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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After
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AfterFast, Reliable Gate Motor & Opener Across Benbrook
A gate motor replacement or repair in Benbrook usually runs between $280 and $650 for the motor itself, with full installation on an existing gate landing between $850 and $1,900 depending on the gate’s weight, condition, and whether we’re saving the old rack or running new. Most jobs we handle in the 76132 ZIP are completed same day or next morning, and we never start work until you’ve seen the written price and agreed to it. That’s how Hal Gatewood has run Gatewood Fence & Gate since 2001: fix what’s worth fixing, tell you straight when it isn’t, and stand behind the work with a 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Call (877) 610-2993 and you’ll get a live person, not a voicemail tree.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Benbrook’s Preferred Gate Motor & Opener Company
Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop and on every invoice. There’s no corporate office three states away, no rotating crew you’ll never see twice. The person who answers your call is the same person who will drive out to your place off Winscott Road or down near Timbercreek and look at the gate with you. When you call for Gate Motor & Opener service, you’re calling a local business that has been owner-operated since 2001, with a published address and license number anyone can look up. If you want to drive to the shop and look Hal in the eye before you hire anyone, you’re welcome to do that too.
We’ve built our name in Benbrook by being the company that repairs what other outfits want to replace. A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle, and that’s where we start. Show me the gate closing on its own and I’ll show you where it’s failing. Those aren’t slogans. They’re how we’ve kept Benbrook gates running for over two decades, and why our customers don’t hesitate to hand our number to a neighbor.
Key Takeaways:
- Owner-operated since 2001, with Hal Gatewood’s name on the shop and every invoice
- Written 90-Day Done Right Promise on every job, not a verbal assurance
- Live person answers every call, 24/7, including weekends and holidays
- Upfront pricing quoted and agreed before any work starts
- On-site welding at your Benbrook property, so the gate stays in your driveway
Our Gate Motor & Opener Services in Benbrook
Benbrook’s mix of 1970s ranch homes, ornamental iron lake gates, and equestrian pipe-panel gates means we see a wider spread of gate problems than most Fort Worth suburbs. Our service trucks carry the parts, welders, and diagnostic gear to handle all of it without hauling your gate back to a shop.
Motor Installation
You’ve got two sensible options in Benbrook. If the gate structure is sound, we install a new operator on the existing steel or iron, wire the safety loops and photocells to meet UL 325, and set the open and close limits so the gate doesn’t slam or stall on the clay-heaved post. If the problem is the gate itself, a new motor on a sagging 1980s wooden swing gate is money wasted. We’ll tell you which situation you’re in and quote both paths. New operator installation on a prepared gate typically runs $850 to $1,400. We stock Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, and DoorKing motors for fast turnaround, along with parts for most other major brands.
Motor Repair
Most Benbrook motor failures we diagnose are not the motor itself. It’s the control board cooked by a stalled arm, a gear stripped by a binding hinge post, or a corroded limit switch from lake humidity. We bench-test the motor, check the draw on the circuit, and find the actual fault before quoting any repair. A control board replacement on a 1990s LiftMaster or DoorKing operator typically runs $220 to $480 in Benbrook, and we often have compatible boards on the truck. If the motor is genuinely shot, a remanufactured or new replacement is usually $350 to $650 installed.
Linear Motor
Linear operators are the workhorse of Benbrook’s ranch and acreage gates, but they have a particular weakness on our clay: the chain and rail assembly sits close to the ground, and when a post heaves, the chain slackens and the motor burns out trying to drag the gate uphill. We reset the rail on a releveled post, tension the chain correctly, and only then install the new Linear motor. Replacement Linear operators for heavy slide gates around Benbrook’s horse properties run $600 to $1,400 depending on gate weight and length, installed.
Slide Motor
Slide gates are everywhere in Benbrook because long, heavy driveway gates on the bigger lots can’t cantilever off one hinge without destroying the post. The rack and pinion drive on a slide gate is unforgiving: if the concrete pad has shifted, the pinion grinds the rack, the motor over-amps, and the control board eventually dies. We fix the foundation issue first, replace the rack sections if they’re chewed up, then install the new motor. Slide motor replacement and rack repair in Benbrook typically lands between $950 and $1,900. It’s honest work, and it lasts when the base is fixed right.
Intercom Integration
Larger Benbrook properties, especially the lakefront and gated-acreage homes, often have old intercom or call-box systems tied to the gate opener. We integrate new gate motors with existing intercom wiring or replace the call box entirely, so the gate still opens from the house, from the keypad, and from the remotes. A simple intercom-to-motor integration runs $250 to $600; a full replacement call box with wiring runs $450 to $900.
Battery Backup
Benbrook’s proximity to the lake means storms roll in fast, and when the power goes out along the coves, a motorized gate without battery backup is either locked shut or stuck open. We add battery backup units that keep the gate cycling through outages, sized to the motor’s draw. Most battery backup installations in the 76132 ZIP run $350 to $750, installed, and they’re worth every dollar the first time a spring squall knocks out power overnight.
What happens when you call
- 1
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 Benbrook
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and we keep Benbrook-relevant parts on the truck: Linear for ranch and slide gates, DoorKing for heavy commercial-style residential operators, Viking for older swing gate systems, and Ghost Controls for modern residential automations that never had a hardwire feed. Benbrook’s older housing stock means we see a lot of legacy LiftMaster and FAAC units still in service, and we stock the control boards and limit switches those old boards tend to eat. If you’ve got a gate motor that’s been orphaned by a manufacturer, we can usually still source or retrofit a workable fix. We don’t tell you to throw it away just because the logo isn’t current.
Common Gate Motor & Opener Problems We See in Benbrook Homes
- Clay heave under hinge posts. Tarrant County’s expansive clay swells after rain and shrinks hard in summer, tilting gate posts out of plumb. A binding latch and a stalling motor are the classic symptoms. We see this constantly on lake-facing lots where Army Corps-managed water levels amplify the moisture swings, and the only lasting fix is to relevel the post before the motor gets replaced.
- Rust pitting near Benbrook Lake. Localized humidity from the lake accelerates rust on iron and steel gate components faster than drier inland parts of Tarrant County. We regularly find seized rack-and-pinion drives on ornamental slide gates along the coves, where surface rust has eaten enough clearance to overload the operator.
- Original 1970s wooden swing gates with undersized post footings. The dominant housing stock in the 76132 ZIP includes hundreds of original wooden privacy gates now 30 to 50 years old. They sag at the hinge post, the motor strains against the extra torque, and the control board eventually fails. Sometimes the answer is a new gate hung on properly set posts; sometimes the gate is still solid and just needs the hardware rebuilt.
- Obsolete control boards with no safety inputs. Many Benbrook gates were hung before modern UL 325 safety requirements existed. They may work, but they don’t meet current standards for obstruction detection, and the boards can’t accept new photocell wiring. We retrofit where possible and replace the operator where retrofitting would cost more than the upgrade.
Pricing for Gate Motor & Opener in Benbrook, TX
Here’s honest pricing for the work we do in Benbrook’s 76132 ZIP, based on what we’ve actually quoted and completed in recent months:
- Motor repair (control board, limit switch, gear replacement): $220 to $480
- New motor installed on existing sound gate: $850 to $1,400
- Slide motor replacement with rack repair: $950 to $1,900
- Linear motor for heavy ranch or equestrian slide gate: $600 to $1,400
- Battery backup installation: $350 to $750
- Intercom integration with new motor: $250 to $600
- Service call and diagnostic (no trip charge inside the county): $89, credited toward repair if you hire us
Every price is quoted in writing before work starts, and we don’t change it at the door. Ask about the standing offers: $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate. We will tell you what the fix will cost before we ever pick up a wrench.
We Also Serve Cities Near Benbrook
If you’re just outside Benbrook, we make the same fast drive to White Settlement, Crowley, River Oaks, and Fort Worth. Same owner-operated crew, same written pricing, same 90-Day Done Right Promise. If you’re looking for a gate motor and opener company near Benbrook, you’re in our service area.
Serving Benbrook, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Benbrook 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 Motor & Opener in Benbrook
Benbrook Lake sits at the edge of the city, and the land around it behaves differently than the higher, drier ground inland. The combination of Army Corps-managed water levels affecting soil moisture and Tarrant County’s heavy expansive clay causes gate posts to heave and lean within just a few seasons, which loads motors past their rated torque. Lake humidity settles into iron and steel, rusting racks and seizing drives. We replace gate motors on Winscott Road and the lake coves every week, and the failure pattern is consistent. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll tell you whether your gate’s problem is the motor, the post, or the ground under it.
If the wooden gate panel itself is solid and the only problem is worn hinges, a sagged post, or a dead operator, then yes, we retrofit a new motor onto it and often weld steel reinforcement into the hinge post at the same time. If the wood is rotted or the panels have pulled away from the frame, a new motor is wasted money, and we’ll tell you so. We give you both prices honestly and let you decide. We work in dozens of original 1970s ranch neighborhoods in the 76132 ZIP, so we know exactly what those old gates look like after 40 years of Texas weather. Call (877) 610-2993 for an honest assessment.
Usually not. The motor is running, which means the problem is usually downstream: a stripped pinion gear on the rack, a slack chain from a post that’s heaved, a seized roller, or a boundary between the gate and the track. We see this constantly on Benbrook’s slide gates, especially on acreage lots where the clay shifts. We diagnose the actual fault before quoting any replacement. Replacing the motor alone on a gate with a heaving post will leave you with a new motor that burns out the same way the old one did. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll figure out what’s actually wrong.
When we install a new motor or replace a control board, we bring the gate up to current UL 325 standards for obstruction detection and entrapment protection. That means photocells, contact edges, and proper force settings. We don’t leave a gate working but unsafe. If your older operator can’t accept modern safety inputs, we’ll show you the retrofit cost versus replacement cost and let you decide. On a street off Winscott Road near the lake, we replaced a 1998 LiftMaster slide gate operator that had been cooked by repeated loop detector faults from shifting post footings. We reset the rack and pinion on a releveled post, installed new safety photocells to meet UL 325, and added a battery backup so the gate keeps working when storms knock out power along the coves, a fix that would have been pointless without addressing the clay heave first.
Shaded ranch properties, especially those with heavy tree cover along Benbrook Lake’s coves and creek beds, starve solar panels. The fix is usually not more panels. It’s a properly sized deep-cycle battery bank, a charge controller that matches the load, and a panel mounted where it gets direct sun for at least four to six hours a day. In some cases we add a trickle charger or a hybrid solar-AC setup. We size the system to your gate’s actual draw, not a generic chart. Call (877) 610-2993 to talk through your setup, and we’ll tell you honestly what it needs.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Motor & Opener Service in Benbrook
If your gate motor is dead, grinding, or just unreliable in Benbrook, call (877) 610-2993. You’ll speak with a live person who knows gates, and we’ll get your address and drive out. The name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Benbrook and surrounding communities since 2001.