Carlsbad Metal Gates Group is San Diego County's leading specialist in custom driveway gate fabrication, specializing in dual swing steel driveway gates, arched estate gates, and single swing ranch gates. We offer hot-dip galvanized steel frames and powder-coated aluminum driveway gates.
Our team provides shop drawings scaled to your opening, delivering one-of-a-kind curb appeal for homes and heavy-gauge metalwork for both residential and commercial projects. Backed by 14 years in business and our 2-year workmanship warranty on welds and gate sag, we've completed over 1,326 projects, from a single arched walk gate to dual swing estate entries with operators.
From weld-on ball-bearing hinges sized to the leaf weight to the final powder coat cure, our team handles every detail. Serving Carlsbad and neighboring Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch, we build each driveway gate in our own shop and hang it level on install day.
Call us today for a free estimate, and we will measure your opening and sketch the gate before any steel is ordered.
What you can hold us to
Rachel, La Costa hillside home, Carlsbad
A tired wood driveway gate that had dropped and dragged on the pavers
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Rachel's La Costa hillside home in Carlsbad had a tired wood driveway gate that had dropped and dragged on the pavers. We drew a custom steel dual swing gate to the opening, had it galvanized and powder coated, and hung it on ball-bearing hinges with an operator, finishing a 14 ft dual swing driveway gate in galvanized steel, black powder coat. The project ran an estimated $5,200 to $7,400 and took an estimated 2 to 3 days on site, including new hinge posts and the operator wiring. Rachel now has a gate that clears the pavers and opens from the car every morning without anyone stepping out.
Every custom driveway gate we build starts as a measured shop drawing, the same way all 1,326 of our projects have started, never as a catalog photo. Our estimator measures the opening, the post faces, the slope and the swing arc, then we draw the elevation to those numbers.
The drawing is also what a design review in Rancho Santa Fe reads, so we draft it to submission quality.
Galvanized steel is the strongest all-round choice for a driveway gate, aluminum is the one that cannot rust next to the ocean, and hand-forged iron is for owners who want ironwork that matches a historic house.
| Material | Strength and weight | Near the coast | Matching fence, est. price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galvanized tubular steel | Strong, heavier frame and posts | Fine once galvanized and powder coated | Est. $50 to $85 per linear foot |
| Powder-coated aluminum | Lighter, easier on the operator | Cannot rust, a rinse is the upkeep | Est. $25 to $75 per linear foot |
| Hand-forged wrought iron | Heaviest, maximum security | Needs repainting on a schedule | Est. $85 to $130 per linear foot |
For bluff-top lots in Solana Beach and Del Mar we steer most clients toward aluminum; inland in Poway and Bonsall, galvanized steel gives the most gate for the money.
Frame and hinges are sized to the gate's weight and width, because a heavy leaf on light hinges is what makes driveway gates sag. We frame steel gates with 16-gauge pickets, 14-gauge rails and 11-gauge to 3/16-inch posts on every steel gate and fence, and each leaf hangs on ball-bearing barrel or greaseable weld-on hinges rated for 500 to 1,500 lbs per pair.
Posts go into 24 to 36 inch deep bell footings, 10 to 12 inches across, in 3,000 to 4,000 PSI concrete, so the hinge post stays plumb when the gate is open in a Santa Ana wind. A wide single leaf in galvanized steel, black powder coat gets a diagonal brace or truss rail, while a dual swing pair splits the load across two posts.
Hot-dip galvanizing under the powder coat is what keeps a steel gate looking new in the salt air of Del Mar and Solana Beach. Paint protects only the outside, while hollow tube rusts from the inside out, so every steel gate we finish is galvanized, primed, powder coated and cured, in that order.
Welds are ground smooth before the gate leaves the shop, because a sharp bead is where powder coat thins and rust starts first on a Leucadia or Cardiff-by-the-Sea driveway in Encinitas.
Galvanized steel, powder coat, ball-bearing hinges, photo eyes
Sized for the opening and the trailer turn
For slopes, debris and commercial entrances
For flat drives with no swing room
Motor, photo eyes, battery backup, remotes
Added to a new or existing automated gate
4 to 6 ft galvanized and powder coated
5 to 6 ft custom forged pickets and scrolls
The rust-free coastal choice
60 inch barrier, self-closing, self-latching gate
Steel or wrought iron, balusters under 4 inches apart
316 stainless cable on steel posts
Kit or custom, set on its own footing
Steel and glass, floor-mounted pivot
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
| Job | Est. investment | Est. duration on site |
|---|---|---|
| Custom dual swing driveway gate with operator | Est. $4,000 to $8,000 per complete system | Est. 2 to 3 days |
| Single swing driveway or ranch gate with operator | Est. $2,500 to $5,000 per complete system | Est. 1 to 2 days |
| Hand-forged wrought iron fence beside the gate | Est. $85 to $130 per linear foot | Est. 3 to 6 days |
| Opener retrofit on an existing gate | Est. $1,800 to $3,800 per operator system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
A custom dual swing driveway gate with an operator in Carlsbad typically falls between an estimated $4,000 and $8,000 per complete system, and the width, the metal and the amount of scroll or panel work move the price most. A single swing driveway or ranch gate with operator is typically an estimated $2,500 to $5,000, while a manual decorative walk gate to match is roughly $600 to $1,500.
Estate entries with hand-finished detail, like a 16 ft arched dual swing gate between stone pillars in Rancho Santa Fe, run toward the top of those ranges, and a long power trench adds to any automated gate. California caps a home improvement deposit at $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, and our deposit follows that rule.
The gate prices above are estimates for Carlsbad homes and are subject to change. Your written quote, issued after we measure the opening, sets the final price and the fabrication and install schedule, and it depends on the gate size, the metal and the hardware.
Automated gates need safety hardware a manual gate does not, and many gates need a design check first. California's building code exempts many fences up to 7 feet from a building permit, while an operator hardwired to the house panel needs an electrical permit, and front-yard height limits are confirmed per address.
On a gate we automate, entrapment protection follows UL 325 and ASTM F2200: UL 325 calls for two independent means of entrapment protection in each direction of travel, so our standard is UL 325 and ASTM F2200: monitored photo eyes (Type B1) plus safety edges (Type B2) on every automated gate. Fire districts at inland entries such as Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove often ask for a Knox key switch or Opticom strobe sensor.
The same crew that draws your gate welds it, and our owner checks every layout on the shop table before steel is cut. Our 2-year workmanship warranty on welds, hinge alignment, gate sag and gate travel covers each gate we hang, and we work within a 40-mile radius of the shop.
A driveway gate often starts a bigger metal project for clients from Poway to Del Mar, so we match it to salt-proof aluminum coastal gates, ornamental steel fencing along the street or a modern horizontal slat design.
We build and hang driveway gates across North County, with frequent work in Encinitas and Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe estates and the gated streets of Fairbanks Ranch, plus every community on our North County service area list.
Once the gate is built, most owners add gate automation and openers and a video intercom or keypad; on a steep or short drive, a slide or cantilever gate is the better shape.
A custom dual swing gate with an operator is typically an estimated $4,000 to $8,000 per complete system, and your written quote sets the final price.
Most dual swing gates take an estimated 2 to 3 days on site once the gate leaves our shop.
Aluminum cannot rust, so it is our first pick on bluff-top lots in Solana Beach, while galvanized and powder-coated steel holds up well a little inland in Lake San Marcos.
A manual gate under the height limit often does not; a hardwired operator needs an electrical permit, which we pull.
Yes, we prepare the elevations and finish samples a design review asks for before fabrication starts.
Undersized hinges and posts let a heavy leaf drop, which is exactly what happened to the old wood gate on that La Costa hillside home.
Our deposit is no more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, as California requires.
Request a free estimate and we will measure the opening, sketch the gate and write an itemized quote.
Start to finish
We measure the opening, the grade and the swing or slide path before anything is drawn.
You approve a scaled drawing, the metal, the finish and the operator before steel is cut.
The gate is welded in our shop, then galvanized and powder coated for the salt air.
We set the posts, hang the gate, wire the operator and test every photo eye and safety edge with you.
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.
