Carlsbad Metal Gates Group is coastal North County's premier specialist in estate gate entries, specializing in arched dual swing driveway gates, gates hung between stone pillars, and hidden articulated arm operators. We offer elevation drawings for design review and matching pedestrian gates beside the drive.
Our team provides full shop fabrication with hot-dip galvanizing and powder coat, delivering a grand arrival for homes and durable, secure entries for both residential and commercial projects. Backed by 14 years in business and our 2-year workmanship warranty, we've completed over 1,326 projects, from a single walk gate to complete estate entries with operators, intercoms and fencing.
From the stacking room a waiting car needs off the road to the conduit buried inside each pillar, our team handles every detail. Serving Carlsbad and neighboring Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch and Del Mar, we draw each estate gate to the ironwork, roof line and stone of the house it fronts.
Call us today to book a site walk and a free estimate, and we will measure the setback, the slope and the pillars before anything is drawn.
What you can hold us to
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
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Catherine's Spanish Colonial Revival estate in Rancho Santa Fe had a wood entry gate that had warped out of square, and replacing it meant passing design review under The Covenant. We drew a 16 ft arched dual swing gate between stone pillars, copied the scroll rhythm from the ironwork already on the house, and submitted elevations with the finish sample before any steel was cut. The gate is hand-finished steel, oil-rubbed bronze powder coat, and articulated arm operators sit behind the pillars, out of sight from the road. The project was an estimated $5,600 to $7,800 and took an estimated 2 to 3 days on site once approved. Catherine now has an approved entry that matches the house and opens from the car instead of by hand.
An estate entry is designed from the road back: the setback, the turning room and the stacking space come first, and the gate is drawn last. A car waiting for a gate to open should sit fully off the road, so we set the gate far enough in that a sedan, a delivery van or a guest with a trailer clears the travel lane. On Rancho Santa Fe lots with long drives that is easy; on tighter Del Mar and Carlsbad frontages it often means a shallower arch or a gate that swings inward against a slope. Long acreage drives in Elfin Forest and Bonsall get the keypad pedestal set back far enough that a truck and trailer can wait clear of the road.
Pillars carry the gate's weight and hide the operator, the wiring and the photo eyes, so they are planned with the gate rather than built first and fitted later. A 16 ft steel pair can weigh several hundred pounds per leaf, which is why our hinge plates are cast into the pillar or bolted through a steel core, not anchored into veneer alone. We work with your mason or landscape architect on the stone and stucco, and we send them the hinge, conduit and operator locations before the pillar is poured.
The gate should read as part of the house, so we take the pattern from the ironwork, window grilles and roof line that are already there. A Spanish Colonial Revival home in Rancho Santa Fe usually calls for an arched top and simple scrolls; a Tudor Revival cottage in Del Mar suits a heavier square bar; a 1980s Mediterranean estate in Fairbanks Ranch often wants a flatter arch with spear tops to match its fence line.
| Entry style | Typical gate | Est. system price | Est. time on site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arched dual swing between pillars | Custom dual swing driveway gate with operator | Est. $4,000 to $8,000 | Est. 2 to 3 days |
| Wide drive on a sloped entry | Heavy-duty trackless cantilever gate | Est. $6,000 to $10,000 | Est. 2 to 4 days |
| Forged fence along the entry court | Hand-forged wrought iron fence | Est. $85 to $130 per linear foot | Est. 3 to 6 days |
| Gate already hung, needs a motor | Opener retrofit on an existing gate | Est. $1,800 to $3,800 | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
Drawings go to the review board before steel is cut, because an estate entry that is built first and submitted later can be sent back. Rancho Santa Fe properties under The Covenant, which architect Lilian Rice helped shape from 1921, go through the Art Jury, and many Fairbanks Ranch and Carlsbad associations run their own architectural review. Each property's rules differ, so we confirm which reviews apply at the site walk and build the package to suit.
An estate gate system is typically an estimated $4,000 to $8,000 for a custom dual swing gate with its operator, and the size of the arch, the hand finishing and the access control move the price most. The pillars themselves are quoted by the mason, so the figures below cover the steel, the hardware and the automation.
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 |
| Heavy-duty trackless cantilever gate | Est. $6,000 to $10,000 per complete system | Est. 2 to 4 days |
| Video intercom, keypad or app entry | Est. $2,400 to $3,900 per system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| Hand-forged wrought iron fence | Est. $85 to $130 per linear foot | Est. 3 to 6 days |
Catherine's gate on an estate lot under The Covenant landed at an estimated $5,600 to $7,800, the middle of that dual swing band, and a 110 ft forged entry-court fence on an equestrian estate nearby ran an estimated $10,200 to $13,900. California caps the deposit on home improvement work at $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, and our payments follow that rule.
The estate entry prices shown here are estimates and are subject to change. Your written quote after the site walk sets the final price and the install schedule, and it depends on the gate size, the finish and the access control you choose.
Galvanized steel, black powder coat or bronze, is our standard for estate gates, hand-forged iron is for entries that must match forged work on the house, and aluminum is the choice right on the bluffs. Buyers comparing finishes often look at ornamental iron and steel fencing for the entry court and aluminum gates for coastal homes within sight of the ocean.
Our owner lays out every custom gate on the shop table, the same habit behind 1,326 completed projects, and walks each estate entry before a design is drawn. After 14 years of hanging estate gates, every entry we build carries our 2-year workmanship warranty on welds, hinge alignment, gate sag and gate travel.
We build estate entries within a 40 mile radius of the Carlsbad shop, and most of them go to Rancho Santa Fe estates under The Covenant, the two Fairbanks Ranch gated communities along San Dieguito Road, and Del Mar homes between the two lagoons. We also cover Encinitas, Solana Beach, Harmony Grove, Poway and Lake San Marcos across our North County service areas.
An estate entry often grows into a gate intercom with keypad and app entry, gate automation on an existing pair or a slide or cantilever gate for a sloped drive when the inside of a hillside drive in Encinitas or Elfin Forest will not let a swing gate clear.
A custom dual swing estate gate with its operator is typically an estimated $4,000 to $8,000, and your written quote sets the final price after the site walk.
Yes, we draw scaled elevations with the finish colour and submit them to the Art Jury or your association before any steel is cut.
Yes, on the 16 ft arched dual swing gate between stone pillars we built in Rancho Santa Fe, the articulated arm operators sit behind the pillars and the wiring runs inside them.
Most estate gates take an estimated 2 to 3 days on site once the drawings are approved and the gate is fabricated.
Yes, every automated estate gate gets a Knox key switch, Opticom strobe sensor or siren responder, as the fire district requires.
Yes when it is hot-dip galvanized inside and out and powder coated over the zinc, and on bluff-top lots in Solana Beach we recommend aluminum instead.
Our deposit is never more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, as California requires.
Request a free estimate and we will walk the entry with you, measure the setback and pillars, and draw a gate that suits the house.
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.
