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Fast, Reliable Gate Access Control Across North Richland Hills
Gate access control in North Richland Hills usually means one of three things: a keypad that won’t accept the code, a remote that stopped working after a storm, or a slide gate that opens and then refuses to close because a safety photocell drifted out of alignment. Most of the time we fix the problem the same day we hear about it, and the price is agreed before we start. Call (817) 241-4067 and you’ll get Hal or someone from his crew, not a recording.
We’ve worked gates in North Richland Hills long enough to know the soil here moves. That’s not a metaphor. The black clay under Tarrant County swells every spring and shrinks every summer, and your gate posts move with it. Access control hardware that worked fine in April can be binding against the strike plate by August, not because anything broke, but because the post is now sitting an inch out of plumb. More on that below, because it changes how we approach nearly every Gate Access Control job in this city.
Why Gatewood Fence & Gate Is North Richland Hills’s Preferred Gate Access Control Company
Hal Gatewood started this shop in 2001, and his name is still on the door. That matters when you’re hiring someone to touch the gate that keeps your family and your vehicles safe. In North Richland Hills, we show up in clean, marked trucks, and the person who answers your call is the same person you’ll see in your driveway. No dispatch queue, no call center three states away. A live person answers around the clock, every day of the year, because gate problems don’t wait for business hours.
Our customers in North Richland Hills keep us busy with exactly the kind of work other companies want to avoid: fixing what’s already there instead of selling a whole new system. A keypad that won’t take a code is usually a wiring issue or a dead board, not a reason to replace the whole setup. A gate that reversed and reopened last night probably has a photocell out of level. We weld on site, we carry parts for all nine major brands we service, and every job we do in North Richland Hills carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If it’s not done right, one call brings us back. No runaround.
We’re proud to serve North Richland Hills and the surrounding communities, and we’ve built our reputation on showing up when we say we will. If you want to check up on us, Hal’s address and license number are published. Drive by the shop if you like. The name is on the building, and the building is down the road. That’s the oldest accountability there is.
Our Gate Access Control Services in North Richland Hills
Keypad Entry
Keypad entry is the most common access control setup we service in North Richland Hills, especially on the older western and central subdivisions where wood swing gates dominate. A keypad that doesn’t work in spring but works in summer is almost always a post movement problem, not an electronics problem. We check the strike alignment before we ever open the keypad housing. If the post has heaved, we reset it and remount the latch so the code works every time, not just when the ground happens to be dry. Keypad entry in North Richland Hills typically runs $180-$420 depending on the hardware and whether a post reset is involved.

Remote Control
When a remote stops working, the first thing we check in North Richland Hills is the operator’s receiver board. Hailstorms and hard freezes like the one we had in February 2021 are rough on exposed electronics. A receiver that sits in direct sun and rain year-round takes a beating. We reprogram remotes, replace receivers, and when we install new ones, we mount them where they’ll be protected from the worst of the weather. Most remote control fixes in North Richland Hills run $90-$240, and we stock remotes for LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, and more.

Phone Entry
Phone entry systems are common in North Richland Hills for shared driveways and properties where a delivery driver or visiting family member needs to reach a homeowner to be let in. These systems tie into a phone line or cellular network and let you open the gate from your phone. We install and repair cellular phone entry systems that work without a landline, which matters in the older parts of North Richland Hills where copper phone lines have been retired. A new phone entry system in North Richland Hills typically runs $600-$1,400 installed, depending on the gate type and the number of entry points.

Card Reader
Card readers are standard on the HOA communities along the northern edges of North Richland Hills, where homeowners association gates control access to entire neighborhoods. We service card readers and the operators they tie into, including the keypads and remote receivers that share those systems. A card reader that reads some cards but not others is usually a grounding issue, and on this clay soil, ground rods shift too. Card reader replacement in North Richland Hills runs $350-$900 depending on the system and whether we need to pull new wire.
We also handle safety photocell alignment, post resetting and leveling, and remote control and keypad reprogramming as standalone services. On a slide gate, a photocell that’s out of alignment even a quarter inch can make the operator refuse to close or reverse for no reason a homeowner can see. On a swing gate, the same soil movement makes the latch bind against the strike. We fix the alignment, not just the symptom.

What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in North Richland Hills
We service nine major gate brands, and in North Richland Hills we regularly see LiftMaster, FAAC, BFT, Linear, Viking, Ghost Controls, DoorKing, Elite, and Mighty Mule. We keep common parts for FAAC, BFT, Linear, and Viking on the truck when we come out to North Richland Hills, because driving back to the shop costs you time and us a return trip. When a part isn’t on the truck, we can usually have it the same day through our local suppliers. You won’t wait a week for a board that shipped from another state.
Common Gate Access Control Problems We See in North Richland Hills Homes
- Spring rain heaves the post, and the keypad latch jams. In North Richland Hills, the spring wet season pushes moisture into the expansive clay, and the soil swells. That movement tilts gate posts just enough that a keypad-controlled latch no longer lines up with the strike plate. The code is fine. The post moved. We reset it.
- Summer drought shifts the slide rail, and the operator refuses to close. By August, the clay has contracted and the slide gate rail sags or shifts. The safety photocells, which sat level in the spring, are now off-axis, and the operator sees a false obstruction and reverses. We realign the photo-eyes and re-level the rail.
- Hail and freezes kill exposed keypad and receiver boards. North Richland Hills is not gentle on outdoor electronics. Hailstones the size of marbles crack keypad housings, and ice forces water into receiver boards. When a board is fried, we replace it and weather-seal the new one so it doesn’t happen again next storm season.
- Wood swing gates from the 1970s and 1980s sag at the hinge post. Most of the older subdivisions in North Richland Hills still have cedar wood privacy gates that are 30 to 50 years old. The gate sags in the hinge post, not in the middle. When the post sags, the access control latch doesn’t matter, because the gate won’t align to anything. Fix the post first. Then the latch works.
Pricing for Gate Access Control in North Richland Hills, TX
Here’s what we charge in North Richland Hills for common access control work. A keypad replacement or repair runs $180-$420. Remote control reprogramming or receiver replacement runs $90-$240. A safety photocell realignment on a slide gate runs $120-$250. Post resetting and leveling, which is nearly always needed after a wet North Richland Hills spring, runs $300-$600 depending on post size and whether we’re repouring the footing or just re-setting and re-compacting. A full phone entry system install runs $600-$1,400. Card reader replacement runs $350-$900.
Every price is quoted and agreed before we start work. You will not get a different number at the end. We also honor $40 off any repair over $200, a free second opinion on any written estimate, no trip charge inside Tarrant County, and a permanent 10% discount for seniors and veterans. Call (817) 241-4067 for an exact quote, and we’ll give you a number you can hold us to.
We Also Serve Cities Near North Richland Hills
If you live just outside North Richland Hills, we cover the whole corner of the county. We’re regularly in Hurst, Haltom City, Bedford, and Colleyville. A lot of our Gate Access Control in North Richland Hills work comes from a neighbor of a customer in one of those cities. If you’re close, call us. Same live person answers, same 90-Day Done Right Promise applies.
Serving North Richland Hills, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the North Richland Hills area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Gate Access Control in North Richland Hills
Your keypad itself is probably fine. What changes between spring and summer in North Richland Hills is the soil under your gate posts. Spring rain swells the expansive clay, and the summer drought shrinks it back. Your post moves with that cycle, and the latch that accepted your code in April no longer lines up with the strike plate in August. We see this every year, and the fix is resetting the post, not replacing the keypad. Call (817) 241-4067 and we’ll take a look.
Yes. We install solar gate openers on shared driveways in North Richland Hills all the time, including slide gate operators where running line voltage isn’t practical or a shared utility trench would be a dispute. Solar works well in North Richland Hills because the open, flat lots on the west and central sides of the city get honest full sun. We size the panel and battery to handle the gate’s daily cycles, and we anchor the post so the panel stays aimed even when the clay moves.
Once a year at minimum, and twice a year if the gate sits on a long run of undisturbed clay. We tell our North Richland Hills customers to expect a photocell realignment after the spring rains and again in late August or September, after the summer drought has done its worst. That’s the realistic rhythm on this soil. It’s a quick job, and it prevents the frustrating “gate opens but won’t close” calls we get every August. Call us and we’ll add it to our route.
Only if it has a battery backup or a manual release you can actually reach. Most standard gate operators have a manual release key, but on a dark night with the power out, fumbling for a release on a gate you can’t see is a lousy experience. We recommend battery backup for any automated gate in North Richland Hills, especially for shared driveways where two households depend on the same gate. We install backup systems that hold a charge and open the gate automatically when utility power drops. Call (817) 241-4067 to talk through what your gate currently has.
You can use the vehicle gate, but we almost always recommend a separate pedestrian gate when there’s room for one in North Richland Hills. Running a full slide or swing gate every time a person walks through adds wear to the operator and the hinges, and on this clay soil, the more cycles a gate goes through, the sooner it drifts out of level. A separate pedestrian gate with its own keypad or card reader also means a kid or a delivery driver doesn’t have to step through a vehicle opening. It’s a better setup, and we’ll tell you straight if your layout can support it or if you’re better off sharing the main gate.
Call Gatewood Fence & Gate for Gate Access Control in North Richland Hills
If your keypad is dead, your remote stopped working, or your slide gate won’t close and nobody can figure out why, call us. We’ll answer the phone, ask a few questions, and give you a straight answer about what it will take and what it will cost. No estimate changes at the door. No pressure to replace something that can be fixed. Just a local shop that has been doing this since 2001, standing behind the work with a 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
Call (817) 241-4067 for a free estimate in North Richland Hills. Hal or someone from his crew will pick up.
Written by Hal Gatewood, Owner at Gatewood Fence & Gate, serving North Richland Hills since 2001.





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