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 Tigard
Gate motor and opener work in Tigard usually falls into two buckets: a repair we can handle same week, or a retrofit on a 30-to-50-year-old gate that needs someone who actually understands what’s failing underneath. We’ve been fixing gate operators in the 97223 ZIP long enough to know the difference before we even roll up. If your opener is dead, struggling, or tripping its own breaker when it rains, call Hal at Gatewood Fence & Gate at (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, not a voicemail tree.
Most of the calls we get in Tigard come from homeowners in subdivisions built between 1975 and 1995. The gates are all about the same age, the posts are all about the same age, and the problems are all about the same age. That’s actually good news for you: it means we’ve seen your exact situation dozens of times, and we know which fix lasts and which one doesn’t.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is Tigard’s Preferred Gate Motor & Opener Company
We’re a Gate Motor & Opener shop that’s been locally owned and owner-operated since 2001. Hal Gatewood’s name is on the shop, his address is published, and his license number is public record. When a Tigard homeowner calls, the person who answers is the person who will either fix the gate or know exactly who on his crew is going to. No call center, no third-party dispatcher.
Tigard customers don’t have to wonder if we’ll show up when promised. We tell you the window, we show up in it, and if something goes sideways, you talk to the same guy who gave you the quote. Every job we do carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the repair isn’t right, one call brings Hal back. No fine print, no “well, in most cases.” Plain language, stamped on the invoice.
We also know Tigard’s HOA reality. Plenty of gate repairs here turn into two-step jobs: fix the gate now, then wait for the homeowner to get written HOA approval before changing materials or styles. We quote hardware-matched repairs that won’t trigger an architectural review, so you don’t get fined for making your gate work again.
Our Gate Motor & Opener Services in Tigard
Motor Repair
This is the bulk of what we do in Tigard. Legacy operators on 30-to-50-year-old swing gates fail in predictable ways: thermal overload trips, stripped gears, dead capacitors, and control boards that just quit. We diagnose the actual failure before recommending anything. If the motor needs an armature cleaning and two new limit switches, that’s what we do. We don’t sell you a whole operator because it’s easier for us. Hal has been fixing gates since 2001 and he genuinely dislikes finding sloppy work somebody left behind.
Motor Installation
New operator installs in Tigard often mean working around an existing HOA-approved gate. We install operators that match the gate’s spec and the neighborhood’s architectural requirements, not whatever’s on the truck. Before any work starts, you get a written price, and that price is agreed before we bolt anything down. We handle the full install: mounting, wiring, limit setup, safety sensor alignment, and testing under load.
Linear Motor
Linear arm operators are common on Tigard’s tract-home swing gates, and they have a specific failure profile: the actuator screw strips or the motor coupling wears out from years of pushing a hinged gate that has sagged a quarter-inch out of square. We service and replace Linear-brand operators, and we fix the underlying gate alignment at the same time. Because a new motor on a sagging gate just sends that new motor to an early grave.
Slide Motor
Slide gates in Tigard tend to be on larger lots or the occasional newer custom home. The operators get hammered by wet-season debris: fir needles, mud, and gravel that build up on the track and force the motor to work harder than designed. We install and repair slide operators, including the safety photocells and edge sensors that keep them compliant with UL 325. We also check the track slope and roller condition, because a slide motor is only as good as the track it’s dragging across.
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 Tigard
We’re certified to service nine major gate brands, and for Tigard customers we stock common parts for the ones we see most. Linear, FAAC, BFT, and Viking operators account for the majority of our Tigard repair calls. We carry control boards, limit switches, capacitors, and remote receivers for these brands on the truck, which means fewer trips back to the shop and faster turnaround for you. If you’ve got an older Doorking or Elite from the 80s or 90s, we work on those too, though parts availability on truly obsolete boards is a real conversation we’ll have honestly.
Common Gate Motor & Opener Problems We See in Tigard Homes
- Winter thermal overload trips. Tigard’s fall-through-spring rainfall swells wood gate frames, and suddenly the gate binds against the strike every time it closes. The operator trips its thermal overload on every open cycle. The motor isn’t bad; the swollen gate is. We fix the gate, then recalibrate the opener.
- Dead control boards from obsolete 1980s operators. Original Doorking and Elite boards from the 1980s are increasingly unobtainable. When a board dies on one of these, you’re looking at a full operator retrofit. We’ll tell you straight which parts are still available and which aren’t, then figure out a path that keeps the gate working without violating HOA approval.
- Stripped gears from corroded hinges. Original galvanized hinges on Tigard tract-home gates corrode after 30-plus years of wet-dry cycles. The gate sags, the operator pushes against misalignment, and the gears strip. We replace the hinge and the gear, then square the gate so the new parts don’t inherit the same stress.
- Rotted hinge posts causing entrapment-sensor faults. When a Douglas fir hinge post rots at the ground sleeve, the gate leans. Safety photocells go out of alignment. The operator faults and won’t run. The sensor isn’t the problem; the post is. We replace the post with a steel core set in concrete, rehang the gate, and realign the sensors.
Pricing for Gate Motor & Opener in Tigard, OR
Tigard pricing for gate motor and opener work breaks down like this. A basic motor repair, like replacing a capacitor or limit switch, runs $160 to $280. A full operator retrofit on a single swing gate typically runs $1,300 to $2,800 depending on brand, gate weight, and whether we’re also replacing the hinge post. Slide gate operator installs run $1,800 to $3,500. Adding battery backup to an existing system runs $400 to $900. Intercom integration starts around $700 and goes up based on wire runs and panel type. Every quote is written, agreed, and signed before work starts. We don’t change the price at the door, ever. And inside Washington County, we don’t charge a trip fee. There’s also $40 off any repair over $200, plus a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll give you an exact number before you commit to anything.
We Also Serve Cities Near Tigard
Our Tigard coverage includes the 97223 ZIP and the surrounding metro area. We regularly run calls to Garden Home-Whitford, Beaverton, Cedar Hills, and Raleigh Hills. If your gate is acting up and you’re anywhere in that circle, the same crew that works Tigard works your neighborhood too. Same live phone answer, same 90-Day Done Right Promise.
Serving Tigard, OR - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tigard 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 Tigard
Yes, in most cases the gate itself can stay. UL 325 compliance comes from the operator’s safety features, not the gate’s age. We can install a new operator with monitored safety photocells and edge sensors on a properly squared existing gate. The catch is that the gate has to be hung square and the posts have to be sound. If the hinge post is rotted, no operator retrofits cleanly. We’ll check the posts and tell you honestly before we quote anything. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll come look.
Because your wood gate frame absorbs Willamette Valley moisture from October through April, swells, and binds against the strike. That binding makes the operator work harder every open cycle, and the thermal overload eventually trips. In Tigard’s climate specifically, the wet-dry cycle works mortise-and-tenon joints and hinge screws loose season after season. The fix is usually adjusting or rebuilding the gate so it swings freely, then recalibrating the opener. A new motor won’t fix a swollen gate. Call (877) 610-2993 for an exact diagnosis.
Yes. Installing a new operator doesn’t change the gate’s appearance, material, or style, so it generally doesn’t trigger an architectural review under most Tigard HOA CC&Rs. What does trigger a review is changing the gate material, color, or design. We quote hardware-matched replacements that keep the gate looking original. If your HOA needs documentation, we can provide a written description of the work showing no material or aesthetic change. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll talk through what your CC&Rs actually say.
For Viking and FAAC operators made in the last 10 to 15 years, a board replacement usually runs $350 to $750 and makes sense if the motor, gears, and limit switches are still sound. For older units, especially anything nearing 20 years, a board replacement often delays the inevitable, and we’ll say so. If the operator is original to a 1980s Tigard tract home, a same-brand retrofit is the cheaper long-term answer. We quote both options honestly, and the price is agreed before work starts. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll help you decide without any pressure to overspend.
In Tigard’s soil specifically, we set operator post footings at least 30 to 36 inches deep, and we prefer a steel core post set in concrete rather than a bare wood post in tamped soil. The clay-heavy ground in the Tualatin River basin holds water for months, and a shallow wood post will rot at the sleeve and sag within a few years. We learned this the hard way watching other companies’ work fail. A proper footing here means digging below the saturated zone so the post doesn’t sit in standing water for six months a year. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll check your existing post depth before we quote anything.
What Makes Tigard’s Gate Repairs Different
Tigard’s 97223 ZIP is a dense cluster of planned subdivisions built between 1975 and 1995, and the wood privacy swing gates from that buildout are now 30 to 50 years old and failing together. That’s not a coincidence. Willamette Valley wet-season soil saturation rots hinge posts at the ground sleeve, gate frames warp and bind all winter, and galvanized hinges corrode after decades of wet-dry cycling. The operators on those gates, many of them original, are now overloading, faulting, and burning out at the seams. What we’re seeing across Tigard right now is a generational replacement cycle: whole neighborhoods of gates hitting the same failure points at the same time because they were all built the same way in the same era. That’s unique to this pocket of Washington County suburbia, and it’s why we know before we arrive what we’re likely to find.
In a Bull Mountain subdivision off 121st, we pulled a LiftMaster LA400 swing gate operator that was straining against a Douglas fir hinge post rotted to sponge at the post footing. We replaced the post with a steel core set in deep concrete, hung the gate square, and wired in new safety photocells before the old control board could burn out again. That job took one afternoon. A national outfit would have quoted a whole new gate. We fixed the post and the operator, and the gate worked like new. That’s the difference between a company that sells replacements and a company that repairs what’s actually broken.
HOA rules make this more complicated in Tigard than most places. Many of these subdivisions have CC&Rs that specify fence materials, heights, and gate styles. A repair call often becomes two steps: fix the gate first, then wait for the homeowner to get HOA approval before changing anything that might trigger an architectural review. We’ve learned to quote hardware-matched repairs that don’t trigger review, buying homeowners time without violating CC&Rs. It’s the kind of local knowledge you only get from doing this work in these neighborhoods for years.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Motor & Opener Service in Tigard
If your gate motor is dead, struggling, or tripping every time it rains, call (877) 610-2993. Hal answers the phone himself, any hour. You’ll get a straight answer about what’s wrong, what it costs, and when we can be there. Estimates are free. The price is written and agreed before any work starts. And if it’s not done right, the 90-Day Done Right Promise means one call brings us back.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving Tigard since 2001.