Fencing
A gate and its fencing are usually specified and installed together.
Security and access
A powered gate is a machine, and the law treats it like one.
Automated swing, sliding and cantilever gates, barriers, access control, intercoms and entry systems, plus repairs and servicing for a gate you already have. Tell us what you need and we will introduce you to installers whose accreditation and insurance we have already checked.
What we cover
Typical electric gates projects
- Automated swing gates: the common choice where there is room behind the opening for the leaves to swing clear.
- Sliding and cantilever gates: for a sloping drive, a short approach or an opening too wide to swing.
- Automating an existing gate: where the gate and posts are sound enough to carry a motor and the safety equipment.
- Barriers and access control: rising arm barriers, bollards and controlled entry for shared or commercial parking.
- Keypads, intercoms and entry: audio and video entry, fobs, remote handsets and smart home integration.
- Servicing, repairs and upgrades: including bringing an older installation up to current safety standards.
What we will ask you
So we can match you accurately, the enquiry asks the width of the opening and what is behind it; whether the ground slopes; whether there is an existing gate to automate or this is new; whether power is already at the gate; and how it will be used day to day, including deliveries and pedestrians.
The slope and the space behind the opening decide swing against sliding before anything else does, and power at the gate is the item most often missed when people budget. “Not sure” is always an option; the installer will survey it properly.
Why choose Kalvaro
The safety file is the part that actually matters
An automated gate is classed as machinery, so a compliant installation needs a risk assessment, force testing against the permitted limits, safety edges and photocells where the assessment calls for them, and a declaration of conformity handed to you at the end. Two children were killed by automated gates in the UK in 2010, and that is why the standards exist. A gate installed without that file is not a cheaper gate. It is an unsafe one, and the responsibility for it sits with the owner.
Verified before introduction
Trading history, public liability insurance and identity, verified before a partner sees your enquiry.
Safety competence checked
Where an installer claims DHF or Gate Safe accreditation, we verify it against the issuing register.
Established businesses only
Companies with a trading history and a real identity, not a number on a leaflet.
How it works
Four steps, one conversation
1Tell us about your entrance
A few guided questions about the opening, the ground and how it will be used.
2We review your requirements
A member of our team reads it personally.
3We introduce gate specialists
A small number of suitable, vetted partners.
4You choose with confidence
Compare, decide and start on your terms.
Electric gates questions
Frequently asked
Often, yes. As a general rule a gate or wall next to a highway used by vehicles needs permission above one metre, and above two metres elsewhere. Conservation areas and listed buildings are tighter again, and a gate across a shared or adopted access raises separate questions. It is cheap to check with the local planning authority first and expensive to find out afterwards.
An incorrectly installed one is. The hazards are crushing, shearing and trapping, and they are most dangerous to children, who are the right height for them and do not read a gate as machinery. The deaths of two children in 2010 led to a national safety campaign and the current industry standards. A properly installed gate with force limitation, photocells and safety edges is safe. The difference is entirely in the installation.
A risk assessment for your specific gate, the results of a force test, a declaration of conformity with UKCA or CE marking for the gate as a complete machine, operating instructions including the manual release, and a maintenance schedule. If an installer cannot explain what those are, that tells you what you need to know.
Sometimes. It depends on the weight and condition of the gates, whether the hinges and posts can carry the extra load and the forces involved, and whether the ground is level enough through the full arc. Timber gates in particular move with the weather, which an automation system does not tolerate well. A survey will tell you honestly, and a good installer will say no when the answer is no.
Swing gates suit a wider opening with clear space behind. Sliding and cantilever gates suit a slope, a short approach, or where there is nowhere for a leaf to swing. Every compliant automated gate has a manual release so you can open it by hand when the power is off, and battery backup is a common and sensible addition. Make sure you are shown how to use the release before the installer leaves.
The professional you choose does, directly with you. Pricing is agreed directly between you and the professional you choose. Kalvaro makes the introduction and takes no part in pricing, so we neither set nor guarantee what the work will cost.
Related services
Often planned together
Resin driveways
Gate posts, ducting and loop detectors are far easier before the surface goes down.
Security systems
Access control, intercoms and cameras are often one scheme with the gate.
Tell us about your entrance
A few minutes now, and an accredited installer surveying it properly. Free to property owners, with no obligation.