Questions we get asked most
Straight answers on compliance, servicing intervals, callout and cost. If yours is not here, call us. We would rather talk it through than have you guess.
Does my automatic gate legally need to be force tested?
Yes. A powered gate is classed as machinery under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, which requires it to be risk-assessed, safeguarded and supplied with a declaration of conformity. Impact forces are measured against the limits set out in BS EN 12453 using calibrated test equipment. If a gate can be reached by the public, by residents, by children or by employees, whoever is responsible for the site also has a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to keep it safe in use. We carry out the testing and issue the documentation.
Do you attend emergencies out of hours?
Yes. We run an out-of-hours emergency callout for gates that have failed open or failed shut, so a fault outside office hours is dealt with rather than logged for the next working day. How soon we can be with you depends on where the site is and what else is running, so we will tell you honestly when you call rather than quote a blanket figure. Sites on a maintenance contract take priority over ad-hoc callouts. If the entrance is insecure right now, phone rather than using the contact form.
Can you repair a gate that somebody else installed?
Yes. Most of our repair work is on systems we did not install. We work on all the mainstream manufacturers including CAME, BFT, FAAC, Nice, Ditec and Roger Technology, and on older or discontinued boards where a like-for-like replacement is no longer made. In those cases we will tell you honestly whether a sympathetic repair or a control-board retrofit is the better value.
How much does an automatic gate cost?
It depends on the gate, the ground and the traffic, so we quote after a site survey rather than over the phone. As a rough guide, automating a pair of sound existing swing gates on a domestic driveway is the least expensive option; a new sliding gate with groundworks, ducting, a new power supply and access control is considerably more. What we will not do is quote a low figure and then discover the groundworks. The survey is free and the quotation is itemised so you can see what each element costs.
How often should an automatic gate be serviced?
Annually as a minimum for a lightly used private driveway. Six-monthly for commercial sites and anywhere the public or residents can reach the gate. Quarterly for high-traffic industrial entrances. Frequency is driven by duty cycle and by who uses the entrance: the more movements and the more untrained users, the more often it needs checking. Every service visit should include a re-test of the impact forces, because they drift as the gate wears.
Will my gate still work in a power cut?
Every system we install has a manual release so the gate can be operated by hand, and we show you how to use it at handover. If you need the gate to keep working automatically through an outage, which matters on rural properties and on sites with no pedestrian alternative, we can fit battery backup or a UPS. On sites without a practical mains route we also install solar-assisted operation.
Can you upgrade my existing gate instead of replacing it?
Usually, yes. If the leaves, posts and hinges are structurally sound, the cost of non-compliance is almost always in the controls and the missing safety devices rather than the gate itself. We retrofit modern control boards, obstacle detection, photocells and safety edges, then force-test the result and issue fresh documentation. That is typically a fraction of the cost of a new entrance.
Do you work with managing agents and multi-site operators?
Yes. A good share of our commercial work is portfolio maintenance for facilities managers and managing agents. That means one contractor and one point of contact across all your sites, planned maintenance rounds, a written report and compliance log per visit, and consolidated reporting. We also carry out portfolio-wide compliance surveys where you need to establish the position across a number of inherited gated sites at once.
Are you insured, and do you provide certification?
Yes. We hold public liability insurance, and every installation and upgrade is handed over with a risk assessment, recorded force-test results and a declaration of conformity. Service visits produce a written report that feeds into an ongoing compliance log. If you need that evidence for an insurer, a managing agent or an HSE enquiry, it is the documentation they will ask for.
What is the difference between access control and a crash-rated barrier?
Access control manages who comes in and out: intercoms, fobs, ANPR, barriers and gates. Hostile-vehicle mitigation is designed to physically stop a vehicle being used as a weapon, and uses impact-tested products certified to IWA 14 or PAS 68. They are very different specifications at very different costs. Most sites need the first. We will tell you plainly which one your site actually requires.
Still not sure?
Describe the entrance and what you want it to do. We will tell you what is involved and what it is likely to cost, before anyone comes out.