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 Lakewood
Gate access control in Lakewood means retrofitting keypads, intercoms, and phone entry onto gates that were built before most of this technology existed. That’s the reality of this neighborhood. The homes are older, the ironwork is original, and the operators often aren’t. A keypad retrofit on a 1930s swing gate in Lakewood typically runs $450-$900, including wiring and programming. If your gate predates the 1990s, it probably lacks the safety photocells that modern openers require, and that retrofit adds $150-$300 per gate. Call (936) 296-2568 and we’ll walk the property with you before quoting anything.
We’re Gatewood Fence & Gate, and our Gate Access Control team has been working on Lakewood’s older gates long enough to know that the gate itself is rarely the problem. It’s the post, the footing, the board, or the wiring harness. Hal Gatewood has been doing this since 2001, and he still shows up when the gate won’t close and the dogs are loose. That’s the job.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Lakewood’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
We’re not a call center, and nobody here will quote you a number over the phone that changes when the truck pulls up. The name on the shop is Hal Gatewood’s, the phone rings to a live person at (936) 296-2568 any hour, and our published address means you can drive over and look us in the eye if you want to. We’ve been locally owned and owner-operated since 2001. That’s long enough to have welded new hinge brackets onto gates that were already old when we started.
Lakewood homeowners call us for the same reason their parents called the same electrician for twenty years: the person who shows up is the person whose name is on every invoice. Our crew has worked every street from White Rock Lake to Abrams Road, and we know what the clay does to a gate post here. When you call about a keypad that died after a rainstorm, we don’t run through a script. We ask where you are in relation to the lake, because that tells us a lot about what we’re going to find.
The Gate Access Control in Lakewood work we do carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If something isn’t right, one call brings us back. No runaround. We also offer a free second opinion on any written estimate, $40 off any repair over $200, and no trip charge inside the county. Seniors and veterans get a permanent 10% discount, every job, every time.
Our Gate Access Control Services in Lakewood
Keypad Entry
Most Lakewood keypad retrofits go onto gates built with no original provision for them. We surface-mount the keypad on a gooseneck pedestal or mount it into the stone pillar at the curb, then run the low-voltage wire in conduit so it doesn’t get chewed or weeded to death. A keypad tied to a LiftMaster or Viking operator runs $450-$900 installed in Lakewood, depending on wire run distance and whether we’re adding a receiver at the operator.
Remote Control
Older operators, particularly early FAAC and Linear units, often still have solid motors but dead receiver boards. We can add a modern external receiver for $180-$350 instead of replacing the whole operator. That’s the repair-first approach. If the operator itself is gone, we won’t pad the quote with parts you don’t need.
Phone Entry
Phone entry systems let you buzz a visitor in from your cell phone, no landline required. In Lakewood, these are increasingly popular on estates with long driveways where walking to the gate is a haul. A cellular-based phone entry system installed at a Lakewood driveway gate runs $700-$1,400. We program the system with your numbers before we leave, and we show you how it works standing right there.
Card Reader
Card readers are common on shared driveways and on the older estate properties where multiple generations or staff need access. We install standalone and networked readers starting at $400-$800 in Lakewood, and we can tie them into the same operator your remote already runs. One credential, one gate, no confusion.
Video Intercom
Video intercoms are the single biggest upgrade for a Lakewood homeowner who wants to see who’s at the gate before opening it. We wire these into the same conduit as the keypad, mount the camera station at the curb line, and set up the interior monitor or phone app. Expect $900-$1,800 depending on whether we’re pulling new wire through an existing run or trenching a fresh one. We do the trenching ourselves.
Safety Photocell Retrofit
This is the work Lakewood needs most. Gates installed before UL 325 became mandatory in the 1990s have no entrapment protection. That means a closing gate can hit a car, a child, or a dog and keep pressing. We retrofit safety photocells and edge sensors onto these older gates as a routine part of any access control upgrade. $150-$300 per gate, and it brings the system up to current code.
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 Lakewood
We service FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking operators, plus LiftMaster, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. We keep common boards and receivers on the truck, which means a FAAC that stopped responding to remotes is often fixed the same trip. For Lakewood customers with 1990s-era Linear operators, we stock the retrofit receivers that keep those units alive rather than pressuring you into a full replacement you don’t need. When parts aren’t on hand, we source them from our Dallas-Fort Worth office and schedule the return visit before we leave the driveway.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in Lakewood Homes
- Obsolete control boards. Early FAAC and Linear operators from the 1990s bake in Dallas heat for twenty summers and eventually the board gives out while the motor is still fine. We replace the board or add an external receiver, and the gate runs another decade.
- Clay soil heave rotating hinge posts. A gate that opened smoothly in June binds its opener by September because Blackland Prairie clay swelled and twisted the post a half degree out of square. Until the post is re-aligned, no keypad, remote, or intercom will make the system reliable.
- Rust at the shoreline. Properties within a few blocks of White Rock Lake get persistent moisture that eats through riveted wrought iron hinge brackets. We see brackets snap under automated opener strain, sometimes taking the safety edge wiring with them.
- Ice storm damage to openers. When a Dallas ice storm coats a swing gate in a quarter inch of ice, the gate suddenly weighs three times as much, and the arm or gear train takes the hit. Gates that mysteriously open on their own after an ice storm usually have a stripped gear or a bent arm that’s binding.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in Lakewood, TX
Here are real numbers for Lakewood, not ballpark guesses. Keypad entry: $450-$900. Remote control with external receiver: $180-$350. Phone entry: $700-$1,400. Card reader: $400-$800. Video intercom: $900-$1,800. Safety photocell retrofit: $150-$300 per gate. Control board replacement: $250-$650 depending on the operator. What moves the price is wire run distance, post condition, and whether we’re trenching through clay or pulling through existing conduit. Every quote is written, and the price you see on that page is the price you’ll pay. We don’t revise it at the door. Call (936) 296-2568 for a free estimate, and remember the $40-off-any-repair-over-$200 standing offer if you mention it when you call.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lakewood
We work across University Park, Dallas, Plano, and Irving, with crews based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. If you’re in one of those cities and your gate access system is acting up, call the same number: (936) 296-2568.
Serving Lakewood, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lakewood 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 Lakewood
It can almost always be retrofitted, and you do not need a new gate. We mount safety photocells at the gate opening and wire them into the existing operator, bringing the system into compliance with current UL 325 entrapment protection. The retrofit runs $150-$300 per gate in Lakewood and takes a couple of hours. The gate itself stays exactly where it is. Call (936) 296-2568 and we’ll take a look at your specific setup.
Water is getting into the keypad enclosure or the underground conduit. The Blackland clay around White Rock Lake holds water after heavy rain, and if your conduit has a low spot, it fills and the wiring sits in moisture until the keypad shorts or the operator receiver faults. We replace the keypad with a properly gasketed unit and re-run the low-voltage line above the water table. $450-$900 is typical for a Lakewood keypad replacement with new wiring.
Usually it can be saved, and repair is almost always cheaper than a custom wrought iron replacement. We cut out the rusted section, weld in a new steel hinge bracket, repair the post, and re-hang the gate. A job like that in Lakewood runs $300-$700 depending on how much of the post is compromised. If the post is rotted at the base, we cut it out, pour a deeper footing, and set a new post. Replacement of an ornate 1950s gate would run several thousand dollars and you’d lose the original ironwork.
No. The most common failure is the receiver board, not the motor. We install a modern external receiver for $180-$350 and the existing Viking or FAAC operator keeps running. We only recommend full replacement when the motor is burned out, the gear train is stripped, or the board is no longer manufactured and no compatible retrofit exists. Even then, we’ll show you the failed part before we quote a new operator.
Ice storms load gates with enough extra weight to strip gears or bend operator arms. When the ice melts, the damaged drive train or misaligned limit switches cause the gate to drift open or cycle erratically. We see this across the neighborhood after every major freeze, with a cluster of calls from the blocks between Tokalon Drive and Williamson Road. The fix is usually a gear replacement or arm realignment, $200-$500 in Lakewood, and we can usually get it done the same day you call (936) 296-2568.
Contact Gatewood Fence & Gate
If your Lakewood gate access system is giving you trouble, or you just want to know what it would cost to add a keypad or intercom, call (936) 296-2568. Hal picks up the phone himself more often than not, and if he’s under a gate, his crew answers. We’ll schedule a time to walk the property, quote the work in writing, and do the job like we’d want it done at our own place. Free estimates, no trip charge inside the county, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Lakewood and the Dallas-Fort Worth metro since 2001.