Gate motor installation and repairs, from people you can phone

A gate motor can only be as good as the gate it drives. Before we quote, we check the gate itself: whether it runs straight on its track, whether the wheels and guides are in good shape, and whether it stops cleanly at both ends. A motor fitted to a gate that drags will struggle, wear out early and leave you stuck.

Then we match the motor to the job. A light gate at a family home and a heavy gate at a complex that opens all day need different motors. We also look at:

• Battery backup, so the gate keeps working when the power goes off.
• Safety beams, which stop a closing gate if a car, a child or a dog is in the way.
• Theft protection for the motor and battery, which are easy targets on a quiet street.
• Remotes for everyone in the household or on the staff list.

A sliding gate motor sits at the side of the gate and drives it along a toothed rack. A swing gate opens like a door, so it needs a motor arm on each leaf, plus room for the gate to swing without hitting a car or a slope in the driveway.

Which one you have changes the motor, the fitting and the quote. If you're not sure, a photo of the gate on WhatsApp is enough for Marco to tell you.

Gate motors tend to fail in familiar ways. These are the ones people describe when they WhatsApp us:

• The gate stops halfway, or opens and then won't close.
• The motor beeps, clicks or hums but the gate doesn't move.
• It works when the power is on but dies during a power cut.
• The remotes work from close by but not from the street.
• The gate has come off its track or jumps on the rack.

Many of these come back to a tired battery, a worn rack or wheels, dirt on the track or safety beams that have been knocked out of line. Some point to a damaged control card, often after a storm. You don't have to work out which it is. Describe what's happening or send a short video, and we'll take it from there.

Whatever make your motor is, send Marco a photo of the motor and its label. He'll tell you straight whether it's one we work on before anyone drives out.

We don't publish prices, because the gate matters as much as the motor. These are the things that move the quote:

• The type of gate (sliding or swing), its weight and its length.
• The condition of the gate, the track, the wheels and the rack.
• How busy the gate is: a home, a complex or a business entrance.
• How far the motor is from a power point.
• Extras such as safety beams, theft protection and extra remotes.
• For repairs: what's actually wrong and which parts it needs.

On many properties, the gate is the weakest point in the wall. It's where people wait to follow a car in, and it's where you're most exposed, sitting in the driveway waiting for it to close. A gate motor that works every time is the start. A camera on the gate, an electric fence that carries on over the gate pillars and a garage door motor that lets you close up without getting out of the car make the whole driveway safer.

DBS Security has 25 years in the trade and is owned by Pieter de Bruyn Jr and his son Marco. They quote every job themselves, and a specialised technical team does the fitting. Get a free quote for a gate motor, or check the areas we cover.