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 Clawson
Gate access control in Clawson means keypads, remotes, phone entry, and card readers that work every time you pull into the driveway. Most homes here were built between the late 1940s and the 1960s, and a lot of those original gate posts and operators are still in the ground. We service and retrofit access control on those older gates all the time. When a Clawson homeowner calls (877) 610-2993, Hal Gatewood or one of his crew answers live, and we schedule around your day, not the other way around.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Clawson’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
Gatewood Fence & Gate is locally owned and owner-operated, and Hal Gatewood has been at this since 2001. His name is on the shop, his address is published, and his license number is there for anyone to look up. That matters in a small city like Clawson where you see the same neighbors at the hardware store and the same trucks on the block. We are not a national outfit with a rotating cast of subcontracted techs. The person who shows up in Clawson is the person whose work has to hold up when you run into him at the corner store.
We answer the phone around the clock with a live person. No queue, no voicemail tree, no call center three states away. Calls are answered 24/7 because a gate that won’t open at 6:00 a.m. on a workday is not something you can put off until Monday. Clawson is a compact city, and our crews serve it locally. Response times are short because we keep parts for the exact vintage hardware that repeats block after block across 48017. The same chain-link gate hung on your bungalow was hung on three other houses on your street, and we stock those parts.
Every job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, one call brings Hal back, no runaround, no fine-print qualifiers. That promise is stamped on every invoice. It’s not a marketing line. It’s how an owner-operator who has been fixing gates in Metro Detroit since 2001 has to operate, because his name is attached to every job.
Our Gate Access Control Services in Clawson
Gate access control in Clawson usually means retrofitting older hardware with something reliable that won’t fight with frost-heaved posts and forty-year-old hinges. We cover the four systems homeowners ask about most, plus safety photocells and smart access for people who want to open the gate from their phone.
Keypad Entry
Keypad entry is the most common retrofit we do in Clawson. Many original keypads on 1950s and 1960s swing gates are dead, and the post they’re mounted on has moved out of plumb from Oakland County freeze-thaw cycles. We install new keypads, re-set posts in fresh concrete, and align the latch so the code actually releases it. A keypad that works in August but binds in March is a post problem, not a keypad problem. We fix the root cause, not the symptom.
Remote Control
Remote control means a transmitter in your car that opens the gate before you pull in. On older Clawson gates, the receiver often works fine, but the operator board or safety edges have failed. We test the whole control circuit before replacing a remote, because replacing a remote on a system with a dying board is a waste of your money. We program new remotes, replace receivers, and on older operators we verify the entrapment protection still works. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you straight, because that’s the part that keeps your kids and pets safe.
Phone Entry
Phone entry systems let you buzz open a gate from your cell phone, or let a visitor call a number and get buzzed in. In Clawson, where lots back up to alleys and backyard gates separate the driveway from the yard, phone entry often gets added to an existing keypad so family members can open the gate without a remote. We retrofit phone entry onto older operators with bridge boards where the signal is compatible, and we tell you honestly when it isn’t. Not every 1960s operator can take a smartphone signal, and we won’t sell you a bridge board that’s going to fail the UL 325 entrapment standards.
Card Reader
Card readers are less common on single-family Clawson homes, but we install them on small multi-unit properties and for homeowners who want managed access. A card or fob tapped at the reader opens the gate and logs the entry. On older Clawson gates, the card reader usually mounts on a steel post or masonry column at the driveway, and we run the power and signal conduit so it survives Michigan winters. We don’t leave wiring exposed, and we don’t leave a brick column drilled with sloppy holes.
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 Clawson
We service and install Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing equipment, along with LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Elite, and Mighty Mule. That covers most of what was ever installed in Clawson and most of what’s sold now. Because Clawson’s housing stock was built out in a narrow window, we stock the legacy Linear boards and DoorKing keypads that keep showing up on service calls here. If your gate operator is from the Reagan administration, we can probably source or match the part without a supply run across the county. If it’s genuinely obsolete, we’ll tell you that too, and quote a replacement that meets current safety standards.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in Clawson Homes
- Frost-heaved posts knocking keypad alignment out. Oakland County frost penetrates 36 to 42 inches in a hard winter. A post poured in 1958 with a shallow footing moves enough to misalign the latch, so the keypad reads a good code but the gate won’t release. We re-set the post in concrete below the frost line when we replace the hardware.
- Rusted strap hinges binding the gate mid-travel. The original swing gates on Clawson bungalows used strap hinges that were never meant to last 60 years. When they seize or tear, the gate binds and triggers the operator safety reverse. The fix is matched legacy-style hinges plus a realignment, not a new gate.
- Dead control boards in original operators. A 1960s or 1970s operator board fails, and the manufacturer stopped making that board two decades ago. Sometimes a retrofit kit works. Sometimes you have to replace the whole operator. We’ll give you the numbers for both options and let you decide without pressure.
- Safety photocells missing or bypassed. Older gates in Clawson often have no photocells or disconnected ones. A gate that reverses only when it hits something is a gate that can hurt someone. We install entrapment protection on every access control job, because a working gate is not the same as a safe gate.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in Clawson, MI
A keypad replacement in Clawson typically runs $275 to $500, depending on whether the post needs re-setting. Remote programming or replacement is $85 to $175 per remote. A phone entry retrofit runs $600 to $1,100 when the existing operator can take the signal. Card reader installation starts around $700 for a single reader with power run and mounting. Adding safety photocells to an older gate is usually $200 to $350. Full operator replacement with new access control starts around $1,400 and goes up from there. Every quote is written, and the price is agreed before any work starts. You will not get a surprise invoice at the door, ever.
We also honor standing offers that don’t require haggling: $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside the county, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a straight number, not a range that doubles after the first visit.
We Also Serve Cities Near Clawson
If you live in Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham, or Madison Heights, you’re still in our service area. The same crew that works in Clawson handles gate access control in those cities too. Read more about our Gate Access Control services or see how we serve Clawson specifically.
Serving Clawson, MI - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Clawson 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 Clawson
Because the post or footing has moved over the winter, and the latch alignment shifted just enough that the keypad reads a valid code but the release doesn’t catch. Clawson’s soil freezes deep, and a shallow 1950s footing only has to move a quarter inch to throw a gate out of alignment. The fix is a re-set post and re-aligned latch, not a new keypad. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll check it before you buy parts you don’t need.
Usually yes. The gate itself is often fine. The hardware around it, the post, the hinges, the operator board, is what fails. We install new DoorKing or Linear keypads and, where the operator supports it, smartphone access via bridge modules. If your original operator is too old to accept a retrofit, we’ll quote a modern operator and leave the existing gate in place. A replacement gate is the last option, not the first.
Usually it’s either a binding hinge, a heaving post, or a failing safety edge and photocell circuit. On Clawson’s older gates, rusted strap hinges and frost-shifted posts are the most common causes. The operator is detecting resistance, either real or false, and reversing as it should. We find the mechanical fault first, then test the safety circuit, before we ever condemn an operator.
Yes. Clawson’s residential grid was built out in roughly a 20-year window by a small set of Metro Detroit fence contractors, so the same chain-link post gauges, drop-rod latches, and strap-hinge styles repeat block after block. We stock those legacy parts on the truck. That’s specific to Clawson in a way it isn’t in Royal Oak or Troy, where housing ages and gate hardware are far more mixed. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get someone who recognizes your gate’s hardware by sight.
Repair it if the post can be re-set plumb, the hinges can be replaced or rebuilt, and the operator can accept a safe retrofit. We fix gates other companies want to replace, and we weld on site so the gate stays in your driveway. Replace it when the steel is rotted through, the post is too far gone to re-set, or the repair bill is approaching 60 percent of a new gate. We’ll give you both numbers in writing and let you choose. A free estimate is a phone call away at (877) 610-2993.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Clawson since 2001.