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 West Memphis
When a gate motor quits in West Memphis, it usually isn’t the motor’s fault. The ground under it moved. We’ve been fixing gate motors and openers since 2001, and we work on more gates in the 72301 and 72303 zip codes than any other company. If your opener is grinding, stalling, or tripping its own safety sensors, call us at (877) 610-2993. A live person answers. We’ll have someone headed toward West Memphis the same day.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is West Memphis’s Preferred Gate Motor & Opener Company
Hal Gatewood started this shop in 2001, and his name is still on the door, the trucks, and every invoice. That matters in a place like West Memphis, where people like knowing the person they hired is someone they might run into at the hardware store. We’re not a call center and we’re not a franchise. When you call, a person answers. When something goes wrong after we leave, the same person comes back. That’s the 90-Day Done Right Promise, and it’s in writing on every job.
West Memphis customers leave us reviews that mention the same things: we showed up when we said we would, we fixed the gate without swapping parts that didn’t need swapping, and the price we quoted was the price they paid. We also know the ground here. That’s not a slogan. It’s the difference between a gate that works for two months and a gate that works for years.
We serve every neighborhood in West Memphis, from the streets near the I-55/I-40 interchange down to the older blocks closer to the river. Response is fast because our crew is scheduled out of the Memphis office and works West Memphis routes daily. You won’t wait a week for a technician who doesn’t know the difference between Marion and West Memphis soil.
Our Gate Motor & Opener Services in West Memphis
Motor Repair
Most motor failures in West Memphis aren’t motor failures. They’re post failures, rust failures, or alignment failures that force the motor to work against the gate instead of with it. We find the actual problem before we touch the motor. If the gate leaf is binding because the post heaved, fixing the motor first means fixing it again in six months. We repair FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking motors, and we do it in your driveway through our Gate Repair in West Memphis. The gate stays put.
Motor Installation
Gate Installation in West Memphis means more than bolting a box to a post. The Delta clay under your lot expands and contracts all year, so we pay extra attention to post depth and footing integrity before we mount anything. A motor that starts on a tilted post pulls itself out of alignment within months. We measure, we plumb, and we mount it true. Then we set the limits, test the entrapment protection, and run the gate through a full cycle before we leave.
Linear Motor Service
Linear motors pull a slide gate along a track using a rack and pinion drive, and that rack sits right where West Memphis moisture and standing water do their worst. Rust at the pinion joint causes stripped gears. Debris from flooding clogs the track. We stock replacement parts for Linear operators through West Memphis Gate Parts & Welding and can usually have a grounded slide gate running again the same day we diagnose it.
Slide Motor Repair
A slide gate in West Memphis has two enemies: the clay that shifts its track and the humidity that rusts its drive components. We see slide operators grinding or stalling most often in the low-lying lots near the river and the interchange, where spring rains saturate the ground and push the track out of level. We repair the operator and the track in the same visit. Half a fix on a slide gate is still a broken gate.
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 West Memphis
We’re certified to service nine gate motor brands, including FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking. That means we aren’t the kind of shop that tells you to rip out a perfectly good opener because we only know how to work on one manufacturer. We keep common parts for these brands stocked locally, so a West Memphis repair isn’t waiting on a part from across the country. You need the gate working. We understand that.
Common Gate Motor & Opener Problems We See in West Memphis Homes
- Post heave from Delta buckshot clay. West Memphis sits directly on the Mississippi River alluvial floodplain. The clay under your gate swells when it’s wet and cracks when it’s dry. Every spring, we see posts that have moved a half inch or more, throwing the gate leaf out of plumb and tripping the motor’s entrapment sensors.
- Rust and corrosion at drive components. Standing water and near-constant humidity accelerate rust at hinge pivot points and rack and pinion joints. A rusted pinion strips the gear teeth clean off, and the motor just spins. This is the most avoidable failure we see, and it’s everywhere in older West Memphis neighborhoods where maintenance got deferred.
- Dead openers after power cuts. Delta thunderstorms knock out power with regularity. If your opener’s battery backup is dead or the manual release is rusted shut, your gate is just a wall on a motor. We install battery backups and free up corroded releases so the gate keeps working or can at least be opened by hand.
- Wind damage to solid infill gates. A solid gate is a sail. West Memphis gets the same straight-line winds that shake the river bridges. Wind load pushes the gate into the motor, the hinges, and the post, and something has to give. We install wind-rated hardware and reinforce posts before the next storm, not after.
Pricing for Gate Motor & Opener in West Memphis, AR
You’ll know the price before we touch a wrench. That’s how this shop works. A typical motor repair in West Memphis runs $180 to $340, depending on whether we’re replacing a capacitor, a circuit board, or a full motor head. A slide motor repair with track realignment usually lands between $220 and $400. New motor installation, including the operator, mounting, and programming, typically runs $1,100 to $2,800 depending on gate size and whether we’re running new conduit or reinforcing a post. A battery backup system runs $250 to $600 installed. Every quote is written, every price is agreed before we start, and you’re not paying a dime more than what’s on that paper. Call (877) 610-2993 for a free estimate. We also knock $40 off any repair over $200, and seniors and veterans always get 10% off.
We Also Serve Cities Near West Memphis
We work all over Crittenden County. If you’re in Marion, we’ll be there just as fast. For a full picture of our gate motor and opener service, see our Gate Motor & Opener page. And if you want to know more about how we handle gates across this soil, read about gate motor and opener in West Memphis.
Serving West Memphis, AR - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the West Memphis 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 West Memphis
Because the ground under the gate moved. West Memphis sits on the Mississippi River alluvial floodplain, and the Delta “buckshot” clay here swells dramatically when saturated. Every spring, after the water table rises, that clay pushes hinge posts outward, sometimes a full inch or more. The gate leaf shifts, and the motor either binds or trips its entrapment sensor. It’s not a motor problem. It’s a post problem, and we fix the post so the motor can do its job. Call (877) 610-2993 and we’ll diagnose it before the next rain.
Every automatic gate has a manual release, usually a lever or pull cord near the operator or on the motor arm itself. First, make sure the power to the opener is off so it doesn’t re-engage unexpectedly. Then pull the release handle to disengage the motor. You can now push the gate by hand. Do not try to force the gate if it’s still heavy or binding, and do not attempt to defeat the entrapment protection. If the release is rusted or stuck, that’s a sign the opener needs service. We’ll free it up or install a battery backup so the gate keeps working automatically during outages. One call to (877) 610-2993 gets it done.
Nine times out of ten, it’s a combination of moisture and track movement. Low-lying lots near the I-55/I-40 interchange and the river see standing water that rusts the rack and pinion drive. At the same time, saturated clay shifts the track slightly out of level. The operator ends up fighting rust on the drive and misalignment on the track. We repair both in the same visit. Half a fix is still a broken gate, and we don’t leave broken gates.
Every automatic gate in Arkansas must meet the entrapment protection standards in ASTM F2200 and UL 325. That means it needs functioning photo eyes, safety edges, or both, and the reversing mechanism has to work. We test this on every operator we service. If your gate can close on a person or a car without stopping, it’s not compliant and it’s dangerous. We’ll tell you plainly what’s missing and fix it. Getting it right is the point.
The 72303 zip sits on the same expansive Delta clay as the rest of West Memphis, and that clay doesn’t sit still. When it gets wet, it swells. When it dries, it cracks. That cycle works a post loose over time, and the motor follows the post. We reset the post in a properly poured footing, re-plumb it, and recalibrate the operator. If you skip the post and only fix the motor, you’ll be calling us again next spring. Let’s do it once. Call (877) 610-2993.
Contact Us for Gate Motor & Opener Service in West Memphis
If your gate motor is grinding, stalling, or just dead, call (877) 610-2993. A live person answers, day or night. We’ll tell you what’s likely wrong, what it’ll cost to fix, and when we can be there. No voicemail, no call center, no estimate that changes at the door. This is Hal Gatewood’s shop, and he’s been fixing gates since 2001. The 90-Day Done Right Promise is on every invoice. 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 West Memphis with gate motor and opener service since 2001.