What to Ask Before Motorising an Old Gate

A lot of Sydney homes already have a decent manual gate. Motorising it can save the cost of a new gate and keep a look you like. But a gate that was built to be pushed by hand a few times a week is not automatically ready to be driven by a motor several times a day. Before you commit, work through these questions with your installer.

1. Does the gate move freely by hand?

This is the most important test, and you can do it yourself. Push the gate through its full travel. It should move smoothly, without catching, lifting or needing a shove at any point.

If it drags, a motor will drag it too, and the motor will wear out faster, run hot, or trip its obstruction sensing for no apparent reason. Stiffness is usually caused by worn wheels, a bent track, sagging hinges or a gate that has dropped out of square.

Ask: What needs fixing before a motor goes on, and what will that cost compared with a new gate?

2. Is the frame sound?

Look for rust at the bottom rail and welds of steel gates, rot in timber gates, and cracks in aluminium joints. A motor adds stress at specific points, such as where the gear rack is fixed on a slider or where the motor arm attaches on a swing gate.

Ask: Is the frame strong enough to mount the rack or motor bracket, and how long is the gate likely to last?

3. What are the posts and pillars like?

A swing gate motor pushes against the post the gate hangs from. Older brick pillars, common on Federation and interwar homes across the North Shore, Inner West and St George, can be hollow or have soft lime mortar. Timber posts can rot at ground level.

Ask: Will the existing posts carry the load, or do they need reinforcing or replacing?

4. How heavy is the gate?

Motors are rated by gate weight and width. A solid timber-clad slider or a wrought iron double gate can be a lot heavier than it looks. Installers commonly work with brands such as BFT, Centurion, ATA, Nice, FAAC and DACE, and each has models for different weights.

Ask: Which motor would you use, and why is it the right size for this gate?

5. Where will the power come from?

A gate motor needs a power supply near the gate. If there is no outlet close by, a cable needs to run from the house, often under a driveway or path. In NSW, electrical wiring work must be done by a licensed electrician.

Ask: Who will do the electrical work, and is it included in the quote? Is a low voltage motor with battery backup an option?

6. What happens if the power goes out?

Sydney has its share of storm-related outages. Most motors have a manual release so you can open the gate by hand, and some run on batteries for a period.

Ask: Where is the manual release, how does it work, and can you show me when the motor is fitted?

7. How will the gate be made safe?

An old manual gate was never designed for powered movement. Gaps between a slider and its post, or between a swing leaf and the wall, can become pinch points. The Australian and New Zealand safety standard for electric gate drives is AS/NZS 60335.2.103.

Ask: How will the setup handle obstruction detection? Where will safety beams go? Are there pinch points that need guarding?

8. How will we open it?

Think about everyone who uses the gate. Remotes for the cars, a keypad for the kids or carers, an intercom for visitors. Adding these at the same time as the motor is usually simpler than adding them later. See our page on intercom, keypad and remote access.

9. Do I need approval?

Motorising an existing gate does not usually change how it looks from the street. But if the work involves a new or taller gate, new pillars, or a property in a heritage conservation area, check with your council. In NSW, fences along a road boundary in a conservation area cannot be exempt development.

10. Would a new gate be better value?

This is the question to ask last, once you know the answers above. If the gate needs new wheels, a new track, new hinges and new posts before it can be motorised, the total may be close to the price of a new automatic sliding gate or swing gate that is designed for a motor from the start.

Next step

Read more about gate automation, then send us a photo of your gate and your suburb. We pass your enquiry to an independent local installer who will assess it on site and quote directly.