You can buy a gate automation kit online for a few hundred pounds, and I understand the appeal. But after 16 years of fixing gates – including plenty of DIY kits – I'd steer you away from it. Here's why.
1. A powered gate can kill
This isn't scaremongering. There have been fatal accidents involving powered gates in the UK and Ireland, including children. A heavy gate that doesn't stop when it hits something is a serious hazard. Setting up the safety devices and closing forces properly takes the right knowledge and the right test equipment.
The Problem With DIY Electric Gate Kits
Online gate kits look tempting. They promise automatic gates for a fraction of the price of a professional installation, and the box seems to contain everything you need. The trouble is that a gate kit is only part of a safe system, and most of the hard work isn't in the box.
Kits are often too light for real Cumbrian gates, which are heavy, wide and exposed to strong winds. Motors that are working at their limit wear out quickly, and the settings needed to keep closing forces safe are easy to get wrong.
Professional Gate Automation Instead of a Kit
When we automate a gate, the motor is chosen to suit the gate's weight, width and use, and we fit CAME automation with the safety devices your entrance needs. The system is then force tested to BS EN 12453, so you know it will stop and reverse before it can hurt anyone.
You also get the paperwork a kit can't give you: a Declaration of Conformity, the manuals and a 3-year parts and labour warranty. If you've already fitted a kit that isn't behaving, we can look at it and tell you honestly what it needs.
2. You become the manufacturer
When you put a motor on a gate, you're creating a machine. Under machinery law – in Great Britain, the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 – whoever does that is treated as taking on the manufacturer's responsibilities. That includes meeting the safety requirements, testing, and issuing a Declaration of Conformity.
Most people fitting a kit at the weekend don't know any of that – and many kits don't come with what's needed to meet it.
3. Kits are often underpowered
Many cheap kits are sold as "suitable for gates up to X kg", but real gates – especially solid ones in our wind – need more. An underpowered motor struggles, overheats and fails early.
4. No proper safety devices or testing
Many kits come with one pair of photocells at best. A gate may need more – safety edges, extra photocells, guarding – depending on the gate and where it is. And nobody's force testing a DIY gate with calibrated equipment.
5. The electrics
A gate needs a properly protected supply, run outdoors and often underground. That's electrical work to BS 7671, and it needs to be done by someone qualified.
6. Parts and support
When a no-name kit fails, it often can't be repaired – there are no parts and no manual worth the name. You end up buying a second system anyway.
7. Insurance and selling your house
If someone's hurt by a gate that wasn't installed properly, you could be liable. And buyers' solicitors may ask for the paperwork when you sell.
What I'd suggest instead
If budget's the issue, talk to me. A complete electric swing gate installation typically starts from £2,500, fitted, tested and certified. That's not far off the real cost of a kit once you add an electrician, extra safety devices and your weekends.
Already fitted a kit and it's playing up? I can take a look and tell you honestly whether it can be made safe or should be replaced.
Call or WhatsApp Adrian on 07854 037752.
Questions people ask me
Is it legal to fit my own gate motor?
It's not illegal to do the work, but the person who automates the gate takes on the legal responsibility to make it safe and compliant.
Can you fix a DIY gate kit?
Sometimes. If it's a known brand and the gate is suitable, I may be able to make it safe. If not, I'll tell you.
Are cheap gate motors any good?
Some are fine for very light gates, but many aren't up to real-world use in our weather.