Gate Repair, New Gates and Openers in Ann Arbor
Repairs, new gates, openers, entry systems and upkeep, side by side, so you can match what your gate is doing to the right one before you call.
Gate, Opener, Entry System
Gate work splits along the parts of a gate. The gate itself, its posts, hinges, rollers and track, is carpentry and metalwork: it has to hang level and move freely by hand. The opener is a motor, a control board and a set of limit settings that tell it where to stop. The entry system, the keypad, intercom, remotes and safety sensors, is what tells the opener when to move. Maintenance is the routine care that keeps all three from wearing out early.
Most problems start in one part and show up in another. A worn hinge makes a swing gate sag, the sagging leaf drags, and the opener strains against it until it stops partway. That is why the gate itself, moving by hand, is the first thing to check, before anyone blames the motor.
The table sets out what each line of work covers and the signs that point to it.
| Service | What it covers | You might need it if | Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate Repair | Sagging leaves, worn hinges and rollers, bent tracks, latches that no longer catch, leaning posts. | The gate drags, will not latch, grinds on its hinges or sits lower than it used to. | Gate repair |
| New Gates | Swing and sliding gates for driveways, walkways and commercial lots, with posts set in concrete. | The old gate is past repair, the drive or fence is new, or the gate keeps breaking down. | New gates |
| Gate Openers | Swing-arm, underground and sliding operators: fitting, wiring, limit settings and burned-out motors. | The gate stops partway, reverses for no reason, hums without moving or crawls. | Gate openers |
| Keypads and Intercoms | Keypads, intercoms, remotes and safety sensors, programmed and wired to the operator. | Codes are shared too widely, remotes are lost, or visitors cannot reach you from the gate. | Keypads and intercoms |
| Gate Maintenance | Hinges and rollers lubricated, tracks cleaned, hardware tightened, limits and sensors checked. | The gate squeaks, shows rust, has slowed down, or nobody has looked at it in years. | Gate maintenance |
When It Is Hard to Tell
Plenty of gate problems look alike from the driveway. A gate that will not close can be a sensor that sees something, a limit that has drifted, a latch out of line or a post that has moved. Matching the noise or the behavior to a likely cause is the quickest way to narrow it down, and the signs and symptoms table does exactly that, with an urgency for each.
Michigan winters add their own pattern. Frost heave lifts and tilts posts, so a gate that closed square in October can bind in February and close again in May. Road salt and slush shorten the life of rollers and hinge pins. When a gate changes with the seasons, the post is usually the first thing to check.
Homes and Commercial Lots
A driveway gate at a house and a slide gate across a business lot share most of their parts: posts, hinges or rollers, an operator, a keypad or remotes, and safety sensors. A commercial gate is usually heavier and cycles many more times a day, so wear shows up sooner and the safety devices matter more. The same causes apply to both, and so does the same order of work: the gate first, then the opener, then the entry system.
Repairing or Replacing
When is a gate worth repairing instead of replacing?
Most of the time. Hinges, rollers, latches, wheels and even a bent track are parts, and a sound frame on a post that stands straight takes new parts without trouble. A frame that has rusted through at the joints, a wood gate that has rotted where the hinges bolt on, or a post that keeps leaning after it has been reset are the usual reasons to start over.
A gate that has needed the same repair several times is also telling you something: the opening may be too wide for the gate, or the post may be too light for its weight.
Should I replace the opener if it stops working?
Not before it has been looked at. A gate that stops halfway, reverses on its own or ignores the remote is far more often a limit setting that has drifted, a sensor out of line, a loose wire or a tired battery than a dead motor. When the motor itself has burned out, it can usually be replaced without changing the whole operator.
Replacing the operator makes sense when the gate has outgrown it (a heavier gate was hung on a light-duty arm), when parts for it are no longer made, or when the control board and the motor have both failed.
Can one visit cover a repair and an opener problem together?
Yes, and it often should. An opener that strains is frequently pulling a gate that drags, so the hinge or roller gets fixed first and the opener is set again afterward. Say both problems when you call so the visit plans for both.
Do you work on commercial gates as well as home gates?
Yes. The work runs from residential driveways to commercial lots, for homeowners, property managers and small business owners. The parts are heavier on a commercial slide gate, but the causes of trouble are the same.
Not Sure Which One Fits
Describe what the gate does and when. The right service follows from that.