Automatic gate repair · McKinney, TX
Automatic Gate Repair in McKinney, TX
We repair automatic gates in McKinney. Swing gates, slide gates, and the operators that run them.
Estimates are free. Tell us what the gate is doing and where in its travel it stops. That usually narrows the cause before a tech is on site.
McKinney is one of the cities we cover.
Free estimates · McKinney, TX
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Tell us what the gate is doing and where it is.
The work
What we repair on McKinney gates
Gate problems land in 2 places. The operator, or the hardware it moves.
The operator
The motor unit that drives the gate. A gate that hums without moving is getting power and being stopped somewhere downstream. A gate that starts and stalls is usually fighting drag in its own travel. We repair and replace the operator itself, its control board, the limit switches, the keypad, and any safety device on the same circuit. Gate opener repair goes through how those parts fail.
The hardware
The leaf itself, plus the posts, hinges, track and rollers carrying it. Worn rollers and bent track account for most slide gate complaints. Sagging hinges and shifted posts account for most swing gate complaints.
The manual release
The mechanical disconnect a person uses to work the gate by hand. McKinney’s fire code has specific expectations about manual access, and a seized or painted-over release is a common find.
Automatic gate repair covers the full range.
What the city requires
McKinney's gate rules come with a named equipment list
If your gate crosses a fire lane in McKinney, the city sets out what it expects in writing — down to a named equipment list.
The rules come from the Fire Marshal’s Office, in a document called the Gate Access (Vehicular) Control Guide — Version 2.0, dated May 2026. It applies to Group E, R, H and I occupancies. The guide spells those out as “schools, day cares, apartment complexes, hotels/motels, gated residential communities, institutional facilities,” among others.
For automatic gates, the guide requires compliance with UL 325 and ASTM F2200. It also sets a minimum equipment list:
A Knox KS-2 switch
A Tomar/Opticom two- or three-way receiver, at the entrance and the exit
A Knox padlock, for access to the manual release
Battery backup
That last one catches people out. The battery backup “must default to open position on power loss until power restored”. A secured gate that loses power does not stay locked shut in McKinney.
It opens.
Manual gates are still allowed. They need a dual locking mechanism so the owner’s lock and the required Knox padlock work independently. The guide is blunt about the detail that trips installers up: “pad lock interlocks are not acceptable”.
Then there is the part that catches property owners mid-project. Installing or modifying a gate across a fire apparatus access road requires a construction permit. And “all gates must be inspected prior to being placed in operation.” On a commercial building permit, that inspection comes before the fire department approves a CO release. A gate that has not been signed off can hold up occupancy of the building behind it.
To be clear about what we do here
All of that is the city’s process, not ours. The McKinney Fire Marshal’s Office handles permits, submittals, and inspections. We repair gates. We do not supply or install Knox hardware, Opticom receivers, or battery backup systems. We do not prepare permit submittals or perform fire inspections. What we can do is tell you why the gate itself is not working.
How McKinney is built
McKinney's older and newer properties
Gates in McKinney span a wide range of equipment ages.
The city has an established historic downtown district. It also has large-scale master-planned development — Craig Ranch alone covers about 2,200 acres. So a gate put in during a recent build and a gate that has been on a property for years are rarely the same generation of equipment. Different operators, different control boards.
That mostly matters for parts. Gate opener repair covers what changes as an operator ages.
Who the gate belongs to
Commercial, HOA and residential gates
The occupancies McKinney's fire code names are mostly ours to work on.
Apartments, communities, hotels and institutional
These run slide gates with access control and heavy daily traffic. Those gates fail from use. When the entry gate stops, every resident call lands on the property manager.
Residential drive gates
These fail more often from weather, ground movement, or a single worn part.
Either way the first question is the same. What is the gate doing, and at what point does it do it? Commercial gate repair covers the commercial side.
Questions
Common questions about gate repair in McKinney
Do I need a permit for an automatic gate in McKinney?
Yes, if the gate crosses a fire apparatus access road. The Fire Marshal's guide requires a construction permit for installing or modifying a gate in that position. You also submit a scope of work, a site plan, gate details, and documentation for the equipment used. Those submittals go to the Fire Marshal's Office.
Does McKinney require an inspection before the gate can be used?
Yes — the guide requires it before the gate goes into service. If yours is tied to a commercial building permit, plan for it early: the sign-off sits ahead of the fire department's CO release, so a gate still waiting on it can hold up occupancy.
What happens to my gate in a power failure?
McKinney requires battery backup that defaults to the open position until power is restored. The gate's own manual release is what lets it be moved by hand in the meantime. That release is a part we repair. — see gate opener repair.
My gate opens but won't close.
Usually a photo eye or a limit switch, though there are several other causes. That one has its own write-up.: why a gate opens but won’t close.
Next step
Free estimates
One thing to check first: whether the operator still moves the gate at all, or whether the gate itself has stopped moving freely. Those are 2 different repairs.
Estimates are free, on a residential drive gate or a commercial entrance either way.
Call {{PHONE_NUMBER}}, or send us the details on the form.
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