Knox/Supra: Each Fire Department has a unique key it uses to gain access to buildings in its jurisdiction during an emergency. We will provide and install the key switch (provided to us by Knox or, in San Francisco, a special SUPRA key box) that when activated by the fire department will open your gate. Only the fire department has the special key and they may come to test it regularly.

More and more of us are getting used to the convenience of driving over the Bay Bridge and paying toll with our FASTRAK device. This same technology is also available to control access to your front gate.

There are several systems we have found successful: Sirit, TransCore, HID, AWID and Paxton. Please call us to discuss the best solution for your home.

Vehicle detection loops are very common as a way of making a gate safely automatically close after a vehicle enters or leaves a property. A vehicle detection loop installed outside the gate can also serve as an “entrance" loop. For instance, as a vehicle moves over the loop, the loop tells the gate to open. Often homeowners who have entrance loops request that they be timed to turn off so that during the day they operate as entrance loops and at night they don’t – requiring a visitor to call the house in order to gain entrance to the property.

The use of card readers and “fobs” is more and more common in commercial environments although some homeowners find this access control system convenient also. Systems using cards require an access control panel. This can be a stand-alone panel just for one reader or it can be a complex enterprise-wide system for a large corporation or university. These access control systems allow programming of the exact doors, days and times that each particular fob will gain access. They also record when and which cards have been presented to the readers.

We work with many systems including: Linear, HID, DoorKing, AWID, Keri and SecuraKey. If you are considering such a system please call us to discuss how cards or fobs might tie into your home's access control system...maybe you can eliminate traditional cut keys.

Keypads allow the gate to be opened from the outside by someone who knows the code. There are many brands and levels of features. Some are wireless others hard wired.

Brands we recommend include: Liftmaster, Linear, MultiCode, DoorKing and AlarmLock and Kaba Ilco for pedestrian gates.

Everyone is familiar with the ubiquitous “garage door opener” or “clicker” or, technically, radio frequency transmitter. These remain the favorite device for opening a gate for the home owner or very frequent visitor. There are many brands to choose from that perform similar functions. We’d like to match your gate and garage door transmitters so that a one-, two-, or three-button device can serve two purposes. Most transmitters can also be programmed into the “HomeLink” modules in your car(s).

Some common brands are: Liftmaster, Linear, MultiCode, Doorking and Genie.