Guides & advice
Gate guides & advice: straight answers, written by the people who do the work
No fluff and no scare tactics: what gates cost, which type and material fits your driveway, how openers, power and entry systems work, and what to do when something breaks.
What a driveway gate costs
Nobody can price an automatic driveway gate honestly over the phone, because the price lives in your site: the opening, the slope, the power, the soil. What this guide can do is show you exactly what drives the number, so every quote you collect makes sense. Here is the full breakdown.
Read the guide →Sliding vs. swing gates
Your driveway already made most of this decision. You just haven't measured it yet. Slope, setback, and the room along your fence line count for more than looks or habit. This guide shows you how to read your property the way an installer does, so you know the answer before anyone quotes you.
Read the guide →Gate won't open? Start here
Your gate is dead, or it's stuck, and your car is on the wrong side of it. Before you call anyone, you can safely rule out the handful of things that cause most no-open problems: power, a dead remote, a blocked sensor, something on the track. This guide walks you through what's safe to check yourself, how to get your car out, and the few things you should never touch.
Read the guide →Opener: repair or replace
When a gate opener starts failing, the real question is whether you have one bad part or a worn-out machine. The answer lives in the symptoms, the parts catalog, and how hard the operator has worked for its size. Here is how an installer makes that call, and what a replacement looks like when your gate, posts and pad stay put.
Read the guide →Automating an existing gate
If you already open a gate by hand every day, you probably do not need a new one to make it automatic. Most sound gates can take an operator, and the catch is that word sound: the gate has to swing or roll freely before a motor ever touches it. This guide walks through the checks we run on a first visit, what gets added to the gate, and the work that sometimes has to come first.
Read the guide →Gate power: trench or solar
If your gate sits out at the road and your electrical panel sits up at the house, the power question can shape the whole project. You either trench conduit from the nearest building, or you put a panel on the gate and live within what a Northwest winter gives it. Both work around Portland and Clark County. This guide shows what each one involves on the ground and where each one runs out.
Read the guide →Keypad, intercom, or app entry
There is no single best way to let people through a gate, only the right mix for the people who use yours. A family driveway, a gravel acreage entrance, and a shared business gate need different tools, and each tool needs something different at the post: power, a wire, or a cell signal. This guide lays out the options, including the part most people forget: getting back out.
Read the guide →Wood, steel, or aluminum gates
Most driveway gates around here end up as one of a few builds: cedar boards in a steel frame, all-steel slats or pickets, ornamental steel, aluminum, or chain link. Each one handles rain, wind, and an operator's workload differently, and the differences tend to show up after a couple of wet winters rather than on install day. This guide covers what each material is like to own in the Northwest, so you can choose the one you will still be happy with later.
Read the guide →Gate hit by a vehicle
A delivery truck misjudged the turn, or someone simply did not stop. Now the gate is bent and the opening it guarded is in question. What you do in the first hour can keep the damage from spreading to the operator, and most bent gates are more repairable than they look. Here is how to make it safe, document it, and what the fix involves.
Read the guide →Find what you need
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