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 Motor & Opener Across Plantation
If your gate motor quit on a Friday afternoon in Plantation, you need someone who knows exactly where to go and what to expect when they get there. Gate motor and opener repair in Plantation typically runs $220-$580 for a motor replacement depending on brand and access, and most jobs are finished the same day we arrive. We’re Hal Gatewood’s crew, locally owned and owner-operated since 2001, serving every HOA subdivision from Jacaranda Lakes to the canal-side communities off Peters Road. Call (877) 610-2993 and a live person answers, day or night.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Plantation’s Preferred Gate Motor & Opener Company
Plantation is a different animal from the rest of Broward County. You have canals winding through the middle of HOA communities, water sitting within a few feet of gate posts year-round, and the kind of corrosion that follows. We’ve been working these subdivisions long enough to know what a builder-grade LiftMaster operator from the 1990s looks like underneath, because we’ve pulled hundreds of them out of Plantation driveways. The name on the shop is Hal Gatewood’s. The shop has a published address and license number anyone can look up. That’s not theater. That’s how we’ve run things since before half the HOAs in this city had their entry gates automated.
Every call to Plantation is answered by a live person, 24/7. No voicemail, no phone tree, no call center three states away. When you call with a stuck slide gate off West Broward Boulevard, the person who picks up can tell you how long until a truck gets there. That matters when your gate is stuck open at 9 p.m. with a hurricane watch in effect. And every job we do carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, Hal comes back. No runaround.
Our Gate Motor & Opener Services in Plantation
Motor Repair
Most Plantation gate motor failures are not motor failures at all. The motor runs; something else is failing around it. Usually that something is the conduit run from the operator to the hinge post, which was buried decades ago and never sealed against canal-adjacent groundwater. We repair on site, we weld on site, and we don’t haul your gate off to some shop across the county. The gate stays in your driveway where you can watch what we’re doing.
Motor Installation
When a motor genuinely is shot, we replace it with a unit sized for the load your gate actually carries, not whatever the builder found cheapest in 1994. That’s a big deal in Plantation, because a steel swing gate that has been soaking in canal moisture for 30 years weighs more than it did when it was hung. We also replace the conduit run and the post footing anchors while we’re in there. Skip those and you’ll be calling us again in two years.
Linear Motor Service
Linear and linear-style slide gate operators are common on Plantation’s HOA entry gates, especially in communities built in the 1980s and 1990s. We carry Linear parts on the truck, and we’re certified to service nine major brands including Linear, FAAC, BFT, and Viking. The trick with a slide gate near a canal is the track. Water intrusion shifts the track alignment, the gate binds, and the motor overloads trying to move it. We fix the alignment, not just the motor. Fix the panel without the post and you’ll fix it twice.
Slide Motor
Slide gates are the standard for HOA entrances in Plantation, and they take a beating from Broward County’s thunderstorms. A nearby lightning strike can fry the loop detector or wipe the safety photocell while the motor itself survives. That leaves the gate opening when it shouldn’t, stopping mid-travel, or stuck open. We test the whole circuit before replacing anything, so you’re not paying for a new motor when all you needed was a photocell.
Solar Gate Opener and Battery Backup
Some Plantation properties run gates well away from a power drop, and a solar gate opener makes real sense there. We install solar panels sized for the operator’s standby draw, not just its running draw, because a panel that barely covers daytime operation leaves you with a dead battery by morning. And given what hurricane season does to this city’s power grid, a battery backup on an existing FAAC or LiftMaster slide operator is one of the smartest upgrades a Plantation HOA can make.
Intercom Integration
Adding an intercom or call box to an automated gate in Plantation means tying the access controller into the operator’s open command. We see plenty of DIY attempts where the wire is spliced into the wrong leg of the circuit and the gate opens every time someone presses the keypad on the house intercom. We do it right the first time, and we walk you through how the system works before we leave.
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 Plantation
We’re certified to service LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. For Plantation customers that matters because we keep common parts for those brands on our trucks, or just a short drive away in our South Florida shop. A FAAC swing gate operator in Plantation Acres shouldn’t have to wait three days for a part to ship from a warehouse in Texas. Most repairs we complete the same day. Our Gate Motor & Opener team has been working with these brands for over two decades.
Common Gate Motor & Opener Problems We See in Plantation Homes
- Corroded conduit at the hinge post: The canal-laced layout in Plantation means many gate posts sit within feet of standing water year-round. Original conduit runs from the 1990s were rarely sealed, so groundwater climbs up inside the conduit and eats the low-voltage control wiring until the operator stops responding.
- Sagging swing gates overloading the motor: A gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. Where the post footing has corroded from persistent moisture, the whole gate drops a few inches and the motor grinds itself to death trying to lift it every cycle.
- Post-storm track misalignment on slide gates: Hurricane season moves soil around Plantation, and slide gate tracks shift with it. The motor runs, the gate jerks and stops. That’s a track alignment problem nine times out of ten, not a dead motor.
- Builder-grade operators from the 1990s failing at the hinge post: The original swing-arm operators installed when these communities were built are now 30 and 40 years old. They were never designed for Plantation’s humidity and they show it: cracked housings, fried boards, and drives stripped by years of fighting a rusted hinge post.
Pricing for Gate Motor & Opener in Plantation, FL
A typical motor replacement on a residential swing gate in Plantation runs $220-$580, including the operator and labor. Slide gate motor replacement lands between $350 and $750, depending on the length and weight of the panel and what condition the track is in. A full residential swing gate operator including new conduit and post anchors is usually $650-$1,100. We quote the job before we start and the price doesn’t change unless you approve a change. You get the number in writing and it holds. We also take $40 off any repair over $200, there’s no trip charge inside the county, and seniors and veterans get 10% off permanently. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Plantation
Based in South Florida and serving Plantation directly, we also run calls through nearby Gate Motor & Opener in Plantation neighbors: Broadview Park, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, and Fort Lauderdale. The same trucks, the same warranty, the same live person on the phone.
Serving Plantation, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Plantation 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 Plantation
The hinge post on a Plantation swing gate takes all the weight of the panel, and when the post footing corrodes from canal-side moisture, the gate drops enough to overload the motor every time it cycles. The motor still runs because the motor isn’t the problem; the post is. We repair the footing, re-weld the hinge, and realign the drive. If you only replace the motor, you’ll replace it again inside two years. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll diagnose it in one visit.
Yes, and it’s a straightforward install on most FAAC and LiftMaster slide operators with a low-voltage DC motor. We size the battery to the gate’s load and install it in a sealed box rated for outdoor Broward County exposure. After hurricane season knocks out power, a battery backup means the gate still opens, which matters when a fire truck needs to get through. We also add surge suppression at the same time. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate.
Adding automation to a manually installed gate in Plantation requires an operator sized for the gate, a new conduit run with line voltage, low-voltage control wiring, safety photocells, and ideally a receiver for remotes or a keypad. The part most communities skip is the power run, because the original build never pulled one to the gate. We trench and run conduit ourselves, and we handle any HOA permitting. Expect the full job to run $1,200-$2,600 for a residential slide gate. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come measure and write it up.
Probably not. When a slide gate jerks and stops but the motor still runs, the track has usually shifted out of alignment, or debris and silt have gotten into the rack and pinion. Stormwater from Plantation’s canal system pushes soil around more than people expect. We inspect the track, re-level the rails, clean the rack, and only then decide whether the motor needs work. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll get it moving again.
Yes, you need it, and it’s not about entry control. A safety photocell is a reverse sensor designed to stop the gate if a person or vehicle is in the swing path. Without it, the gate will keep closing on whatever is in the way. Broward County code requires motorized gates to have functional entrapment protection, and that’s separate from any keypad. We install and test photocells as part of every opener job. Call (877) 610-2993 to schedule an inspection.
Plantation’s Canals, and What They Do to Gate Openers
Here’s something most gate companies won’t mention, because they don’t work Plantation every day the way we do. This city is threaded with an internal canal and waterway network that runs through dozens of HOA-governed subdivisions. That water sits close to gate posts in a way you don’t see in Davie or Sunrise, which lack the same dense grid. Moisture migrates up through the soil and into the post footing, then into the conduit, and then into the wiring. The result is advanced galvanic corrosion on steel frames and underground conduit even in communities miles from the ocean. A gate post in Jacaranda Lakes off West Broward Boulevard will corrode faster than the same post in inland Broward, and it’s not because of salt air. It’s because the water is right there, all year.
We were called to Jacaranda Lakes because a builder-grade LiftMaster swing gate operator had stopped responding. Our tech found the underground conduit run between the operator and the hinge post had corroded through where it passed near a canal bank, shorting the low-voltage control wiring. We pulled new THWN wire through a sealed PVC chase, replaced the corroded post footing anchor bolts, and added a surge suppressor before reprogramming the operator’s travel limits. That’s not a one-off. That’s the standard failure pattern in Plantation.
What Builder-Grade Installs From the 1990s Are Hiding Underground
Plantation’s housing stock is dominated by planned subdivision homes built from the 1960s through the 1990s, most governed by HOAs with automated community entry gates. A significant share still runs the original swing-arm or slide-gate operators installed when the community was built, and a lot of those installs were done with materials that were never meant to sit in Broward County’s humidity for 30 years. The conduit was thin-wall, the post anchors were plain steel, and the wire was undersized. HOA boards can’t see any of this until something fails, and by then the motor has been fighting a losing battle for a decade.
Adding automation to a gate that was installed manual during the build is the other side of the same coin. The power and conduit runs that should have gone in during construction usually did not, and the gate was hung without a thought for the operator load. We handle the trenching, the power run, the operator, the safety edges, and the surge protection. The gate gets one system that works together, instead of a patchwork that quits after the next thunderstorm.
That’s what we do in Plantation. We fix the gate where it sits, we weld on site, and we stand behind every job with the 90-Day Done Right Promise. If it’s not done right, Hal makes it right. His name is on the shop, and the shop is down the road.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Plantation since 2001.