Gate Installation in Highland Park, TX

Automatic Gates We Install in Highland Park

The right gate depends on where it sits on the lot. In Highland Park, that usually means the alley or the front building line, since the town’s rules keep fences and gates out of the front yard.

Alley-Access Slide Gates

Plenty of Highland Park homes have rear garages that open directly onto an alley. For these properties, a slide is a great option. These gates roll sideways along a ground track or use a trackless cantilever roller system mounted beside the gate’s opening. Because the gates slide parallel to your property line, they never swing out into the alley or across your parking pad. The trade-off for this configuration is wall space: you’ll need clear fence or wall length beside the opening at least as long as the gate, and closer to one and a half times that for a cantilever model.

Alley & Driveway Swing Gates

A swing gate opens on hinges, the same way a door does. It fits best where the ground behind the gate is level, and there’s room for it to open inward. Deep lots usually have that room, while a tight alley parking pad often doesn’t.

Double Swing & Bi-Parting Gates at the Front Building Line

Because the town doesn’t allow fences in front of the required front yard line, driveway gates here sit along or behind the front building line, often set between masonry walls or columns. A bi-parting gate has two leaves that meet in the middle, and each leaf gets its own opener arm. Splitting a wide opening this way keeps each leaf shorter and lighter, so the gate needs less room to swing.

Pedestrian, Courtyard & Pool Gates

Whether securing a courtyard or a side yard, walk-through gates can be equipped with keypad access or mag locks (magnetic locks) that keep the gate securely sealed until a code is entered or someone is buzzed in. For safety compliance, any gate that opens into a pool enclosure has to close and latch on its own, and we plan that hardware in from the start.

Multifamily & Commercial Entry Gates

Apartment entries and retail parking areas put far more daily cycles on a gate than a single home ever will. For these properties, we install heavy-duty operators, barrier arms, card readers, and telephone entry systems sized to the traffic the gate will actually see.

Gate Materials and Custom Designs

A Highland Park gate should look like it was built for the house. The town’s code makes a similar point about fences along the front building line, which have to be compatible with the house behind them and the homes next door. Below are some common materials used for local properties.

Wrought Iron & Steel Gates

Iron and steel are the strongest options for a driveway or alley gate, and with basic care they last for decades. We finish them in powder coat or paint that holds up to North Texas sun and hail. Metal also satisfies the town’s rule against wood or other flammable fencing along the front building line, which makes it the default for most driveway gates here.

Wood & Steel-Frame Wood Gates

Wood gives alley gates and side yards a warmer look. A steel frame behind the boards carries the weight, and that keeps a wide wood gate from sagging off its hinges over time. It also takes strain off the opener. Keep wood to the alley and side yards, though, because the town doesn’t allow it along the front building line.

Matching Older Homes and Existing Ironwork

Many Highland Park houses date to the town’s early decades and still have their original iron railings and masonry columns. To complement these historic structures, we match the picket style, finials, arched tops, and finish so a new gate sits naturally beside what’s already there. You can browse our gate designs to see styles we’ve built around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Ready to upgrade your Highland Park property with a gate that complements your home’s style? Contact us today to explore custom gate designs and find the perfect match for your property.

Gate Openers & Access Control We Install

The opener and access devices decide how you’ll use your gate every day. Here’s what we install and what each one does for you.

Swing & Slide Gate Openers

The opener, also called an operator, is the motor that moves the gate. Before installation, we first size an opener to the gate’s weight and length, which matters with heavy ornamental iron. An undersized opener strains on every cycle and wears out early, whereas one rated for the load runs smoothly for years.

Solar & Battery Backup Power

Solar openers make sense when a gate sits far from an outlet, like an alley gate at the back of a deep lot where trenching for power would tear up the yard.

While solar handles distance, backup batteries manage power reliability. Available as a separate add-on, backup batteries keep your gate fully operational during a power outage, which is a security feature we highly recommend for every automatic gate system.

Keypads, Remotes & Smartphone Access

Keypads let family members, housekeepers, pool techs, and landscapers in with their own codes, which you can change anytime. Remotes, on the other hand, stay in the car for easy, one-button entry. On select supported openers, such as LiftMaster models with myQ, you can also open the gate from a phone app and monitor whether it’s properly closed.

Intercoms & Telephone Entry

A telephone entry system is a call box at the gate. When a guest presses the button, your phone rings and you can open the gate from wherever you are. Video models add a camera, so you see who’s there before letting them in, enhancing security and safety.

Exit Loops & Safety Sensors

An exit loop is a driveway sensor that tells the gate a car is leaving, so it opens automatically and drivers don’t get stuck inside. Similarly, photo eyes (photoelectric sensors) send a beam across the opening and stop the gate if a child or car breaks its path. Because we prioritize safety, these essential devices are standard on every gate we install, especially in busy, shared alleys with both pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

Highland Park Rules That Shape Your Gate

The Town of Highland Park has specific rules on where fences and gates can go. Planning around them up front keeps projects from stalling during permit review, and it’s a big part of every site visit we do here.

Building Permit for New Fences and Gates

The town requires a building permit before a fence goes up. The application includes a lot plan drawn to scale showing the house and where the new fence and gate will sit, along with their specs, and masonry walls need engineer-stamped plans on top of that. Before any work starts, we’ll walk you through what the application requires so you can be sure your installation is up to code.

No Gates in the Front Yard

In residential districts, you can’t build fences or walls in front of the required front yard line. They can, however, go along or behind the front building line and stand up to 8 feet tall. That’s why Highland Park driveway gates sit beside the house, set well back from the curb.

Side, Rear & Alley Fence Height

Side and rear yard fences and walls may stand up to 8 feet tall. That height is measured from the neighbor’s side, and the town’s final inspection checks it, so a lot sitting higher than the one next door gets a little less height on its own side. The town will verify this measurement during the final inspection.

Alley Fences Need a Gate Opening

Any fence along an alley must have an opening at least 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall, closed with a gate, for fire access and trash removal. On many properties, we pair the automatic vehicle gate with a separate walk gate to meet that rule. You also get a quick way out to the bins without running the big gate.

Pool Gates Must Self-Close and Self-Latch

Pools have to be fully enclosed by a fence or wall at least 4 feet tall, with no gaps larger than 4 inches. Every gate into the enclosure also needs a self-closing, self-latching device. When a driveway or side gate opens into the pool area, we build that into the final design.

Sight Lines at Streets and Alleys

Fences and gates can’t block a driver’s view near intersections anywhere from 24 inches to 8 feet above the curb. The clear zone runs 25 feet back where two streets meet and 15 feet back where a street meets an alley. We check for it on corner and alley-mouth lots during the site visit.

Driveway Width Limits

Residential driveway approaches are limited to 9 to 20 feet wide at the property line, with no more than two per lot. We plan the gate opening around your approach width so the columns line up with the drive.

Rules get updated from time to time, so confirm current requirements with the Town of Highland Park before you finalize a design.

What Affects the Cost of Automatic Gate Installation

Every gate is quoted after a site visit. Two gates of the same width can land at very different prices once power, columns, and access control are added in, and the main cost drivers are listed below:

• Gate width, height, and material
• Swing or slide gate, and single or double leaves
• Opener type and size, and whether it’s solar or wired
• Running power to the gate, including trenching
• Access control: keypads, intercoms, telephone entry, exit loops
• Columns, masonry tie-ins, and site prep
• Custom design and matching existing ironwork

We’ll explain each line on the quote before installation so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

Why Highland Park Homeowners Choose 4 Sure Gates

Highland Park homeowners trust 4 Sure Gates for all their residential gate needs for several important reasons:

• Highland Park gate repair, automation, installation, and maintenance since 2005
• Insured gate installers
• Free estimates on new installations
• Gates and openers sized to the lot, the alley, and the gate’s weight
• Clear quotes and honest timelines before work starts
• One call for installation, automation, repair, and maintenance

Call (817) 965-7873 today to set up your free estimate. One call solves it all!

Testimonial

The folks at 4 Sure Gates in are terrific. They have installed new equipment and repaired old equipment for us. They have also been very helpful with how to keep a system going. Their response time is quick and always fix the first time. Could not recommend them enough for gate repair.”

Mike Baker

Gate Opener Brands We Install

Our installers work with the major residential and commercial opener brands:

• LiftMaster
• Nice Apollo
• Viking Access Systems
• Eagle Access Control Systems
• Elite Gates
• All-O-Matic
• US Automatic
• Chamberlain

After inspecting your property, we’ll recommend the opener that fits your gate’s size and how often it runs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)