Gate Motor Installation in South Florida

These are the installed starting prices we work from, and which one applies depends on the gate. Sliding: a Benincà BULL from $3,050 for a residential rack-driven operator, $3,950 for the 1,000 lb BULL 1024 SE and $4,950 for the heaviest commercial BULL; LiftMaster from $5,300 for an RSL12UL, $6,950 for an SL3000UL and up to $9,250 for an industrial slider. Swing: a LiftMaster LA400UL package at $3,950 and an LA500UL at $4,450, each for a single leaf, or $5,350 and $7,150 for a double gate with the control board, primary arm and secondary arm, with commercial swing operators from $6,950 to $9,150. LiftMaster barrier arms from $7,450, arm included. Every one of those includes the monitored photo eye UL 325 requires. CAME is the lower cost line: swing from $2,950 for a single leaf AXI, slide from $3,050 with a BXV, and a GARD LT4 barrier from $4,950, with a pair of photo eyes included on the swing and slide prices. Quoted separately after the site visit: the second operator for a double gate on the other swing models, running power out to the gate, trenching, repairing the gate itself, loop detectors, access control and permits, because those depend on the property and not on the motor.

A service call is $199 at a home and $249 at a commercial property or HOA gate, and either one is credited toward the repair when you go ahead with it. The common sliding gate jobs have set prices: $649 to replace a stainless steel drive chain up to 30 ft, plus $22 a foot over that, $349 for a plain steel chain, and $249 for one V groove wheel or $399 for a pair. Near the coast we recommend stainless, because plain chain rusts in salt air, stretches and starts jumping the sprocket. Anything else, such as a control board, a motor or photo eyes, is quoted after the diagnosis.

We are an authorized LiftMaster dealer, covering the LA400UL and LA500UL residential swing operators and the CSL24UL, CSW24UL and SL3000UL commercial operators. We are also an authorized dealer for SEA, CAME and Linear, and we supply and service Benincà and Viking Access.

Both are residential swing gate operators. The LA500UL is the heavier-duty unit, built for larger and heavier gates and higher cycle counts. Gate weight, length and how often it runs decide which one is correct.

Usually yes, provided the gate is structurally sound and hangs and rolls correctly. We check the gate, hinges, posts and track first, because automating a gate that already binds only breaks the operator.

Keypads, card readers, telephone entry systems and remote controls, all installed and programmed as part of the job.

Every operator has a manual release so the gate can be pushed by hand. Benincà's BULL 6 and BULL 8 sheets list a manual release with a key lock, so it takes a key rather than just a handle to free the gate. Battery backup is what keeps the gate working through the outage itself: Benincà lists it as an option on the 24 V DC BULL units and builds it into the BULL 1524 FC, and LiftMaster's RSL12UL, CSW24UL and CSL24UL carry it as standard. Worth having in South Florida storm season.

It depends on the operator, and every manufacturer publishes two limits: a maximum tested gate weight and a maximum suggested gate length. Benincà's BULL sliding range starts at 800 lb and 20 ft on the BULL 424 R and runs up to 4,000 lb on the BULL20MA, which is built for sliding gates up to 40 ft long. LiftMaster rates its swing operators per leaf instead, from 16 ft and 550 lb on the LA400UL. We measure your gate rather than guessing it from a photo.

That is the duty rating, and it is the number most quotes leave out. Benincà rates the BULL 6 MA at 80 cycles a day, the BULL 8 MA at 120, the 24 V DC BULL 424 R at 200 and the BULL 624 R at 300. A house driveway uses a handful a day. A gated community entrance runs through hundreds, which is why it needs a commercial unit and not a bigger residential one.

Most do. Benincà lists 115 V AC on the BULL 6 and BULL 8 and on the commercial BULL10MA, BULL15MA and BULL20MA, with a 230 V version available on request. The 24 V DC BULL units take the same 115 V supply and run the motor at 24 V. If there is no power at the gate today, trenching a supply out to the end of a long drive can cost more than the operator, so a solar operator is usually worth pricing alongside it.

Slower than people expect, on purpose. Benincà lists 8 inches per second for the BULL 6 MA and BULL 8 MA, 9 inches per second for the BULL 6 FC and BULL 8 FC, and an adjustable 12 inches per second on the 24 V DC BULL 424 R and 11 on the BULL 624 R. The commercial BULL10MA, BULL15MA and BULL20MA run at 35 feet per minute. A 20 ft driveway gate is therefore a matter of seconds, not instant.

Benincà builds the BULL both ways, and the ratings differ. On the 115 V sheets the rack-driven BULL 6 MA is rated to a heavier gate than the chain-driven BULL 6 FC, 1,200 lb against 1,000 lb, while the chain unit is rated for more cycles a day, 100 against 80. At the 424, 624 and 824 sizes the rack and chain versions carry the same gate weights and lengths. Which one suits your gate is a decision we make at the site visit, not off a spec sheet.

Monitored entrapment protection, which UL 325 requires on any automatic gate. In practice that is a pair of photo eyes across the opening that stop the gate for a car, a pet or a child, and on many sites a sensing edge along the leading edge of the gate that reverses it on contact. We fit them, set them and test them in front of you at handover. A gate without them is not compliant.

A free consultation and site check first, then a written proposal, then the installation itself, and finally testing and a walkthrough so you know how to operate and release the gate.

Gate Care is $439 a year for one operator at a home and $559 for a dual swing gate, each with two visits a year and priority scheduling. For a business it is $1,199 a year for one operator, and $1,559 for a community gate operator with its barrier arm, each with a visit every quarter and one service call a year at no charge. Another gate or operator at the same home is $129 a year, and another operator or barrier arm at the same business or community is $359. In the Florida Keys it is quoted per property.

Hinges, rollers, wheels, the chain or rack and the operator gear cleaned and lubricated; photo eyes, sensing edges, obstruction reversal and the force setting tested and adjusted; the battery backup tested under load; the open and close limits adjusted; hardware tightened; and the gate's travel checked for binding and sag. You get a written report with photos by email after every visit. Parts and repairs are priced in writing first and never done without your approval.

Yes. A single gate tune up is $249 at a home and $329 at a business or community gate. Two home visits booked one at a time are $498 against $439 on Gate Care, and four commercial visits are $1,316 against $1,199 on Gate Care Commercial. The plan also books the visits for you and adds priority scheduling at a home or a free service call at a business.