Carlsbad Metal Gates Group is San Diego County's leading specialist in estate and ranch gate fabrication, specializing in arched dual swing entry gates, hand-forged iron fencing, and galvanized ranch gates for horse properties. We offer hidden articulated arm operators and solar-ready power for long drives.
Our team provides Art Jury submittal drawings with finish samples, delivering approved, historically fitting entries for homes and secure working gates for both residential and commercial projects. Our record covers 14 years in business and a 2-year workmanship warranty, and we've completed over 1,326 projects, from one paddock gate to a forged entry court with an automated estate gate and intercom.
From scaling an elevation to the stone pillars on a survey to setting a battery-backed operator at the far end of the drive, our team handles every detail. Serving Rancho Santa Fe and neighboring Fairbanks Ranch, Del Mar, Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove, we schedule each build around review first and fabrication second.
Call us today for a free estimate, and our Rancho Santa Fe location manager will walk the entry, the drive and any horse gates with you.
Catherine, estate lot under The Covenant, Rancho Santa Fe
A Spanish Colonial Revival estate whose wood entry gate had warped and needed design review approval to replace
Amanda, equestrian estate, Rancho Santa Fe
An estate entry court whose fence needed to match forged ironwork on the house
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
What you can hold us to
Catherine's estate lot under The Covenant needed a new entry: a Spanish Colonial Revival estate whose wood entry gate had warped and needed design review approval to replace. We submitted elevations for a 16 ft arched dual swing gate between stone pillars, in hand-finished steel, oil-rubbed bronze powder coat, and fabricated only after approval. The install was an estimated $5,600 to $7,800 and an estimated 2 to 3 days on site, and the approved gate now opens on a remote.
Amanda's equestrian estate had an entry court whose fence needed to match forged ironwork on the house. We built 110 linear feet of forged fence from hand-forged mild steel, black finish, with hand-forged pickets and scroll panels galvanized before finishing and set on deep footings. That project was an estimated $10,200 to $13,900 and took an estimated 4 to 6 days, and the new ironwork reads as part of the original house.
In Rancho Santa Fe, review is part of the schedule, so drawings come before steel on every gate and fence we build inside the Covenant area. The Covenant requires that improvements and structures be approved by the Rancho Santa Fe Association with the written advice of the Art Jury, according to a California appellate opinion on a rejected perimeter fence (Dolan-King v. Rancho Santa Fe Association), and the same opinion confirms the Art Jury may apply aesthetic judgment. The community was master-planned from 1921 by architect Lilian Rice, and The Covenant became California Historical Landmark #982 in 1989, which is why a gate here is judged against the character of the place as well as the house. We prepare scaled elevations, the finish sample and a site plan, and we confirm the current submittal requirements with the Association for each parcel.
Because Rancho Santa Fe is unincorporated, any building permit a gate, wall or electrical run needs is handled through San Diego County, separate from the Art Jury, and we confirm both for your address. Values are high enough that a rejected design is an expensive delay: the ACS top-codes the median owner-occupied home value at $2,000,001, and Rancho Santa Fe reaches it (ACS 2024 5-year).
Estate entries here are measured from the road to the house, because long drives and generous setbacks change both the gate and how it is powered. A custom dual swing driveway gate with operator between stone pillars is the common choice, typically an estimated $4,000 to $8,000 per complete system. Where trenching power down a long drive would tear up landscaping, we fit a battery-backed or solar-ready operator, and we set the keypad pedestal far enough off the road that a guest's car clears the travel lane.
Horse properties need gates sized for a truck and trailer and latches with nothing for a horse to catch on. A single swing driveway or ranch gate with operator is typically an estimated $2,500 to $5,000, and most install in an estimated 1 to 2 days. Paddock and arena gates get galvanized steel, black powder coat so a gate left in the weather does not rust at the hinge, and fence lines along an equestrian estate are usually ornamental steel or forged iron to match the house.
Rancho Santa Fe gates have to open for fire crews, because the 2007 Witch Fire damaged or destroyed more than 80 homes here. Every automated gate we hang gets a Knox key switch, Opticom strobe sensor or siren responder, as the fire district requires, plus battery backup so the gate still opens when the power is cut. Entrapment protection follows UL 325 and ASTM F2200: monitored photo eyes (Type B1) plus safety edges (Type B2) on every automated gate.
A Rancho Santa Fe estate gate system is typically an estimated $4,000 to $8,000 for a dual swing gate with its operator, and the arch, the hand finishing and the length of the drive move the price most. Forged fencing is priced per linear foot.
| Rancho Santa Fe job | Est. investment | Est. time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Custom dual swing driveway gate with operator | Est. $4,000 to $8,000 per system | Est. 2 to 3 days |
| Single swing driveway or ranch gate with operator | Est. $2,500 to $5,000 per system | Est. 1 to 2 days |
| Hand-forged wrought iron fence | Est. $85 to $130 per linear foot | Est. 3 to 6 days |
| Video intercom, keypad or app entry | Est. $1,200 to $4,500 per system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
Amanda's 110 ft forged run landed at an estimated $10,200 to $13,900 because hand-forged scroll panels sit at the top of the per-foot range. California caps a home improvement deposit at $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, and our schedule of payments follows that cap.
All Rancho Santa Fe prices here are estimates and are subject to change. The written quote we issue after the site walk sets the final price and the schedule, and the time the Art Jury takes is added to that schedule.
Most estates pair a custom driveway gate fabrication job with ornamental iron and steel fencing along the entry court, in galvanized steel or hand-forged iron depending on what the house already carries.
Our Rancho Santa Fe location manager prepares the review package and stays on the job through the final test, so the person who presented the drawings is the person who checks the install. Our owner lays out each custom gate on the shop table, and every gate carries our 2-year workmanship warranty on welds, hinge alignment, gate sag and gate travel.
We work every part of the Covenant area and the estates outside it, roughly 26 minutes from our Carlsbad shop and well inside our 40 mile radius. The same crew covers Fairbanks Ranch gated estates to the south and Elfin Forest acreage to the north, and our North County service area list adds Solana Beach, Encinitas and Bonsall.
Owners planning a full arrival look at estate gate entries with pillars, horse properties add equestrian and ranch gates, and long drives usually add a gate intercom and keypad entry.
Inside the Covenant area, improvements need Association approval with the Art Jury's written advice, so we submit drawings before any steel is cut.
A dual swing estate gate with its operator typically runs an estimated $4,000 to $8,000, and your written quote sets the final price.
Yes, a solar-ready, battery-backed operator avoids trenching power, the setup on the 16 ft ranch-style drive gate we hung in Elfin Forest.
Yes, each automated gate gets a Knox key switch, Opticom sensor or siren responder plus battery backup.
Yes, a 16 ft single swing gate clears a truck and trailer turn, as on the horse property with paddocks we gated in Bonsall.
Yes, Amanda's 110 ft entry court fence was hand-forged to match her house in an estimated 4 to 6 days.
Request a free estimate and we will walk your entry, measure the drive and plan the drawings the Art Jury will want to see.
Your local contact
Names, photos and stories are on our about page.
Location manager covering Rancho Santa Fe
Runs the Rancho Santa Fe schedule from the first site measure to the final safety test.
Where we work
Call us or send the form, and we will book a site measure and a written estimate.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
