Intercom installation and repair in Cape Town
Audio, video and GSM intercoms fitted and wired to the gate motor, so you can see who is at the gate and let them in without walking down the driveway. New installations, and repairs to systems somebody else put in.
- Wired to your gate motor
- GSM options with no cable run
- Repairs as well as new installs
Intercom installation
Free survey and quote
Which one actually reaches you?
Four ways to answer the gate, and the right one is mostly decided by one thing: how far the gate is from the house, and whether there is a route for a cable. Read across the row that matters to you and the choice usually makes itself.
| Compare | AudioWired. You hear them, they hear you | VideoWired. A screen inside shows the gate | GSMA SIM in the gate station calls your phone | Wi-Fi doorbellAn app on your phone, over your own Wi-Fi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you actually get | A handset inside rings. You talk to whoever is at the gate and press to let them in. | The same, with a picture. You see who it is before you decide, which is the whole point for most people. | Your cellphone rings like a normal call. You talk, then press a key to open the gate. | Your phone shows live video of whoever pressed the button, and you talk through the app. |
| Cable from the gate to the house | Yes, but a thin one and an easy run. | Yes, and a heavier cable. This is usually the biggest single cost. | None. The station only needs power at the gate. | None to the house, but your Wi-Fi has to actually reach the gate. |
| Works when nobody is home | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ongoing cost | None. | None. | Airtime or a small data bundle on the SIM. | None, unless the maker charges a subscription for recording. |
| Where it struggles | You are answering blind. Fine for a short driveway, less so at a street gate. | Long cable runs, especially where the route has to cross a paved driveway. | Weak mobile signal at the gate, and a SIM nobody remembers to top up. | Wi-Fi that does not stretch to the gate, which is most long driveways in Cape Town. |
| Who it suits | A short driveway, and the tightest budget that still does the job. | Anyone who wants to see the person before the gate moves. | Long driveways, holiday houses, and letting the domestic or a delivery in from work. | A front door or a gate close enough to the house for the router to reach. |
If you are unsure, the short version is this. A long driveway or a street gate points at GSM, because there is no cable to run and it still works when you are at the office. A short driveway and you at home most days points at wired video, because it is cheaper to run and there is nothing to top up.
What the job covers
New systems, extra handsets on a system you already have, and repairs to intercoms somebody else installed. Every installation carries a 12-month workmanship warranty, and the survey and quote cost you nothing.
- Audio, video and GSM intercom systems
- GSM units that ring your cellphone, wherever you are
- Wired to the gate motor for remote gate release
- Extra handsets and additional units
- Multi-unit systems for flats and complexes
- A camera at the gate alongside the intercom
- Repairs to intercoms somebody else installed
- Cabling run in trunking or conduit
What sets the price
Priced at the free survey. The handset count and the cable run from the gate to the house are what move the figure.
- Audio, video or GSMAudio is the cheapest. Video costs more for the screen and the thicker cable. GSM costs more up front and adds a SIM, but needs no cable to the house at all.
- The cable runThe single biggest variable on a wired system. A gate ten metres from the front door is a short morning. A gate at the bottom of a long driveway, with the cable to go under a paved section, is not.
- How many handsetsOne at the front door, or one on each floor. Flats and complexes need one per unit, which is a different class of system.
- Gate motor integrationWiring the intercom to release the gate is a small job on a motor that is already in, and free to include if we are fitting the motor at the same time.
- New install or repairA dead handset, a corroded gate station or a broken cable is a repair, and repairs are quoted on what we find rather than on a system price.
- A camera at the gateSome people want the intercom and a CCTV camera on the same post so the gate is recorded, not just viewed. That is a CCTV add-on priced with the camera work.
All prices include installation and setup. The site survey and the written quote cost you nothing.
The point is not talking. It is not walking down the driveway.
An intercom on its own tells you who is there. Wired to the gate motor, it lets you deal with them without leaving the house, which is the part people actually wanted. Nearly every gate motor has a trigger input already, the same one the remote uses, so on a motor that is in and working this is a short job.
If we are fitting the motor and the intercom on the same visit, the link between them is included rather than quoted as a second job.
Gate motors, prices and what they includeWorth asking for at the same time
- A camera on the same postThe intercom shows you who is there while they are there. A camera records the gate whether anyone rings or not, which is the half that matters afterwards.
- A keypad for people you trustA code at the gate for a domestic, a gardener or family, so they are not phoning you to be let in twice a week.
- A second handsetOne at the front door and one upstairs, so nobody sprints for the gate at eight in the evening.
All three are cheaper on the same visit than as a call-back, because the cable is already open.
Multi-unit systems
A block is a different job from a house: one panel at the gate, one handset per unit, and a set of trustees who need a number they can put in front of owners. We walk the site first and quote per unit in writing.
One station, one button per unit
A panel at the gate with a button per flat, or a keypad where a visitor dials the unit number. Which one suits you is mostly about how many units there are and how much wall you have.
A handset in every unit
Each unit answers its own calls and releases the gate for its own visitors. Nobody ends up being the block's doorman.
Quoted per unit, after a walk
We walk the block, look at the existing risers and trunking, and quote in writing per unit so the body corporate can put a real number in front of the owners.
Staged around the residents
Common areas and cable runs first, units by arrangement. Nobody loses their intercom overnight while the job is halfway done.
Already have one, and it is not right
A good share of the intercom work we do is fixing something somebody else installed. These are the faults we see most, and what each one usually turns out to be. Note how many of them are the cable rather than the hardware.
It rings, but there is no picture
Either the camera in the gate station or one broken core in the cable to the house. We test the cable before quoting a new station, because a station is the expensive end and the cable is usually the guilty one.
They cannot hear you at the gate
The speaker or the microphone in the gate station. Both corrode, and a west-facing post in Cape Town takes sun and salt air all afternoon, so this is one of the most common calls we get.
The open button does nothing
Nearly always the link between the intercom and the gate motor rather than the intercom itself. Usually a relay contact that has burnt, or the pair of wires at the motor board that has worked loose.
It died after a storm
Water in the gate station, or a surge that came down the cable. The station sits outside and takes the weather first, so it is the first thing we open.
The GSM unit stopped ringing
Airtime, nine times out of ten. Then the SIM itself, then signal strength at the gate. We check them in that order because that is the order they actually fail in, and the first one costs you nothing.
It works, but only sometimes
Almost always the cable. A joint sitting in a garden bed, a core that has gone green, or a run that was buried straight into the ground without conduit. Intermittent faults are cable faults until proven otherwise.
What Cape Town homeowners say
Read all 14 on Google“Exceptional service, making everything simple while working efficiently. Honestly there's nothing more a customer can ask for.”
“Really kind people, fast and reliable. They were done within a few and even walked me through the process. Would highly recommend.”
“It was very quick for them to respond and they were very helpful and nice. Thank you for your services.”
How a job runs
Nothing gets ordered, drilled or invoiced before you have seen the number in writing.
Free site survey
We come out, look at the property and work out what the job actually needs. No charge, and no obligation to go ahead.
A written quote
You get the price in writing before anything is ordered or drilled, itemised so you can see what you are paying for.
Installation
Certified, insured technicians. Cabling run properly in trunking or conduit rather than stapled along a skirting board.
Testing and handover
Signal checked on a meter, cameras live on your phone, remotes paired. We show you how it works before we pack up.
The rest of the entrance
Gate, garage and intercom are usually the same driveway and the same afternoon. Doing them together means one survey, one quote and one set of remotes rather than three companies and three call-outs.
Gate motor installation
Sliding and swing gate automation, supplied, fitted and set up. Battery backup so it still opens when the power is off.
From R4,500Garage door motor installation
Sectional, roll-up and tip-up door automation, plus repairs to motors somebody else fitted. Battery backup so the door still opens when the power is off.
Free quoteQuestions we get asked
How much does an intercom cost in Cape Town?
The unit is the small part. What moves the figure is the run from the gate to the house: a gate ten metres from the front door is a short morning, and a gate at the bottom of a long driveway, with the cable to cross a paved section, is not. We publish real prices for DStv, CCTV and gate motors because those jobs price consistently. Intercoms do not, so we survey the route first and give you the figure in writing. The survey and the quote are free.
Can I answer the gate from my phone?
Yes, with a GSM intercom. It has its own SIM card, so it rings your cellphone like a normal call wherever you are and you press a key to open the gate. That is what makes it the popular choice for letting a delivery, a domestic or a contractor in while you are at work. Some wired video systems also offer an app, but the app usually depends on your home Wi-Fi and your router being up.
Can you connect an intercom to the gate motor I already have?
Almost always. Nearly every gate motor has a trigger input, which is the same input the remote uses, and the intercom simply drives it. On a motor that is already installed it is a short job. If we are fitting the motor and the intercom together it is included rather than quoted separately.
Do I have to dig a trench for the cable?
Sometimes, and often not. If there is existing conduit from the gate we use it. If there is a wall or a fence line to follow we run it in trunking. Where the only route crosses a paved driveway and there is nothing already in the ground, that is when a GSM unit usually works out cheaper and neater than the trenching would.
Will a Wi-Fi video doorbell work at my gate?
Only if your Wi-Fi genuinely reaches the gate, and on most Cape Town properties with a driveway it does not. We will test the signal at the gate before recommending one rather than fitting something that drops calls in the first week. Where the signal is not there, a GSM unit does the same job over the mobile network instead.
Do you install intercoms in flats and complexes?
Yes. Multi-unit systems for blocks of flats, security complexes and body corporates, with a panel at the gate and a handset in each unit. Larger sites get a walk-through and a written quote per unit before anything is ordered, so the trustees have a real number to take to the owners.
Do you repair intercoms somebody else installed?
Yes, and it is a good share of the intercom work we do. Dead handsets, a gate station that has corroded, a release that stopped triggering the motor, water damage after a storm. We test the cable before condemning the hardware, because an intermittent intercom is a cable fault far more often than it is a faulty unit.
Does a GSM intercom need airtime?
Yes. It uses a normal SIM, so it needs airtime or a small data bundle to place the call. Set up a recurring top-up and forget about it: an empty SIM is the single most common reason a GSM intercom goes quiet, and it gets mistaken for a broken unit constantly.
Can I have a camera at the gate as well?
Yes. An intercom lets you see who is there at the moment they ring. A CCTV camera on the same post records the gate whether anyone rings or not, which is the part that matters afterwards. Plenty of customers do both at once, and it is one visit and one quote.
Which parts of Cape Town do you cover?
All of it. Northern Suburbs, Southern Suburbs, City Bowl, Atlantic Seaboard, the Deep South, Helderberg and the Cape Flats. If you are inside greater Cape Town we will come to you, and the survey costs you nothing.
Get an intercom quote
Tell us the suburb and roughly how far the gate is from the house. Free survey, written quote, and nothing ordered until you say go.
067 706 5216Free site survey. No obligation. 12-month workmanship warranty.