Intercom systems
IP and analogue intercoms, audio and video, at the gate and the door.
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The bell rings at the gate. It is 8:15pm, you are upstairs, and you aren't expecting anyone.
You can walk down in the dark and look. Or you can answer from where you are, hear the voice, see the face, and decide. Most of the time it is a delivery. The gate stays shut until you say so.
What is an intercom system?
An intercom system is a call button and speaker at your gate or door, linked to a handset inside or an app on your phone. An audio intercom lets you talk to a visitor. A video intercom lets you see them too. Either way, you can open the gate for them without walking out to it.
An intercom lets you answer the gate from inside, or from your phone when you are out. We supply, install and repair audio and video intercoms for homes, complexes, estates and businesses.
Audio, video or your phone
An audio intercom lets you talk to the visitor. A video intercom lets you see them as well, day or night, before you say a word.
A smartphone intercom sends the call to your phone. You can answer the gate from the office, the shops or the airport.
- Audio intercoms for two-way talk at the gate or door
- Video intercoms, so you see the visitor, day or night
- Intercoms ringing your smartphone, so you can answer when you are out
- Wired systems where cabling is easy, wireless where it isn't
- Multi-unit systems for complexes, office parks and apartment blocks
Built for the gate, not the lounge
A gate intercom lives outside. It stands through Highveld storms, summer heat and the dust from every passing car. We fit weatherproof units at gates, driveways and boom gates.
Height counts for more than people expect. A station mounted too high shows you the top of a head. Mounted too low, it shows a chest and a parcel.
We place the camera where a face appears, at a height a driver can reach. We keep it away from lights blinding the lens at night.
Intercoms for complexes and estates
A complex gate takes a hundred visitors a day. Each one needs to reach the right unit, and no other.
Multi-unit intercoms give every home or office its own button, code or number. Residents answer from inside, or from their phones, and open the gate for their own visitors.
Linked to access control, the gate can also keep a record of who was let in, and by whom.
Access control →Mircell GSM intercoms
For gates, complexes and estates, we install Mircell GSM intercoms from Comb Communications. A GSM intercom works like a cellphone at the gate: it calls your phone over the cellphone network, so no cable has to run from the gate to the house. You manage who gets in through phone numbers, PIN codes and remotes.
It suits long driveways, farms and estates, where running a cable to the house would mean digging up the garden.
When a resident moves out, their number comes off the list, and the gate stops answering them.
When the intercom stops working
An intercom fails in small ways first. The picture goes grainy, or the sound drops out on one side, and then the gate opens from the handset one day and not the next.
Weather, wiring and power cause most of these faults. Our service department repairs audio and video intercoms at gates and doors. If a repair isn't worth it, we quote for a new unit instead.
An intercom nobody trusts is an intercom nobody answers, and then the gate is back to guesswork.
Intercom repairs →Intercom systems: our gallery
Related services
Access control
From a remote or keypad at the gate up to network fingerprint and facial recognition readers, and cameras with built-in AI analytics. You decide who comes in, and when.
Biometric access control
Fingerprint access for gates and doors. A finger can't be lost or lent, and it can't be left in the car.
Boom gates and turnstiles
Boom gates and turnstiles for busy entrances where vehicles are controlled and monitored. They let one car or one person through at a time, so nobody slips in behind someone else, and nobody gets in without a record.
We offer service level agreements and finance for your intercom systems. Each one is a service contract with 24-hour support at night and on weekends.
Planning your security from the start? Read our home and business security guide, covering gates, access control, cameras, alarms and fencing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a GSM intercom?
A GSM intercom is an intercom with a SIM card inside, so it works like a cellphone at the gate. When a visitor presses the button, it calls your phone wherever you are, and you open the gate from there with a call or a short code. Because it needs no cable to the house, it suits long driveways, plots, complexes and estates where running a cable would mean digging up paving or a garden. It also suits people who are often out, since the call follows you to work or the shops. A GSM intercom needs a SIM card with airtime or a small monthly contract, and decent signal at the gate. We test the signal on the site visit before recommending one. Many units can also store a list of numbers allowed to open the gate by calling it.
Can I answer the gate from my phone?
Yes. With a GSM or smartphone intercom, a call from the gate comes through to your phone, and you can open the gate from wherever you are. A delivery at 11am on a workday no longer waits outside a locked gate, and you don't need to rush home for a plumber. A GSM intercom calls your phone like a normal call. A smartphone intercom uses an app and your Wi-Fi or data, and a video model shows you the visitor's face before you decide. Some systems let more than one phone answer, so whoever is free can take the call. On the site visit, we check the signal at your gate and how your home network reaches it. Then we recommend the type suiting your entrance and list it, with the price, on the written quotation.
Audio or video: which intercom do I need?
An audio intercom lets you talk to the visitor. A video intercom lets you see them too, before you open the gate. Video helps most at night, at a busy gate and when you're not expecting anyone, because a face tells you more than a voice. Audio intercoms cost less and suit a gate where you can see the visitor from the house anyway. Video intercoms show the picture on a screen inside or on your phone, and some record each visitor, so you can look back later at who called while you were out. If you're replacing an old audio unit, the existing cable can sometimes carry a video system, which saves digging. We look at your entrance, the distance to the house and how you'd like to answer, then recommend one on the written quotation.
Do you fit intercoms for complexes?
Yes. We install multi-unit intercoms for apartment buildings, residential complexes, estates and office parks. Each unit gets its own button, code or number at the gate, so visitors reach the right door and nobody has to buzz in a stranger for a neighbour. Residents open the gate for their own guests from a handset, a screen or their phone. Many complex systems can also give residents a personal code or tag, so the same panel works as access control. When someone moves out, their code comes off the system, and the new owner gets their own. For estates with a guardhouse, the intercom can call the guard first. We plan the system with the body corporate or managing agent, and our service department maintains it afterwards. A service level agreement adds regular visits and 24-hour support.
My intercom stopped working. Can you fix it?
Yes. Our service department repairs audio and video intercoms at gates and doors, for homes, complexes and businesses. The faults we see most are no sound, no picture, a dead handset, and a gate refusing to open from the handset. Common causes are damaged or corroded cables, power faults, lightning strikes, worn buttons and failed handsets. Many of these are quick fixes once the cause is found. When you contact us, tell us the make and model if you know it, and what the intercom is doing or not doing. A photo of the gate panel helps too. If the unit is too old to repair, or the parts are no longer made, we tell you plainly and quote for a replacement. Our intercom repairs page has more about the faults we fix.
Will my intercom work during load-shedding?
An intercom keeps working during load-shedding only if it has backup power. Some intercoms run from the gate motor battery, so they keep working as long as the motor does. Others run from the mains in the house and go silent when the power goes off, which means visitors can't reach you and you can't open the gate from the handset. GSM intercoms often have their own small battery, but it needs checking like any other. On the site visit, we check how your intercom is powered and how long it will last without power. Where it needs one, we add a backup battery sized for the outages you're likely to see. We also test intercom batteries at every service visit, because an old battery fails without warning, usually on the evening someone is waiting at the gate.
Where we work
Our teams work from our Kya Sands workshop, for homes, estates and businesses in Randburg, Fourways, Sandton, Midrand, Waterfall, Centurion, Roodepoort, Krugersdorp, Bedfordview, Edenvale and the West Rand. See all the areas we serve.
Talk to us about your home and business security needs
You shouldn't have to sit at the bottom of your own driveway, wondering whether the gate will close. With Paul's Gates you won't. Send us a message or chat on WhatsApp, and we will come and look.