Projects / Richardson, TX 75080
28 x 8 Cedar Slide Gate in Richardson
A 28-foot by 8-foot sliding driveway gate finished in cedar, driven by an All-O-Matic SL100 operator, with a 50-foot permitted electrical run from the house.
- Location Richardson, TX 75080
- Size 28 ft x 8 ft
- Finish Cedar
- Operator All-O-Matic SL100
- Electrical 50 ft permitted run
Twenty-eight feet of cedar on a single sliding panel
At twenty-eight feet wide and eight feet tall, this is a large panel by residential standards, and the size drives every decision behind it. A leaf this long cannot swing: there is no arc on the property that would clear it, and the leverage on the hinge side would be punishing. It slides instead, travelling along the fence line and leaving the full driveway width open. Why we choose one over the other is set out on our sliding gate installation page.
The visible face is cedar, matched to the fence run so the driveway opening disappears into the line when the gate is closed. Cedar holds its shape through the North Texas wet-dry cycle far better than treated pine, which is why we use it above ground on jobs like this. The comparison is in our wood fence climate guide, and the build method is on our wood fence installation page.
Fifty feet of trench, permitted and inspected
An automated gate needs a dedicated, stable power supply, and on this property the panel sat roughly fifty feet from the gate. That meant trenching the yard, running conduit the full distance, and backfilling once the line was in. Electrical run distance is one of the largest swing factors in an automated gate budget, which is why we measure it on the first visit rather than discovering it later. The cost breakdown is in our gate installation cost guide.
The work was permitted with the City of Richardson, with Star Gate & Fence as the contractor of record, and we called 811 for the utility locate before breaking ground. Most DFW municipalities require an electrical permit for a hardwired gate operator, and the rules change from city to city. Ours are explained in the DFW fence and gate permit guide.
An All-O-Matic SL100 sized to the panel
The gate runs on an All-O-Matic SL100 slide operator, mounted on its own pad at the end of the travel path. Operator selection on a panel this size is not a catalogue decision: the motor has to start and stop a long, heavy leaf smoothly, hold it on line, and do it repeatedly without overheating. Undersizing shows up as burnt boards and worn drive gears within a year or two.
Our employees set the travel limits, aligned the photoelectric sensors, and tested the obstruction reversal before handing the gate over. Every automated gate we install is wired to the UL 325 monitoring requirements and built to ASTM F2200 geometry, including the gap limits that keep a moving slide panel safe. The detail is on our automatic gate installation page.
The gate and the fence built as one structure
A slide gate only works if the fence it runs against is straight and stays straight. Richardson sits on the same expansive black clay as the rest of the Metroplex, and a post set shallow will heave and lean within a few seasons, pulling the gate out of alignment with it. Our crews pour footings to the one-third depth rule for exactly this reason, explained in our guide to why fences lean in Dallas clay soil.
Because the same crew built the fence, set the gate posts, poured the operator pad and ran the electrical, nothing had to be coordinated between trades or corrected after the fact. That is the argument for keeping the whole scope under one contract, described on our gate installation page.
Operator fittedAll-O-Matic SL100
- Type Sliding
- Gate 28 ft x 8 ft cedar
- Power 50 ft trenched run
- Permit City of Richardson
A slide operator specified for a twenty-eight foot panel, fed by a permitted fifty-foot electrical run trenched from the house.
All All-O-Matic operators we install →Richardson project photos
The finished cedar slide gate closed and open, the trenched power run, and the All-O-Matic operator at the end of the track.
Services and guides behind this build
Planning an automated gate in Richardson?
Send us your opening width, the distance from your electrical panel, and how the drive is used. We measure on site, handle the permit, and quote the work in writing.