misses, the rack and pinion binds, and the operator starts reversing for no reason a homeowner can see. A gate that keeps reversing isn’t broken in the motor. It’s broken in the ground. That’s the local knowledge that changes the repair.
Our Gate Access Control work in Plano carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing, on every invoice. Hal’s name is on the shop and the door of the truck. He doesn’t hide behind a dispatch board or a call center. When you call, a person answers. When we schedule a time, that’s the time we show up. It’s how we’ve earned our reputation in Plano, and it’s why homeowners in the older 1980s-built neighborhoods call us before they call anyone else.
Our Gate Access Control Services in Plano
Keypad Entry
When a keypad stops working in Plano, the first question is whether the keypad itself failed or whether the operator’s control board stopped reading it. In older homes west of Preston Road, we see control boards that are simply worn out: 25-year-old circuit boards with cracked solder joints that survive Plano summers until the first fall rain, then quit. We install wired and wireless keypads matched to what’s already on the post, and we program them on site before we leave. You can always expect a written price before we start, and we don’t add anything later.
Remote Control
Automated driveway gates in east Plano and around the Legacy corridor commonly run on single-button remotes from LiftMaster or Linear. We stock replacement transmitters and receivers for both, plus FAAC and BFT, so service doesn’t stall on a shipping delay. If remote range has gotten worse over time, that’s often an antenna issue or a failing receiver, not the remote in your visor. We test the receiver, confirm the frequency, and fix the actual problem rather than handing you a new remote and hoping for the best.
Phone Entry
Phone entry systems, where a visitor calls a phone line from the gate keypad, are common in Plano’s gated subdivisions and older estate properties. The systems we work on are generally tied to a telephone line or cellular network. When visitors can’t get through, the fault can be in the keypad wiring, the telephone interface board, or the phone line itself. We trace the whole path and replace only what failed. For Plano properties moving to cellular phone entry because the landline is gone, we handle the retrofit as part of the same visit.
Card Reader
Card readers on Plano gates show up at HOA entry points, commercial properties, and a few private residential compounds. The readers themselves are durable, but the wiring in the ground takes abuse from Plano’s shrink-swell clay cycle, and connectors corrode after years of humidity and rain. We test the reader, the wire run, and the control board, then tell you what’s dead and what’s still good. We don’t replace hardware that hasn’t failed.
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 Plano
We’re certified to service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule operators and openers. For Plano customers, we keep common FAAC, BFT, and Linear parts stocked on the truck, so repairs move faster. Viking and DoorKing parts are usually available same-day or next-day from our suppliers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. When a board is no longer made, we tell you straight: retrofit the operator or replace it. We don’t patch a dead board and call it good.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in Plano Homes
- Operators reversing for no apparent reason. In Plano, the usual cause is a post that has walked out of plumb from clay heave. The safety photocell beam misaligns, and the operator faults or reverses. Re-setting the post fixes the operator, not the other way around.
- Rotted hinge posts on cedar gates from the 1980s. Older west Plano subdivisions have wooden driveway gates now 25 to 40 years old. The hinge post rots below grade in wet springs, the panel sags, and the rack binds. A new gate hung on a rotted post will sag again.
- Control boards killed by brownouts. Plano’s ice storms are short but hard on electronics. Power flickers during a freeze-fall cycle, and legacy LiftMaster and FAAC control boards fail. Keypads and remotes stop working even though the motor itself is fine.
- Slide gates jammed on rail debris. Plano driveways on clay soil push fine red dirt into the track during every rain. A slide gate that used to run smooth now strains at one end. The fix is often a rail cleaning and roller adjustment, not a new operator.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in Plano, TX
A keypad replacement in Plano typically runs $220 to $380 installed, depending on whether we’re matching an existing operator’s frequency or running new low-voltage wire. Remote transmitter replacement ranges from $45 to $95 per remote, with programming included. Phone entry system repair runs $180 to $450 depending on what failed. A full operator replacement - motor, control board, and receiver - ranges from $950 to $2,600 depending on the brand and gate weight. Safety photocell retrofits on older gates run $350 to $700 for the pair. Every quote is written and agreed before the first tool comes off the truck. The price you sign is the price you pay. Call (979) 291-0947 and we’ll give you a real number, not a range with fine print.
One thing Plano homeowners should know: if your HOA requires architectural review, that process adds a few days between quote and install. We factor that in when we schedule, so you’re not surprised. On a broken gate that’s stuck open, we’ll secure it first, get you the written repair plan, and handle the HOA paperwork alongside the work.
We Also Serve Cities Near Plano
Our crews work across Plano and the surrounding communities, including Plano, Allen, The Colony, McKinney, and Prosper. If your gate stopped cooperating and you’re not sure which company to trust, call us first. You’ll talk to a person who knows this area, knows these gates, and will actually show up when he says he will. Same service, same 90-Day Done Right Promise, same company.
Serving Plano, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Plano 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 Access Control in Plano
Plano’s clay soil shifts gate posts out of vertical alignment over time, which misaligns the safety photocell beam and causes the operator to fault or reverse before the gate reaches the end of its travel. It’s rarely the motor itself. The repair starts by checking the posts and re-setting any that have moved, then re-aligning the safety beam. Call (979) 291-0947 for a free estimate, and we’ll diagnose it before we quote.
In most Plano subdivisions, yes, any physical change to a gate’s materials or finish triggers architectural review, and that includes replacing a rotted cedar panel on a 1980s-era fence line. We coordinate with your HOA’s architectural review board - including matching the required material and finish, like the black powder-coated ornamental iron common in Willow Bend and Legacy-area subdivisions. We handle the paperwork and the exact specification, so your gate doesn’t get you a notice.
During prolonged drought, the clay soil contracts away from buried gate posts, which can loosen the post footing just enough that the gate sags, the safety beam misses, and the operator faults. The electronics are often fine. The issue is the post footing has lost support. We re-set the footing and re-plumb the post, and the system usually returns to normal without replacing the operator.
Entrapment protection is the safety system (photocells and reversing devices) that stops a gate from closing on a person or a car. Any gate with an automated operator must current meet safety standards. Many Plano gates built before around the early 2000s never had photocells installed. If your gate lacks entrapment protection, yes, we recommend adding it, and it’s standard on every operator replacement we install. We won’t leave you with a gate that’s stronger than it is safe.
Yes, we repair slide gate operators damaged during Plano’s periodic ice storms, including frozen motor assemblies, cracked housings, and control boards that failed with the power flashes. If the operator is repairable, we repair it on site. If it’s beyond saving, we give you a written replacement quote before any work happens. Same-day service in Plano is usually available when the ice clears and conditions are safe to work.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Access Control in Plano
If your gate is misbehaving, you don’t need to guess. Call (979) 291-0947 and tell us what it’s doing - or not doing. You’ll get a straight answer, a free estimate, and a time we’ll be there. Hal Gatewood started this company in 2001, and he still answers the phone like the business depends on it, because it does. We serve Plano every day, and we’ll treat your gate like it’s our own.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Plano since 2001.