Leander Metal Gates is the metro's trusted expert for solar gate operators, specializing in pad-mounted slide drives, articulated arm operators and panel and battery sizing. We offer pole-mounted panels set above the tree canopy and dual battery banks.
Our team provides load calculations and photo eye wiring, delivering a gate that opens every morning with no power run to it for homes and ranches, for both residential and commercial projects. Our 14 years in business, 2-year workmanship warranty and more than 1,127 completed projects cover everything from a lone walk gate to a 20 ft pair at a ranch entry.
From counting your daily cycles to aiming the panel at the winter sun, our team handles every detail. Serving Leander and neighboring Lakeway, Georgetown and Cedar Park, we power the gates that sit too far from a house for a trench to make sense.
Call today for a free estimate, and we will walk the drive, read the shade and size the panel before you buy anything.
Numbers first
Hank, Lime Creek Road, Volente
A lower gate on a steep lot, 300 feet of rock from the nearest panel, under heavy cedar shade
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Hank's lower gate in Volente sat 300 feet of rock from the nearest panel, under heavy cedar shade, so we set a solar panel and dual batteries on a pole above the canopy and fitted an arm operator on his 14 ft leaf. The job was an estimated $2,000 to $3,100 and took an estimated 4 to 8 hours on site. We sized the panel to the winter sun and to his daily cycles, and no trench was cut across the rock while the batteries now hold through cloudy stretches.
A solar operator on a Travisso lot runs from a battery, and the panel only keeps that battery full. The gate never depends on the sun at the moment of opening, which is why a correctly sized bank at a Bryson gate rides through a week of clouds.
Three numbers set the size of a Northline or Twin Creeks install: how many times the gate cycles a day, how heavy the leaf is, and how many hours of direct light the panel sees in December. A family that opens a gate six times a day in Georgetown needs far less than a ranch with feed trucks in and out, and a leaf past 14 feet draws more current on every swing. We write those numbers on the drawing before we order a panel, so the choice at a Berry Creek gate is arithmetic and not a guess.
An operator added to a manual gate, solar or wired, is estimated at $1,850 to $3,600 and typically takes 4 to 8 hours to fit. A keypad, intercom or phone-entry system is estimated at $1,400 to $4,400 and usually takes 4 to 8 hours. A new one-leaf automated swing gate runs roughly $2,600 to $4,800, usually 1 to 2 days. Hank's solar install on Lime Creek Road came in at an estimated $2,000 to $3,100, inside the operator range.
A long single leaf with one arm and a keypad, for builder-lot drives with room on one side
A centered pair with two operators, for wide openings and a drive that stays level behind the line
One leaf running on a floor track, for a flat drive with side room and no swing space
A counterbalanced leaf on enclosed carriages, for caliche, crowned drives and heavy daily use
A person-width steel gate with a keyed latch, for walkways, side yards and courtyards
Motor, photo eyes and remotes fitted to a leaf that already hangs true
From a coded keypad to video calling, with visitor and courier codes set up
Welded panels in a 4 to 6 foot height, set on concrete posts with racked or stepped sections
Hammered pickets and collars at 5 to 6 feet, for period homes and estate frontage
Aluminum barrier at the height we confirm with the city, with a self-closing, self-latching gate priced apart
Blast to bare metal, treat rust and refinish, for sound iron with a failed finish
Steel or iron guards measured at the site, anchored to the stringer or the slab
Compact steel or iron spiral, with headroom and landing checked before anything is ordered
Steel or iron door with insulated glass, sized to a new or existing rough opening
Recurring visits for operators, safety devices and hinges, with a written service log
Steel slat panels and matching gate infill, priced by the run once the slat gap and height are set
Stainless cable on steel posts for decks and balconies, tensioned and checked at handover
Tempered glass panels with steel posts or a base shoe, set once the measured panels arrive
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
| Job | Est. investment | Est. duration on site |
|---|---|---|
| Operator added to a manual gate | Est. $1,850 to $3,600 per operator system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| Intercom, keypad or phone entry | Est. $1,400 to $4,400 per system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| One-leaf automated swing gate | Est. $2,600 to $4,800 per complete system | Est. 1 to 2 days |
| Walk-through entry gate | Est. $700 to $1,400 per gate | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| Scheduled gate service plan | Est. $89 to $112 per gate per month | Est. 1 to 3 hours |
Most solar installs we do on acreage west of Leander land in the middle of the estimated $1,850 to $3,600 operator range.
All prices here are Leander estimates and stay subject to change. The panel size, the battery count and the distance between the gate and the house decide the final price and the install schedule, and your written quote follows the site visit.
Solar wins when the trench is long, rocky or crosses a driveway, and a wired run wins when the gate sits close to a panel and sees heavy traffic. The table sets the two side by side.
| Factor | Solar operator | Trenched power run |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Gates far from the house or over rock | Gates within a short run of a panel |
| Est. added cost | Est. $2,000 to $3,100 for a complete 14 ft arm install | Est. $1,850 to $3,600 for the operator, before trenching |
| Trench work | None | Conduit across the drive, with rock cutting where it is shallow |
| Weak point | A shaded panel or an undersized battery | A cut line or a tripped breaker |
| Outage behavior | Runs from stored charge, then manual release | Runs from battery backup, then manual release |
Shade is the number one reason a solar gate quits, so we read the sky before we read the catalog. Leander lots shaded by live oak and cedar get the panel on a pole above the canopy, aimed at the December sun, and a lot with clear sky can mount it flat to the column. Volente and Lakeway hill lots tend to have a canopy over the lower gate, which is the Lime Creek Road story again.
A panel under shade on Hurst Creek Road makes a gate that works in July and fails in January. Pole height, tilt and a battery bank sized for the dull weeks fix it, and we leave that math on the drawing so you can see it.
A gate with no power run in Crystal Falls still has to reverse on contact and still has to let the fire engine in. Every operator we fit in Sunset Valley or Rollingwood gets monitored photo eyes and edges wired for each entrapment zone and tested at handover. Round Rock publishes gate guidelines that require a Knox key switch and an acceptance test by the Fire Marshal's Office before service begins, and that office can confirm the full text. Leander's fire department adopted a Knox-Box ordinance, so ask the Fire Marshal's Office whether Knox hardware belongs on your entry before we order it.
The leaf matters as much as the panel on Pillow Road, because a heavy leaf drains a battery faster than a light one. We build the frame from 11-gauge tube and 14-gauge infill, blast it, prime it in zinc and cure polyester powder in the oven, as on our steel gates and custom driveway gates. A lighter 14 ft single leaf means a smaller panel, so tube schedule and solar sizing are decided together.
We install solar operators across a 35-mile radius, and the work clusters on acreage and hill lots in Georgetown, Cedar Park and Lakeway, plus our service area page for the rest. Steiner Ranch and West Lake Hills entries often sit far below the house on a slope, and The Hills and Volente gates run under heavy tree cover. Rollingwood and Sunset Valley lots are smaller, so a short wired run usually beats solar there. West of US 183, Leander acreage has long drives and no power at the road, which is where most of our panels go.
Our lead welder builds the leaf and our installer sizes the battery set, so the person who reads your shade from Round Rock to Leander is the one who signs the drawing. After 14 years and 1,127 projects, we have watched what a cloudy week does to an undersized battery. Hank's Lime Creek Road gate in Volente is the model we hold each new panel to.
On a Behrens Ranch scale job, solar power pairs with gate operator installation when a manual gate gets its first motor, and with automatic driveway gates when a new leaf is on order. Naomi's Forest Creek entry in Round Rock shows the keypad side, and Owen's Rollingwood gate shows what a dragging leaf does to any operator.
Adding an operator to a manual gate is typically estimated at $1,850 to $3,600, with your written quote setting the final price.
A solar operator typically takes an estimated 4 to 8 hours on site once the leaf is hung and plumb.
Yes, in Cedar Park or anywhere nearby, because the battery bank is sized for the dull weeks and the panel only has to keep it topped up.
Yes, in Georgetown, if the leaf swings freely, because we replace the operator or add a panel kit to the one you have.
The gate opens by the manual release on every operator, and the safety devices keep working from stored charge, as they do on Lime Creek Road in Volente.
Ask the Fire Marshal's Office whether Knox hardware belongs on your entry, even in Round Rock, and we confirm it before the drawing is signed.
Yes, Georgetown and Lakeway get the same install as Leander, within about 35 miles of our shop.
Under our 2-year workmanship warranty we stand behind weld integrity, post plumb, hinge alignment and gate sag, and the operator makers cover motors and control boards for 1 to 5 years.
Call us, and we will walk the drive, read the shade and write an itemized quote.
The order of work
We tape the opening, shoot the slope and check the HOA or town rules before anyone prices steel.
You sign one scaled sheet listing frame size, coating and operator, and that sheet doubles as your review board packet.
Frames are welded in the shop and coated before delivery, so no grinding or spray paint happens on your drive.
Footings cure, then the leaf is hung and wired, and we run each safety device with you standing there.
Services
Where we work
Call us or send the form, and we will book a site measure and a written estimate.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
