Ditch the DIY and embrace the VIP! When it comes to gate openers, convenience, and security, sashay down the runway hand-in-hand. But don’t be fooled, my friend; this is no amateur-hour affair. Venture into the land of self-installation, and you’ll find a realm fraught with perils and pitfalls. So save yourself the heartache and dial up your local fencing fabulousness or access-control connoisseurs for an estimate to have your gate swinging with pizzazz and panache. After all, who doesn’tdoesn’t want their home entrance to make a statement?
Good Gate Openers Aren’t Cheap
The first thing any consumer should know is that a well-built, well-installed gate opener is costly for most people. A good opener, by itself, can easily cost several thousand dollars. Many home improvement stores are now carrying do-it-yourself gate openers. The perceived cost savings offered by these models are often the only consideration people think about when choosing which opener to buy. Typically, the do-it-yourself models are not only inferior in quality to their professionally installed counterparts. Unfortunately, most consumers find out the hard way that local fence companies won’twon’t service or help them install these units.
Keep Safety the First Priority When Choosing a Gate Opener
A typical gate opener may not seem like an overly complex machine; to a mechanically inclined consumer, it may appear extremely simple. Unfortunately, this misguided perception has resulted in numerous injuries and even people being killed by improperly installed gates. Safety is among the most important factors in the professional fence and gate industry. Most manufacturers, fence installers, and technicians follow UL325 safety standards, a long set of guidelines that strictly emphasize keeping people safe, set forth by Underwriters Laboratories. Underwriters Laboratories is no small outfit; odds are, just about any electronic device in your home has a UL sticker somewhere.
While do-it-yourself gate openers typically contain all the equipment necessary to adhere to UL325 standards, most consumers don’tdon’t understand the finer details of keeping the gate safe and can end up missing an important step, unintentionally creating an unsafe situation. If you’ve clicked on the news story link in the above paragraph, you read about a small girl killed because a safety device was installed improperly. The right equipment appears to have been there, yet one mistake in installation seems to have ultimately led to the death of a child.
A final (but certainly not the last) thing to consider about safety is that the devices required are only sometimes easy to install properly. A typical safety device seen on many gate openers is the photo eye or safety beam. These devices are very similar to those seen on garage door openers. While some photo eyes use a reflector to bounce the beam back from the opposite side of the gate, others require the installation of a receiving unit. Installing this unit requires a special saw to cut the pavement. The wire for the unit is then placed in the cut, which is then sealed with a special pavement sealer. After realizing the amount of work required to install these, consumers often need to pay more attention to establishing the safety devices as intended. The intricate mechanisms needed for the gate’s function create a major safety hazard and a potential liability issue for the property owner if someone gets hurt.
Something to Know About Fence Companies: A professional fence installer should never offer to leave out safety devices. They are there for your safety and should never be left out. Although you may not feel your situation applies, all reputable fence companies will require the installation of safety devices. Only sensible people would seriously any company offering to remove them from an estimate to save a few dollars.
Gate Openers Are Difficult to Install Correctly
The industry defines the vast majority of retail gate openers, and this term is derived from the opener’s motion being linear or simply back and forth. All known do-it-yourself openers of this type are screw driven, and a large internal screw spins to extend and retract a piston or causes a small traveler carriage to move back and forth on the screw.
The piston or carriage is attached to a point a few feet out on the gate, and the operator’s back end is attached to the fence post that supports the gate. Sounds simple, right? Not exactly. All operators of this type have specific requirements regarding the measurements on the fence post side of the gate. Bolt-on brackets are typically provided for this, covering a good range of possible post/gate configurations.
However, since all gates are not created equal, it is often discovered that most DIYers cannot meet the required dimensions due to small or oversized gate hinges, large columns in the way, odd post sizes, or other reasons. Some garage door openers might call for a special bracket that must be custom-made, or the type of opener chosen will not work with the gate configuration.
Consumers who encounter problems like these will often try to “make it work.” While they are sometimes successful, forcing an opener to work in a way it was not supposed to not only significantly reduces the potential life of the operator but often creates safety risks.
The Bottom Line on Do-It-Yourself Gate Openers
It remains true that people will continue to purchase do-it-yourself gate openers. Some of them will be successful in installing them correctly. A large majority, however, will, at the very least, waste a good amount of money trying to install one only to fail ultimately, or at worst, create a dangerous safety risk for themselves and others.
Choosing the perfect gate opener can elevate your property’s entrance from drab to fab while boosting convenience and security. Don’t settle for a DIY debacle when professional help is just a call away. Reach out to your local fencing and access-control experts for an estimate, and soon, you’ll be enjoying a gate that makes a stylish statement and keeps your home safe and secure. Remember, when it comes to gate openers, it’s time to ditch the DIY mindset and embrace the VIP treatment you deserve.