Driveway Alarm Installation — Motion Sensors and Buried Probes
A long driveway, a shop out back or a house you cannot see the road from — a sensor at the driveway that chimes inside before the car reaches the door, set so the deer and the mail truck do not trip it.
JMB Builders does driveway alarm installation across the Twin Cities metro and out toward St. Cloud, for the wireless kits homeowners buy: Dakota Alert, Guardline, Chamberlain and similar. We set the motion sensor on a post or tree at the height and angle that catches cars and not the road, or bury a probe sensor at the driveway edge, and mount the receiver inside where you will hear it. Priced per unit, quoted from photos within one business day.
- Priced per sensor and receiver
- Motion, beam or buried probe sensors
- Quote from driveway photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
A driveway alarm is a sensor at the driveway and a receiver inside that chimes when something comes up. The kit is simple; the install is what makes it useful. A motion sensor set too high or aimed at the road chimes for every passing car. Set too low it catches the dog. Aimed across the driveway at the right height and angled away from the road, it catches vehicles and walkers and not much else.
On rural lots and long driveways the sensor is far from the house and the receiver's range matters. We mount the sensor on a treated post we set, a fence post or a tree, inside the distance the kit is rated for, and test the signal at the receiver before we call it done. Where the range comes up short we move the receiver or add the maker's repeater.
Buried probe sensors are the other type: a magnetic probe in the ground at the driveway edge that senses metal, so it ignores people and animals and only calls out vehicles. Those go in a shallow trench with the lead wire back to a transmitter on a post. Either kind runs on batteries or a small solar panel, so there is no wiring to the house.
What you supply
- The driveway alarm kit: sensor, transmitter and receiver, plus any extra sensors or repeater
- Photos of the driveway from the house, the spot you want the sensor, and where the receiver will sit inside
- The rough distance from the sensor spot to the house
- Whether you want to catch walkers and animals too, or vehicles only
What JMB supplies
- A treated post set in the ground when there is no post, tree or fence at the right spot
- Sensor mounted at the height and angle the kit calls for, aimed across the drive and away from the road
- Buried probe sensor trenched at the driveway edge with the lead run to its transmitter
- Receiver mounted or set inside, signal tested from the sensor before we leave
- A second sensor at a side drive, shop or walk-in gate in the same visit
- A hood over the sensor when sun or snow glare causes false alerts
How it is priced: per unit
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Motion sensor on an existing post or tree vs. a new post we set
- Buried probe sensor with a trench vs. a surface-mounted motion sensor
- Distance to the house and whether a repeater is needed to reach the receiver
- Number of sensors: one drive, or a second at a shop, gate or walking path
- Frozen or rocky ground for a post or a trench
One photo of the driveway looking toward the road from the spot you want the sensor, and a rough distance to the house, is enough to quote.
How long it takes
One motion sensor on an existing post and the receiver inside: an hour or two. Setting a post or trenching a probe sensor: half a day. Ground frozen solid pushes post-setting to spring.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Passive infrared motion sensor
The common kit. Senses heat and movement across a narrow cone. Mounted on a post facing across the drive, angled so the road is out of view. Catches cars, people and large animals; sensitivity and angle keep the smaller ones out.
Buried magnetic probe
A probe buried along the edge of the driveway that only senses vehicles. No false alerts from deer or walkers. The lead wire runs to a transmitter on a post nearby; best for a rural drive where wildlife and the mail truck are the problem.
Beam sensor pair
A transmitter and receiver across the driveway that alert when the beam is broken. Precise, but both sides need a post and a clear line between them. Good for a gate or a narrow drive.
Extra sensors and repeaters
A second sensor at the shop door, the walk-out or a back gate, each with its own chime tone at the receiver. A repeater partway when the drive is longer than the receiver's range.
Driveway Alarm Installation — Motion Sensors and Buried Probes: questions, answered
How high should a driveway motion sensor be mounted?
Most kits call for a height around a car's grille, aimed across the driveway and slightly down, so it sees the body of a vehicle and not the warm road beyond. Mounted at head height it reads distant traffic and the sun; too low and it fires on rabbits. We follow the maker's height and angle and then test it with a car and a walk-by before we leave.
How do I stop my driveway alarm from going off when cars pass on the road?
Aim it away from the road. A motion sensor pointed down the driveway toward the road sees every passing car. Turned to face across the drive, with the road behind it or out of its cone, it only reads what comes up. Sensitivity settings help, and if the drive is short a buried probe that only senses metal in the driveway is the fix.
Can you install a driveway alarm on a rural driveway far from the house?
Yes. That is what most of these are for. We set the sensor inside the kit's rated distance, on a post if there is nothing to mount to, and test that the receiver in the house hears it. If the drive is longer than the range or there is a hill or a steel building in between, the maker's repeater or a second receiver closer to the sensor solves it.
Does a driveway alarm need wiring to the house?
No. The sensor and transmitter run on batteries or a small solar panel and the receiver plugs into an outlet inside, so nothing is trenched to the house. A buried probe sensor has a short lead wire from the probe to its transmitter on a post at the driveway, not to the house.
Will a driveway alarm work in a Minnesota winter?
The sensors are rated for it, and the batteries are the weak point; lithium batteries hold up better in the cold and we use those. Snow piled on a sensor or a plow bank in front of it blocks it, so the post goes back from the plow line. A buried probe keeps working under snow and frozen ground once it is in.
Can the driveway alarm ring on my phone or connect to my cameras?
Most of the standard kits ring a receiver inside the house, not a phone. Some newer models have a Wi-Fi hub with an app; if you want phone alerts, buy that kind. A camera on the driveway with motion zones does the phone-alert job too; see the security camera pages for that, and we can install both in one visit.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All cameras pages
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