Our Process & Standards
The same steps on every job, from a squeaky hinge to a new community entrance, and the standards an automatic gate has to meet before we hand it back to you.
From the first call to the final test
- The first call You usually talk to Declan directly. He asks what the gate is doing or what you want built, and whether there is anything urgent, like a car stuck inside, and tells you what a visit involves.
- Assessment At the property we look at the whole gate system and the site around it: posts, hinges or rollers, the gate itself, the operator, sensors, access devices, power, drainage, and for a new gate the room, slope and soil.
- Estimate A clear price before any work starts, written for new gates and bigger jobs. We explain what is needed now and what can wait, and we do not sell you what you do not need.
- Workmanship Posts plumb in proper footings, gates hung level and square, stainless or coated hardware near the coast, wiring in conduit with sealed entries, and a tidy site when we leave.
- Testing and walkthrough Full cycles, force and reversal tests on every safety device, remotes and codes checked, and the manual release shown to you, so the gate keeps working safely and smoothly long after the crew leaves.
The standards we work to
Automatic gates are covered by national safety standards, and the work around them by Florida law and local rules. In plain words, this is what each one means on your job.
| Standard | What it covers | What it means on your job |
|---|---|---|
| UL 325 | Safety of gate operators: usage classes from single-family homes (Class I) to restricted sites (Class IV), and entrapment protection | The operator suits the gate and its use, and the photo eyes or safety edges it monitors are fitted and tested on every job |
| ASTM F2200 | How automated vehicular gates are built: small openings near the ground, guarded rollers on slide gates, positive stops | New gates are built to it; on older gates we point out pinch points, open rollers and missing stops |
| Florida Building Code and local permits | Structures, footings and wind loads; permits issued by the city, village or county where the property is | We tell you which permits your address needs, and posts and footings are sized for the gate and the wind |
| National Electrical Code | Wiring, outdoor outlets, grounding and conduit, usually under an electrical permit | Power to the gate is run in conduit to code; surge protection is added where lightning is a risk, which here is everywhere |
| Sunshine 811 (Florida law) | Marking buried utility lines before digging, requested at least two full business days ahead | No post hole or trench is dug until the lines are marked |
| HOA and fire-access rules | Architectural approval in associations; an approved way for firefighters to open gates on roads they use | We work to your HOA guidelines and check what the local fire district asks for on community gates |
Our checklist on every job
- On time, or a call ahead if something changes.
- The cause fixed, not only the symptom: sealing, drainage or surge protection where they are the real problem.
- No safety device bypassed, ever, and any missing one pointed out.
- Hardware that suits the salt: stainless or coated fasteners and hinges near the coast.
- Every cycle tested before we call the job done, with you watching if you like.
- A plain explanation of what was done and what to keep an eye on.
Questions about how we work
Do you give written estimates?
For new gates, openers and larger repairs, yes: the estimate lists the gate, the hardware, the operator and access devices, the post and power work, and any permit steps. For a simple repair we tell you the price at the gate before we start, and you decide.
Who does the work?
Declan Hayes does a lot of the work himself, with the crew on bigger jobs, so the person who assesses your gate is often the one who fixes it.
What if something is not right after you leave?
Call us and tell us what you see. The testing at the end of a job is there to catch problems before we go, but if something shows up later, we would rather hear about it than have you live with it.
Related pages
Want to see how we would handle your gate?
Call Declan. He will ask the right questions on the phone, explain what the visit involves and what it costs before anyone comes out.