Automatic Gate Installation in DFW

Custom Gate Builds

Automatic Gate Installation DFW

Custom driveway and pedestrian gates for DFW properties, built in-house and then automated. Family-operated since 2003.

Mack takes on any gate type or style the property calls for, then automates it. The gate gets built to your driveway rather than ordered off a shelf in a standard width. Swing and slide configurations are both in scope, with bi-fold covering tighter driveways.

How much room the driveway has usually decides which configuration you get. The automation is planned into the build from the start rather than added on afterwards.

Build and Automate

What Automatic Gate Installation Involves

An automatic gate is two jobs that have to agree with each other. The gate is a fabrication and groundwork problem. The automation is an electrical one. Most of what goes wrong on DFW driveways traces back to those two being handled by different people.

Mack builds the gate and plans the automation into the same job. Posts get set to the depth North Texas clay demands, because a gate post that shifts by an inch turns a smooth-running gate into one that binds against its own frame.

2 jobs

Fabrication and groundwork for the gate, electrical work for the automation, planned together on one job.

1 inch

All it takes for a shifted gate post to turn a smooth-running gate into one that binds against its own frame.

The Process

How Automatic Gate Installation Works Step by Step

A residential automatic gate in DFW runs across five stages. Timelines depend on the gate size and on how far the power run has to travel.

01

On-Site Quote and Survey

An estimator comes out and measures the opening, then checks the driveway slope, the swing arc and where power can come from. Gate style and configuration get agreed at that visit, along with access control. A written quote lands a day or two later.

02

Utility Locate and Post Setting

Texas 811 gets called before any digging so gas and water lines are flagged. Gate posts are heavier than fence posts and carry a moving load, so footings go deeper and wider. Conduit for the power run goes in at the same time rather than being trenched later.

03

Gate Fabrication and Hanging

The gate is built to the measured opening, then hung and checked through its full travel before any motor is fitted. A gate that does not swing or slide freely by hand will not run properly under power either.

04

Operator and Safety Fit-Out

The operator is mounted and connected, then the safety devices go in so the gate reverses when something is in its path. Access control is set up at this stage.

05

Testing and Handover

The gate is cycled repeatedly and the limits are set so it stops in the right place every time. The crew clears the site and takes the debris away, then walks you through the controls before sign-off.

What We Build

Types of Automatic Gates We Install Across DFW

The driveway usually picks the configuration rather than the homeowner. Below is what a residential automatic gate job in the Dallas area typically involves.

Automatic Swing Gates

Swing gates are the common residential choice and the better look on most front entrances. They need clear arc space behind the opening and a driveway that does not rise steeply away from the road. Wide openings usually run as a dual swing so each leaf carries half the load.

Sliding and Bi-Fold Gates

A slide gate suits driveways with no room to swing, running along the fence line instead of into the space. Bi-fold folds each leaf back on itself, which is the answer on tighter driveways where neither a full swing nor a slide run fits. All three run on the same build, with the driveway deciding which one fits.

Wrought Iron and Ornamental Gates

Most automated driveway gates across DFW are built in iron, because it carries the weight and the weather without warping. Mack builds with a galvanised core under a powder-coat finish, and that pairing is what holds off rust through DFW humidity and hail.

Automating Wood and Mixed-Material Gates

A wood gate can be automated, though weight and wind load both matter more than on iron. A solid privacy leaf catches wind like a sail, which is what a gate operator has to fight every cycle. Mack builds wood fences and gates, so the frame gets specified for the motor rather than the other way round.

Commercial and Security Gates

Commercial perimeter gates run heavier gauge steel and taller, often with anti-climb spear tops. Mack builds commercial security perimeters up to 8 feet, so a warehouse yard or gated entrance is inside normal scope rather than an exception.

Maintenance

Keeping an Automatic Gate Running in DFW

An automated gate has moving parts on a fence line, in Texas heat, on clay that moves with the seasons. Most call-outs trace back to one of three things: a post that has shifted, a safety sensor knocked out of alignment, or a power supply problem.

Hinges, Rollers and Track

The mechanical side wants an eye on hinges and rollers, plus the track if there is one. Clearing the track of grit matters more than it sounds on a slide gate. Footings are crowned slightly so water runs off the post base instead of sitting against it, the same detail Mack applies on fence posts.

Checking the Safety Devices

Safety devices need checking rather than assuming. Run the gate onto an obstruction deliberately once in a while and confirm it reverses.

Service Area

A Local DFW Automatic Gate Contractor Since 2003

Mack Fencing and Construction has built fences and gates across DFW since 2003, pouring concrete alongside them, with over 20 years in the same family. The business works out of Midlothian and runs regular weekly routes through 11 named suburbs.

Plano

Garland

DeSoto

Mansfield

Grapevine

Forest Hill

Burleson

Benbrook

Irving

Grand Prairie

Arlington

Fort Worth and Dallas are both covered, with surrounding towns served on the same routes. Past work across the metroplex is in the gallery.

Testimonials

“

"Mack Fencing far surpassed my expectations. Mr Williams listened to what we wanted, made suggestions where it mattered, and the crew delivered a fence that looks better than what I'd seen at twice the price. The professionalism alone was worth the call."

KIMBERLY W., DESOTO, TX

Wood privacy fence installation

Common Questions

Common Questions About Automatic Gate Installation in DFW

Every gate is different. A free on-site quote is what turns the variables into a figure.

How much would it cost to install an automatic gate?

Four things move the number. The gate itself comes first, since width and material set the fabrication cost. The operator is second, and a heavier gate needs a stronger one. Third is the power run, which is the line item most people forget, because trenching mains supply out to a gate 40 feet from the house is real work. Access control is fourth. A free on-site quote is what turns those into a figure.

How much does it cost to install automatic gates?

A pair of gates on one opening is not double the cost of one, since they share an opening, a power supply and a control board. Two separate entrances on the same property is closer to double, because each needs its own supply and its own operator. Getting both quoted on one visit is usually the cheaper route.

How much does it cost to install an automatic swing gate?

Swing gates are generally the more affordable configuration to automate, because the operator is simpler than a slide track and there is less groundwork. That flips on wide openings, where a dual swing needs two operators. Driveway slope also matters, since a gate swinging uphill needs more from the motor.

Do I need a permit to install an outdoor gate?

Requirements vary by city across DFW. Height and setback rules are the usual triggers, and HOA approval is often needed on top of the city's. Pool enclosure gates carry their own inspection under Texas pool code, which sets a self-closing self-latching gate with the latch above 54 inches. Mack builds permit requirements into the quote rather than leaving you to find out afterwards.

Can you automate a gate I already have?

Often, yes. It depends on whether the existing gate and its posts can carry a motor and a moving load. The crew will check the gate through its full travel by hand first, because a gate that binds when pushed will bind under power too.

What happens to the gate in a power cut?

Automatic gates have a manual release so the gate can be opened by hand when the power is out. Battery backup keeps a gate cycling through an outage.

Do you install automatic gates outside Dallas?

Yes. Mack runs weekly routes through Plano, Garland, DeSoto, Mansfield and Grapevine, with Forest Hill, Burleson, Benbrook, Irving, Grand Prairie and Arlington on the same schedule. Fort Worth and Dallas are both covered from the Midlothian base, along with the surrounding towns.

Book Your Free On-Site Gate Quote

Call Mack Fencing on 817-891-7924 or send your details through the form below. Family-operated and building gates across DFW since 2003.