Electric Gates by the Numbers: Install Times, Bollards and Retrofits

Electric gate quotes can look very different from one company to the next, but most of the difference comes down to a handful of numbers: how long the job takes, how wide the entrance is, what is already there and how much automation you want. Charting those figures makes quotes far easier to compare.

Time on site

• Standard installation: around 1 day, where the pillars are sound and surface-mounted motors are used
• New posts needed: around 1 to 2 days, as concrete needs 24 to 48 hours to cure before the gates are hung
• Complex installation: around 2 to 3 days for in-ground motors, long cable trenches or smart home integration

A typical electric gate installation runs through seven stages: posts and groundworks, hanging the gates, fitting the motors, electrical connection, safety devices, access control, then testing and handover.

Retrofit or replace?

If the gates you already have are sound, adding motors is usually the cheapest way to an automated entrance. Typical starting prices:

• Swing gate retrofit, entry level: from around £1,800
• Sliding gate retrofit, entry level: from around £2,400
• Swing gate retrofit, higher specification: around £2,600
• New gates with automation: from around £3,800

The catch is condition. A gate that drags, binds or sits on leaning posts needs fixing first, because a motor will expose a mechanical problem rather than cure it. A specialist in automating an existing gate will check the weight, hinges, pillars and alignment before recommending a motor.

Bollard spans

Where a gate will not fit or will not get consent, rising bollards are charted by the width they cover:

• 1 bollard: narrow entrances and single-vehicle access
• 2 bollards: standard residential driveways
• 3 bollards: wider drives and shared access roads
• 4 bollards: commercial entrances, up to around 6 metres in one system

Wider openings can use two systems run together. Because rising bollards lower flush with the ground, they suit listed and conservation-area properties where a gate would change the look of the frontage.

Safety is not optional

Every automated gate in the UK should meet BS EN 12453, with photocells, safety edges and force limitation tested before handover, and be serviced once a year. Any quote that leaves these out is not comparing like with like.

A few figures make it much easier to see where a quote is heading. For more on fabricators and the numbers behind their work, see our manufacturing category.