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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Gate Access Control Across North Richland Hills
Gate access control in North Richland Hills usually means one of two things: adding a keypad, card reader, or video intercom to an existing gate operator, or retrofitting a 1990s manual gate so it can be automated for the first time. Most of the work we do in NRH falls into that second category. The city’s housing stock was built out heavily in the 1980s and 1990s, which means thousands of ornamental iron driveway gates and cedar privacy gates are now 30 to 40 years old. Some have operators that are still running. Many were built before residential automation was common, and their owners are only now asking about keypad entry or smart access. That’s exactly the work Gatewood Fence & Gate has been doing across Tarrant County since 2001, and we’re on the phone at (817) 241-4067 any time you want to talk through what your gate needs.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is North Richland Hills’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
Hal Gatewood has been at this since 2001, and his name is on the shop and on every invoice. That’s the kind of accountability that matters when someone is mounting a keypad, running wire, and setting safety photocells on a gate your grandkids walk past. We’re not a franchise operation with a rotating cast. The person who shows up at your North Richland Hills home is either Hal or a member of his crew who has been trained to his standard, and every call to (817) 241-4067 is answered by a live person, not a voicemail tree or an answering service three states away.
North Richland Hills customers come to us through word of mouth more than anything else, and that’s not an accident. When a crew finishes a keypad retrofit on a Smithfield Estates cul-de-sac, the neighbor watches, and then the neighbor calls. We’ve built a strong local reputation in NRH by doing the repair-first thing honestly: if a 1995 DoorKing control board can be rebuilt or replaced with a compatible modern unit for a third of what a full operator swap costs, that’s what we recommend. If the gate frame was never engineered for motor torque, we say so plainly and tell you what reinforcement it needs before any operator goes on.
Response time to North Richland Hills is typically same day or next morning for access control issues, because a gate stuck open or stuck shut is a security problem, not a convenience problem. We keep common NRH parts on the truck: hinge brackets for iron gates, photo-eye retrofit kits, keypad housings, and control boards for the major brands. Seven days a week, someone is here to answer.
Our Gate Access Control Services in North Richland Hills
Keypad Entry
Keypad entry is the most common access control upgrade we install in North Richland Hills, especially on those 1990s ornamental iron driveway gates that started life as manual swing gates. The trick with older NRH gates is that the original gate frame and hinge post were never designed to carry the weight of a keypad unit, a new operator arm, and the repeated torque of motorized movement. Before we mount anything, we check the post for plumb, check the frame for hairline cracks, and make sure the gate swings freely by hand. If it doesn’t swing freely, no keypad in the world will make it work right. A typical keypad plus operator retrofit on an existing iron swing gate in North Richland Hills runs $1,800 to $3,400, depending on the gate’s condition and what bracing or post work is required.
Remote Control
Remote controls are straightforward until they aren’t. Older operators in North Richland Hills, particularly units installed in the mid to late 1990s, often can’t handle modern rolling-code remotes. The control board simply doesn’t recognize the signal. When that’s the case, you can either keep buying discontinued fixed-code remotes from eBay, or you can have the control board upgraded so the gate accepts current remote technology. We do both, but the honest answer is that on a gate you use every day, a board upgrade is cheaper over two years than chasing old remotes. Remote control troubleshooting and handheld replacement in NRH typically runs $85 to $250, while a full control board upgrade runs $400 to $900 installed.
Phone Entry
Phone entry systems let a visitor call your cell phone from a keypad or call box mounted at the gate, and you open the gate from wherever you are. In North Richland Hills, this is popular in HOA communities where the original gate had a basic intercom or nothing at all. The challenge with older NRH homes is that the gate location often sits 60 to 100 feet from the house, and the original builder didn’t run low-voltage wire for a phone-entry call station. We handle the trenching, the conduit, and the wiring, and we do it without tearing up your flower bed any more than necessary. Phone entry system installation with a weatherproof call box and in-home handset or mobile-forwarding unit runs $1,200 to $2,600 in North Richland Hills, depending on wire run distance and whether a new operator is needed.
Card Reader
Card readers are more common on commercial gates, but we install them on residential gates in North Richland Hills too, usually for homeowners who want to give a housekeeper, pool service, or extended family access without handing out a keypad code that never changes. A card reader gives you per-person auditability: you know who opened the gate and when. On older NRH gates, retrofitting a card reader usually means adding a standalone controller because the original 1990s operator has no auxiliary input for a reader. That’s fine. We’ve done it dozens of times. Card reader systems with controller, two cards, and installation run $950 to $2,200 in North Richland Hills depending on gate type and distance to power.
Video Intercom and Smart Access
These two go together for a lot of North Richland Hills homeowners. A video intercom at the gate lets you see who’s there from your kitchen or from your phone, and smart access means you can open the gate from an app, set temporary codes for deliveries, and get alerts when the gate opens. Older operators don’t always play nice with these systems, so the first thing we check is the control board. Ghost Controls, LiftMaster, and DoorKing all make retrofit modules now that bridge older operators to Wi-Fi and app-based access, but there are limits. We’ll tell you straight if your 1993 FAAC or Linear board is too old to bridge, and what it costs to replace the board versus replace the operator outright.
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.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Richland Hills
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and in North Richland Hills we see a lot of DoorKing, LiftMaster, and Elite operators on the 1990s-era iron gates, plus a fair number of Mighty Mule and Ghost Controls units on newer cedar privacy gates. DoorKing and Elite swing-gate operators from the 1990s are workhorses, but their control boards are now 25 to 30 years old, and capacitor failure is the leading cause of dead gates we diagnose in NRH. Because we work these neighborhoods every week, we keep stock on hand for the most common NRH repairs: replacement boards, capacitor kits, photo-eyes, and hinge post reinforcement brackets. That means fewer return trips and less time with your gate stuck open.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in North Richland Hills Homes
- Post heaving from Tarrant County clay. North Richland Hills sits on expansive black clay that shrinks hard in the summer drought and swells with fall and spring rain. That seasonal movement tilts gate posts out of plumb, which makes swing gates drag and bind. When the gate drags, the operator’s safety photocell trips, and the gate reverses or stops mid-cycle. Every fall and spring, we’re out in neighborhoods off Mid-Cities Boulevard and Rufe Snow Drive realigning the same posts we realigned the year before. It’s the soil, not the gate.
- Pre-UL 325 gates with no entrapment protection. A lot of the ornamental iron gates in North Richland Hills were hung before modern UL 325 entrapment-protection rules existed. That means no photo-eyes, no edge sensors, and no automatic reverse. If someone gets pinned, the gate just keeps pushing. We retroactively add photo-eyes and safety edges whenever we touch these older gates, because bringing a 1992 gate up to modern automated access standards is part of doing the job right. This is a safety requirement, not an upsell.
- Failed original loop detectors on slide gates. Slide gate installations from the 1990s often used inductive loop detectors buried in the driveway concrete to sense vehicles and trigger the gate to open. After 30 years of ground movement from shrink-swell cycles, those loops crack and fail. The gate then doesn’t know a car is there and won’t open on its own. Replacing a loop in an NRH driveway typically requires cutting a new saw slot in the concrete and sealing it, which we do routinely.
- Keypads wired to obsolete 1990s control boards. The keypad itself usually isn’t the problem. It’s the board behind it. Older control boards in NRH gates often predate rolling-code technology and can’t accept smart access add-ons, video intercom modules, or newer remotes. You can replace the keypad, but if the board won’t talk to it, you’ve spent money on a symptom. We diagnose the board first, every time.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in North Richland Hills, TX
Here’s what we actually charge in North Richland Hills. A basic keypad entry retrofit on an existing compatible operator runs $450 to $900. A full keypad-plus-operator install on an iron swing gate runs $1,800 to $3,400, with the higher end reserved for gates that need post reinforcement or frame bracing. Removing an old 1990s control board and installing a modern replacement runs $400 to $900. Video intercom with app access runs $1,100 to $2,500. Card reader systems run $950 to $2,200. Phone entry runs $1,200 to $2,600. Every quote is written, and the price you approve is the price you pay. No trip charge inside the county. And we offer $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (817) 241-4067 and we’ll give you a number you can make a decision on.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Richland Hills
Along with North Richland Hills, our Gate Access Control crews regularly serve Hurst, Bedford, Colleyville, and Fort Worth. The soil, housing stock, and gate inventory are similar across this part of Tarrant County, so the same repair-first approach applies everywhere we work. If you’re in one of those cities, you’re still getting Hal’s crew, the same 90-Day Done Right Promise, and the same live person on the phone. See our North Richland Hills service area page for more details on coverage.
Serving North Richland Hills, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Richland Hills 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 North Richland Hills
In most cases, you can add a keypad and operator to an older iron gate, but the gate usually needs structural work first. The original hinge post was set at a depth meant for a manual gate, not one carrying motor torque, and the iron frame was welded without any expectation of repeated mechanical stress. We typically pour a deeper post footing, brace the frame at the weld points, and then mount the operator with safety photocells and the keypad. That retrofit on a North Richland Hills iron gate runs $1,800 to $3,400. If the frame is cracked through or the post has rotted at the base, replacement becomes the cheaper answer. Call (817) 241-4067 and we’ll come look at it for free.
That’s the Tarrant County clay moving under your gate posts. North Richland Hills sits on expansive black clay that contracts in the summer drought and swells when the rains come, and each cycle tilts the hinge post a little further out of plumb. When the post moves, the gate leaf drags, the operator’s photo-eye sees the obstruction, and the gate reverses or stops. It’s the single most common repeat service call we run in NRH, and the fix is post realignment, not a new operator. Depending on the post’s condition and whether the footing needs to be dug deeper, realignment with new hinge hardware runs $300 to $800.
Yes. Current UL 325 standards require entrapment protection on automated gates, and that applies retroactively when a gate is being automated or when the operator is being replaced. A gate that was manual in 1992 and is getting a keypad and operator in 2025 must have photo-eyes and, on many swing gate configurations, edge sensors. We won’t install an operator without them, because a gate that can crush a child or a delivery driver isn’t a gate we’ll put our name on. Adding photo-eyes and edge sensors to a retrofit install is part of the $1,800 to $3,400 range.
Sometimes. If your DoorKing or LiftMaster board is from the early 2000s or newer, there’s usually a retrofit module or compatibility kit that bridges it to Wi-Fi, app access, and video intercom. If the board is a 1990s unit, it often lacks the auxiliary inputs needed, and the board has to be replaced first. A board replacement plus video intercom integration on an older NRH operator runs $1,200 to $2,800, depending on the brand and whether you want a wired intercom station or a phone app. Call (817) 241-4067 and we’ll tell you what your board can and can’t do.
Cedar privacy gates that have been through 30-plus North Texas summers are usually racked, sagging, and hanging on hinges that have rusted through the wood fibers around the screws. Automating one of those gates without rebuilding it means the operator is fighting a gate that’s already structurally failing. In most cases, the right call is to rebuild the gate or replace it with a properly braced frame, then automate the new structure. Rebuilding a single cedar privacy gate with new bracing and hardware runs $900 to $1,800, and adding an operator and keypad brings the total to $2,500 to $4,000. For an HOA with dozens of gates, we usually recommend prioritizing the worst first and tackling the rest over two or three budget cycles.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Access Control in North Richland Hills
If your gate was hung in the 1990s and you’re ready to bring it into this decade, call (817) 241-4067 for a free estimate. We’ll send someone who knows North Richland Hills gates, Tarrant County clay, and exactly what your particular setup needs. The name is on the shop, the shop is down the road, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is in writing on every job we do.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving North Richland Hills and surrounding Tarrant County communities since 2001.