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 Installation Across Keller
Gate installation in Keller usually runs $3,200 to $8,500 for a full automated driveway gate, depending on width, material, and whether we’re setting new posts in that unforgiving Blackland Prairie clay. Most jobs take one to two days on site, with the digging and post-setting on day one and the gate, operator, and safety calibration on day two. We’re Gate Installation specialists who’ve worked Keller subdivisions long enough to know exactly what that soil does to a gate over a decade, and we build for it from the first shovel of dirt. Call (817) 241-4067 for a free measure and a written price.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Keller’s Preferred Gate Installation Company
Hal Gatewood has been welding and hanging gates since 2001, and his name is on the shop. Not a franchise, not a rotating crew with a national logo on the truck. Hal lives in the metro and works Keller regularly, often with the same two or three guys. When you call, a person answers. When something’s off six weeks later, you get the same person back, not a new ticket number. That’s the 90-Day Done Right Promise, in writing on every job.
Keller homeowners tend to do their homework. They ask about post depth before they ask about color. That’s fair, because post depth is where most gate installations in this town fail. We’ve pulled enough leaning posts out of Keller yards to know the clay heaves them up like a jack, sometimes two inches in a single wet-to-dry season. So we dig deeper here than the national spec calls for, and we cage the rebar. You won’t see that on the other guy’s quote, but it’s why our gates still latch true five years later.
We’ve hung hundreds of gates in Keller. Residents know us from the Keller area, and they wave us in past the gate we installed three years ago. That’s the test.
Our Gate Installation Services in Keller
Here’s what we actually do, day in and day out, on Keller properties.
Driveway Gate Installation
Most Keller driveway gates are ornamental steel or iron, 12 to 16 feet wide, running a residential operator from a brand like LiftMaster or BFT. We size the operator to the gate’s actual weight and wind load, not to the cheapest spec on the box. On wider estate driveways off Keller-Smithfield or Bear Creek Parkway, that often means stepping up to a heavier-duty motor so the gate doesn’t sag or fault on a hot August afternoon.
Pedestrian Gate Installation
Pedestrian gates are the one everyone forgets about until it’s slamming shut on the latch. We build them to stand on their own hinges, with the post set deep enough that the gate doesn’t start dragging after one wet spring. We match the steel profile and powder coat to your existing fence or driveway gate so it doesn’t look like an add-on.
Sliding Gate Installation
On long driveways, especially gravel or caliche, a slide gate makes more sense than a swing. It doesn’t need a big swing arc, and it won’t scramble over ruts. We set the track rail on a properly compacted and drained base, and we use cantilever setups where the ground is too uneven for a bottom roller. A slide gate with a good operator will outlive the truck that drives through it.
Swing Gate Installation
A swing gate on acreage near Marshall Creek or off Shady Grove Road is a different animal from a suburban double gate. It’s wider, it’s heavier, and it’s fighting the wind and the clay. We hang it with adjustable hinges and set the posts in concrete collars with helical piers where the soil’s moving too much. That’s the difference between a gate that holds its line and one that’s sagging by Thanksgiving.
Solar Gate Opener Installation
Plenty of rural Keller properties don’t have power anywhere near the gate line. Running conduit from the house costs thousands. A properly sized solar panel, battery bank, and DC operator can handle a wide gate if the panel gets clean sun and the battery is spec’d for the gate’s weight. The failure mode we see most is a panel mounted in the shade of a mature oak, feeding a battery that’s too small for a 16-foot gate. We size the system to the load, not to the sale.
Double Gate Installation
Wide driveways and ranch entrances call for a double gate, usually 14 to 20 feet total, with a master and slave leaf. Residential-duty operators burn out fast on this span, and we’ve seen the stripped rack and scorched motor enough times to know better. We spec a heavy-duty operator, a solid center stop, and drop pins on the slave leaf so both leaves share the load.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
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 Keller
We install, program, and repair operators from BFT, Linear, Viking, and Ghost Controls, along with five other major brands. Hal is certified on all nine. We keep common parts on the truck: control boards, limit switches, safety photocell sets, and battery replacements for solar systems. If we need an odd part, we’re close enough to get it fast, which matters when your gate won’t close and your dog has noticed.
Common Gate Installation Problems We See in Keller Homes
- Post heave from Blackland Prairie clay: Keller’s soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry, enough to lift a concrete footing several inches. That’s why we set posts at least 42 inches deep with reinforced collars, and why helical piers are standard on wide or heavy gates.
- Solar systems sized for the optimistic spec: A panel that works in the vendor’s test bay doesn’t hold up under a Keller oak canopy or a cloudy North Texas winter. We size the panel and battery to the actual gate weight and the shortest days of December, then add margin.
- Residential operators on wide farm gates: A 20-foot double gate is too much for a motor made for a 12-foot suburban single. The strain strips gears and trips the obstruction circuit. This is the most preventable failure we see, and it’s fixed with honest operator sizing.
- Racked frames from uneven post settlement: When one post heaves and the other doesn’t, the gate frame twists. The latch doesn’t line up, the safety edge drags, and the operator fights itself. We level the posts first, then square the frame. The order matters.
Pricing for Gate Installation in Keller, TX
| Service | Typical Range in Keller |
|---|---|
| Pedestrian gate (steel, installed) | $750 - $1,600 |
| Single swing driveway gate with operator | $3,200 - $5,800 |
| Double swing gate (14-20 ft) with heavy-duty operator | $5,500 - $9,000 |
| Sliding gate with track and operator | $4,200 - $7,800 |
| Solar gate operator system (panel, battery, motor) | $2,100 - $4,500 |
| Post replacement with deep footing (per post) | $500 - $1,100 |
These are real numbers from Keller work, not a national average pulled off a website. The spread comes down to gate width, steel gauge, whether we’re adding a solar system, and how much post work the clay requires. We quote the whole job before we dig, and that number doesn’t change when the truck shows up. Estimates are free. Call (817) 241-4067 and Hal or one of his crew will walk the site with you and write it down.
We Also Serve Cities Near Keller
We regularly drive from Keller to North Richland Hills, Southlake, Colleyville, and Hurst for gate installs and repairs. If your property is on the line between two towns, we’ll still come out for a free measure. The soil doesn’t care which side of the sign you’re on, though the Keller clay is its own special challenge. We handle all of it.
Serving Keller, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Keller 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 Keller
For a driveway gate in Keller, we set posts at least 42 inches deep and reinforce them with a concrete collar and rebar cage, and we add helical piers on gates over 14 feet or on soil that’s already shown movement. The standard 30-to-36-inch footing you’ll see in national guides isn’t enough here, because the active shrink-swell zone runs deeper than in neighboring cities with sandier soil. That extra depth is the difference between a gate that stays plumb and one that’s leaning by its second spring. Call (817) 241-4067 and we’ll walk your site and tell you exactly what your soil needs.
Yes, if it’s sized honestly: a 24V-48V heavy-duty DC operator, a panel matched to the gate’s weight and the December sun, and a battery bank that can run the gate through a week of cloudy days. The installs we’re called to rescue are panels nailed to a shaded post with a battery that’s dead by morning. We spec solar systems for real Keller conditions, not for the best-case day on the product page.
Every automatic gate we install includes a monitored or non-monitored safety entrapment system per UL 325: photoelectric sensors across the gate path, a reversing edge or inherent entrapment protection on the operator, and proper signage. We test the reversal force with a gauge before we hand you the remote. It’s not optional, and it’s not something we’ll skip to save a few hundred bucks.
Because the post moved. A swing gate doesn’t sag in the middle-it sags at the post, and on Keller’s Blackland Prairie clay, a post set too shallow will heave or tilt within one cycle of heavy rain followed by dry heat. The fix is resetting on a deeper footing, not tightening the hinges again. A sagging gate is a post problem until proven otherwise.
A slide gate usually wins on a long gravel drive with cattle or horses, because it stays parallel to the fence line, doesn’t swing into animals, and doesn’t need a graded swing arc. The trade-off is the track: it has to stay clear of gravel, mud, and manure. If your drive drains poorly, we’ll set a raised rail or go cantilever. For pasture entrances, we often pair a slide gate with a solar operator so you don’t trench power a quarter mile from the barn. Call (817) 241-4067 and Hal will tell you which setup fits your drive.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Keller and the surrounding area since 2001.