How Do You Keep the Cost of Fixing Your Security Gate Down?May 31st, 2015

It’s a nightmare scenario:

You decided to throw an unforgettable dinner party. You’ve been planning it for months.

Everyone you know is coming. And some of these people are important professional contacts.

You can’t wait to see the looks on their faces and the comments they make about your property.

This is going to be great!

After spending hours, days, and even weeks perfecting your property, your first guests arrive. This is it…the moment of truth.

Their car sits in front of your gate. They press a button to request access.

…And instead of getting access, they hear a few obnoxious, metallic grinding and squeaking sounds. And instead of opening, your gates swing out from the middle just a few inches.

There’s not even enough room for your guests to walk in!

Can you imagine anything worse?

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry. Instead, you can do a couple things:

Take Care of Some of the Routine Maintenance Yourself

If you just like to be handy, or save money, you can do some driveway gate maintenance tasks on your own.

A few things you can do:

• If you have ornamental wrought iron gates, use a mixture of soap and water and a soft brush to clean them a few times each year. Rinse all the soap away. Ideally, dry the gates by hand.
• If you see rust, use sandpaper to get rid of it right away. If you don’t, it gets larger and harder to remove. Be extra careful to not scratch the non-rusted parts of your gate. You can buy rust inhibiting products to prevent future rusting.
• You can also repaint on your own if the paint is flaking off. Sand your gates first to remove the loose and peeling paint. Apply 2-3 coats of rust inhibiting primer before painting. Finally, apply a coat of paint designed specially for wrought iron.

Hire Professionals to do The Work for You

When you let maintenance go, it only costs more. If you don’t have the time to maintain your driveway gate, hire a professional.

You can expect to pay a minimum of $125 for the first trip. And hourly rates for travel and labor run $70 – $100 per hour. You’ll also have to cover the cost of parts.

You can keep these costs down by giving the repair professionals as much information as possible before they arrive:

• The type of gate you have
• The manufacturer
• Gate model
• Names of additional access control and safety devices installed, plus the manufacturer and model of each
• Be as concise and specific as possible when you describe the problem

That reduces the diagnostic time gate repair professionals have to spend. Talk to your gate repair professional about a preventative maintenance plan to reduce ongoing repairs.

Above all, choose the method that lets you have the most joy in your life.