Gate Installation & Automatic Gate Openers in Allen, TX
Walk gates, double drive gates, cantilever slides and motorized entries for properties from Allen out to Lucas and Parker.
The Part of a Fence That Actually Moves
Gate installation in Allen is where most fencing failures begin, because a gate is the only part of the system that swings, carries its own weight on two hinges, and gets used several times a day for years. A fence line can be forgiven a small imperfection; a gate cannot. When the posts are undersized, the frame is out of square or the hinges are rated for less than the leaf weighs, the result is a gate that drags on the concrete, refuses to latch, or swings itself open in a spring wind. Allen Fence Installation treats the gate as its own engineered piece of the project: post size driven by leaf weight, a braced and squared frame, hardware rated above the load, and where automation is involved, an opener sized for the gate with the safety devices the manufacturer requires. That applies equally to a three-foot cedar walk gate off a side yard and a sixteen-foot ornamental drive gate on an acreage property out toward Angel Parkway.
What a Gate Project Covers
Gates are quoted separately on our estimates precisely because the details below cost real money and change the result completely.
- 01
Gate type selection
Single walk gates, double swing drive gates, single swing entries, and cantilever slide gates for driveways where a swing arc will not clear the grade or the parking area.
- 02
Leaf-weight calculation and post sizing
We work out what the finished gate will weigh and size the gate posts and footings to it. This is the step most commonly skipped, and it is the reason most drive gates sag.
- 03
Welded or braced frames
Steel gate frames are welded square; wood and composite gates are framed with a diagonal brace running the correct direction. Either way the frame carries the load and the facing material just rides on it.
- 04
Hinge and latch hardware rated to the load
Heavy-duty hinges, adjustable where the gate may need tuning later, plus fork latches, lockable latches, self-closing hinges for pool gates and drop rods on double gates.
- 05
Automatic opener installation
Swing arm, articulated arm and slide operators, sized to the gate's weight and length and installed to the manufacturer's specification.
- 06
Safety devices
Photo eyes, safety edges and reversing sensors fitted as the opener manufacturer requires, so the gate stops for a car, a pet or a child in its path.
- 07
Access control
Keypads, remotes, card and fob readers, smartphone-controlled operators, and where the property has one, integration with an existing intercom or call box.
- 08
Free-exit and vehicle detection
Exit loops or wireless exit sensors so the gate opens automatically for a vehicle leaving the property without anyone reaching for a remote.
- 09
Power and conduit
We trench and run conduit for power and low-voltage control lines, and we coordinate the electrical connection where a new circuit is required. Solar-powered operators are quoted where a power run is impractical.
- 10
Battery backup
A backup battery keeps the gate operating through a Collin County storm outage, which matters most on properties where the gate is the only vehicle access.
- 11
Existing gate repair and retrofit
Resetting a leaning gate post, re-squaring a sagging frame, replacing failed hardware, or adding an opener to a gate that was hung manually.
- 12
Testing, tuning and handover
Every gate is cycled repeatedly, the opener limits and force settings are tuned, safety devices are verified, and we walk you through the remotes, the keypad codes and the manual release.
How a Gate Project Runs
Measure the opening and the use
We measure the opening, check the grade and the swing arc, and ask how the gate will actually be used, whether that is daily vehicle traffic, occasional trailer access, or a pool barrier that has to self-latch. That determines swing versus slide, manual versus automated, and the hardware spec. Everything comes back as a written itemized price.
Fabricate, permit and prep the power
The gate is built or ordered to the opening, the permit is filed where the work requires one, and Texas811 marks the property before any trenching for conduit. If an electrician needs to set a new circuit, we sequence that so nobody is waiting on anyone.
Set, hang, automate and tune
Gate posts are set in oversized concrete footings and cured before the leaf is ever hung, because hanging weight on green concrete is how a gate starts leaning in week one. The gate goes on, the operator is mounted and programmed, the safety devices are installed and tested, and we cycle the gate until it behaves the same every time.
Why Our Gates Keep Swinging
Posts sized to the leaf, not to the fence
A gate post is a different structural problem from a line post, and treating them the same is why so many drive gates in North Texas lean toward the driveway. We calculate the load, go up in post diameter, and pour a footing that can carry it in soil that moves.
Concrete cures before weight goes on
Hanging a heavy gate the same day the posts were set guarantees a lean. We build the schedule around the cure time, and we will not compress that step to finish a job a day early.
Safety devices are not optional
Photo eyes and reversing sensors get skipped on budget installs, and an automated gate without them is a genuine hazard around children and pets. Ours are installed and tested as part of the standard price, never quoted as an upsell.
- Insured & Bonded
- Written Flat-Rate Pricing
- Openers Installed to Manufacturer Spec
- Safety Sensors Standard on Every Automated Gate
- Written Workmanship Warranty
Gate Dragging, or Adding an Opener?
Whether it is a walk gate that will not latch or a new automated entry for a drive, the fix starts with measuring the opening and understanding the load. We will come look at it and quote the work in writing. Estimates are free across Allen and the surrounding cities.
(972) 236-7579Insured and bonded · Free on-site estimates · Safety sensors on every automated gate