Carlsbad Metal Gates Group is greater North County's top-rated team for gate access control, specializing in video gate intercoms, backlit gate keypads, and smartphone app gate entry. We offer cellular intercom kits and RFID tag readers.
Our team provides pedestal and conduit installation, delivering easy guest entry for homes and controlled access for both residential and commercial projects. Backed by our 2-year workmanship warranty and 14 years in business, we've completed over 1,326 projects, from a single keypad on an existing gate to video intercom lanes at gated entries.
From setting the pedestal at driver's-window height to programming a code for every person who uses the gate, our team handles every detail. Serving Carlsbad and neighboring Harmony Grove, Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch and Del Mar, we connect the entry system to the gate operator you already have.
Call us today for a free estimate, and we will walk the drive to find where your entry pedestal belongs.
What you can hold us to
Hannah, home with an existing automated gate, Harmony Grove
Owners who could not see or let in visitors and deliveries while away
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Hannah's home with an existing automated gate in Harmony Grove belonged to owners who could not see or let in visitors and deliveries while away. We installed a cellular video intercom and keypad: a cellular 1080p video intercom with a backlit keypad on a pedestal and smartphone app entry, wired to the existing operator. The Harmony Grove install, video intercom, keypad and app entry on one gate, was an estimated $2,400 to $3,900 and took an estimated 6 to 8 hours in a single visit. Hannah now answers the gate from her phone and gives each delivery a one-time code.
The best entry system lets each kind of visitor in a different way: remotes for the household, codes for regular visitors, video for guests and app entry for anyone you are not home to meet, which is why most video intercom, keypad or app entry jobs we do combine several devices. Most homes in Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch end up with three of the four.
| Entry device | Who it is for | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Remote transmitter | Household drivers | Opens from the car, no stopping |
| Backlit keypad | Family, cleaners, gardeners | A separate code per person, removable one at a time |
| Video intercom | Guests and couriers | Rings your phone so you can see and talk before opening |
| Smartphone app | You, from anywhere | Opens the gate remotely and issues one-time codes |
The pedestal goes at driver's-window height and far enough back that the car is clear of the gate's travel, because a keypad a driver has to climb out to reach is a keypad nobody uses. Gate maker guidance puts a keypad at least 10 feet from the gate and never where someone could reach through the gate to touch it.
On the sloped approaches of Elfin Forest and Poway, we set the pedestal on level ground so the car is not rolling while the driver types.
Cellular and app-based intercoms avoid running new wire up a long drive, because the call station dials your phone over a cellular connection instead of a cable to the house. On estate lots in Rancho Santa Fe and acreage in Bonsall, that can save trenching across a lawn or a paved drive.
Hardwired systems still make sense where conduit already reaches the gate, as on many Del Mar lots, and we test cellular signal at the pedestal before recommending a cellular unit, then wire each device back to the operator's control board, which is what actually opens the gate.
A code per person means one can be switched off while everyone else keeps theirs, which matters in Fairbanks Ranch households with staff. We set a code per household member, per cleaner or gardener, and time-limited codes for contractors; the app then creates one-time codes for deliveries, the way Hannah uses hers.
For gated homes in Del Mar and Solana Beach with rental or second-home use, a code per guest stay is the simplest way to hand over and take back access.
An entry system must never let anyone reach the gate while it moves, and it must give fire crews a way in. That is why our pedestals sit well back from the gate, why every operator we connect to carries UL 325 and ASTM F2200: monitored photo eyes (Type B1) plus safety edges (Type B2) on every automated gate, and why we add a Knox key switch, Opticom strobe sensor or siren responder, as the fire district requires.
Fire access matters most on the chaparral lots of Elfin Forest and in Bonsall, where the 2017 Lilac Fire burned.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Keypad entry alone on an automated gate | Est. $250 to $650 per keypad | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| Video intercom, keypad and app entry | Est. $2,400 to $3,900 per system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| Opener retrofit on an existing gate | Est. $1,800 to $3,800 per operator system | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
| Single swing driveway or ranch gate with operator | Est. $2,500 to $5,000 per complete system | Est. 1 to 2 days |
A video intercom with keypad and app entry in Carlsbad typically costs an estimated $2,400 to $3,900 per system, while a keypad alone on a gate that already has an operator is typically an estimated $250 to $650. Video versus audio, cellular versus hardwired, the pedestal and any trenching move the price most.
A gate that is still opened by hand needs an operator first, an opener retrofit on an existing gate at an estimated $1,800 to $3,800. California law holds the deposit to 10% of the contract or $1,000, whichever is smaller.
Access control prices on this page 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 devices, the wiring route and the gate's operator.
Our gate automation technician installs and tunes intercom and keypad systems alongside the operator, so one crew has owned the whole entry for 14 years. We work within a 40-mile radius, and the 2-year workmanship warranty on welds, hinge alignment, gate sag and gate travel covers the gate we connect to.
Entry pedestals and call stations mount beside any gate, from salt-proof aluminum coastal gates to ornamental steel fencing and gates in galvanized steel, black powder coat with matching posts.
We install gate intercoms and keypads across North County, with frequent work in Harmony Grove, Rancho Santa Fe estates, Fairbanks Ranch and Del Mar, plus the towns on our service area page.
An intercom needs a moving gate, so many owners pair it with gate automation and openers, a new custom dual swing driveway gate with operator from our driveway gate fabrication shop or a full estate gate entry with pillars that hide the pedestal wiring.
A video intercom with keypad and app entry is typically an estimated $2,400 to $3,900 per system, and your written quote sets the final price.
Yes, app entry and cellular video intercoms let you see a visitor and open the gate from anywhere.
On the driver's side at window height, at least 10 feet back from the gate and out of reach of it.
Not always, since a cellular intercom calls your phone without a cable to the house; we test the signal first.
Yes, the app issues one-time codes, and each regular visitor gets their own removable code.
Most intercom and keypad installs take an estimated 4 to 8 hours on an automated gate.
We add an operator first, because the keypad tells the operator to open the gate.
Request a free estimate and we will walk the approach, place the pedestal and write an itemized quote for every device.
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.
