Carlsbad Metal Gates Group is the San Diego coast's most trusted expert in pool safety fencing, specializing in 60-inch aluminum pool fence, self-closing pool gates, and magnetic safety latches. We offer ornamental steel pool enclosures and matching walk gates.
Our team provides closer and latch testing on every gate, delivering child-safe pool barriers for homes and code-built enclosures 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 self-closing gate to a full pool enclosure on an acre lot.
From core-drilled posts in the pool deck to the latch height check at final inspection, our team handles every detail. Serving Carlsbad and neighboring Lake San Marcos, Poway and Encinitas, we build pool barriers that keep toddlers away from the water while you still see the pool from the house.
Call us for a free estimate, and we will measure the pool barrier line and show you where every gate should swing.
What you can hold us to
Kevin, home with a backyard pool, Lake San Marcos
A family with a new grandchild and an unfenced pool
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Kevin's home with a backyard pool in Lake San Marcos had no barrier at all when a new grandchild arrived, so the family called us for 110 linear feet of pool fence with a self-closing gate. We recommended a 60 inch aluminum pool fence, built in powder-coated aluminum, with gaps under 4 inches and a gate that opens outward, closes on its own and latches itself. The pool safety fence and self-closing gate was an estimated $3,600 to $4,800 and took an estimated 2 to 3 days on site. Kevin's pool now sits behind a barrier built to the state pool safety rules, and the grandchild plays on the lawn side of it.
California's Swimming Pool Safety Act, Health and Safety Code section 115922, requires drowning prevention features whenever a building permit is issued to build a new pool or spa, or to remodel one, at a private single-family home. County guidance reads it as an enclosure plus at least one more listed feature, two in all. The act counts any structure holding water over 18 inches deep as a pool, which brings hot tubs and spas under the same rule, including the spa beside many Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch pools.
The enclosure itself must meet Health and Safety Code section 115923:
The second feature can be exit alarms on house doors to the pool, an approved safety pool cover, self-closing and self-latching devices on those doors with a release at least 54 inches above the floor, removable mesh fencing to ASTM F2286, or a pool alarm certified to ASTM F2208. The building official inspects these features before giving final approval, so on permitted pools in Del Mar or Solana Beach we finish the barrier ahead of that inspection.
The gate is the weak point of every pool barrier, because a fence only works when its gate shuts and latches every single time. We hang pool gates on self-closing hinges, set the latch at least 60 inches above the ground so a toddler cannot reach it, and swing every gate away from the pool, whether the yard is in Harmony Grove or on the coast. Before we leave a pool yard in Rancho Santa Fe or Bonsall, we open each gate partway and let it go from several angles; it has to close and latch on its own every time.
A driveway gate that forms part of a pool enclosure, such as a custom dual swing driveway gate with operator, carries an extra rule in the California Building Code: it must be electrically operated and close automatically within one minute.
A climbable fence is the most common pool barrier mistake we see on older fences in Bonsall and Elfin Forest, because horizontal rails on the outside become a ladder for a small child. Our pool fences keep the rails on the pool side and use vertical pickets on the outside face, spaced under 4 inches apart, the same layout we hold on hillside pool yards in Elfin Forest. On sloped yards in Poway and Encinitas, we hold the 2-inch bottom gap along the whole run by stepping panels and filling low spots, since a bigger gap under a fence on a slope is an easy way under.
Pool fencing in Carlsbad is estimated at roughly $30 to $45 per linear foot installed for a code-height aluminum pool fence, and the length of the barrier, the number of gates and the deck surface move the price most. Posts core-drilled into a pool deck typically cost more than posts set in soil, and steel pushes the price toward the $50 to $85 per linear foot of an ornamental steel fence.
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.
| Pool fence job | Est. investment | Est. time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Pool code aluminum fence with self-closing gate | Est. $30 to $45 per linear foot | Est. 1 to 3 days |
| Powder-coated aluminum fence, custom style | Est. $25 to $75 per linear foot | Est. 2 to 3 days |
| Ornamental steel pool enclosure | Est. $50 to $85 per linear foot | Est. 2 to 4 days |
| Extra pedestrian pool gate | Est. $600 to $1,500 per gate | Est. 4 to 8 hours |
A backyard barrier of about 110 linear feet, like Kevin's, typically falls near an estimated $3,600 to $4,800 with one self-closing gate.
Pool fence prices on this page are estimates for Carlsbad and are subject to change. Your written quote after the site visit sets the final price and the install schedule, and it depends on the barrier length, the number of gates and whether the posts go into soil or the pool deck.
Aluminum is the pool fence we install most, because chlorinated and salt water splash does not rust it on coastal lots in Encinitas or inland, while steel suits a pool fence that must match ornamental ironwork on the house.
| Pool fence | Est. installed price | Upkeep around pool water | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pool code aluminum | Est. $30 to $45 per linear foot | Rinse only, will not rust | Most backyard pools |
| Custom aluminum styles | Est. $25 to $75 per linear foot | Rinse only | Matching a garden fence |
| Ornamental steel, galvanized | Est. $50 to $85 per linear foot | Rinse and touch up chips | Matching iron on the house |
Powder-coated aluminum and galvanized steel are the two pool fence materials we recommend, both nearly invisible from the house with slim black or bronze pickets. Homes near the bluffs often extend the same rust-free metal into aluminum gates for coastal homes, and estates match the pool fence to the perimeter with ornamental iron and steel fencing.
Our crew has built gates and fences on 1,326 projects across 14 years, and every pool gate we hang is tested for closing and latching before we hand it over. Across our 40-mile radius, we measure the barrier height from the outside of the fence, the side a child would climb, not from the pool deck. The 2-year workmanship warranty covers closer adjustment, so a gate that stops latching is our call to make right.
We build pool barriers across a 40-mile radius, with many backyard pools in Lake San Marcos homes around the lake, Poway ranch-style lots and Harmony Grove master-planned homes. Coastal families in Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar are on our service areas page too.
A pool on a lower terrace often sits under a deck railed with stainless cable view railings, and a pool yard reached from the drive may need an opener retrofit on an existing gate, an estimated $1,800 to $3,800, through our gate automation and opener setup to meet the automatic closing rule. Side yards next to the pool in Fairbanks Ranch often get modern horizontal slat gates for privacy outside the barrier.
Code-height aluminum pool fencing is estimated at roughly $30 to $45 per linear foot installed, and your written quote sets the final price.
A pool enclosure must be at least 60 inches tall under Health and Safety Code section 115923.
A pool gate must open away from the pool and close and latch on its own.
The self-latching device must sit no lower than 60 inches above the ground.
The state rule applies when a permit is issued to build or remodel a pool or spa, so most existing pools need one when they are remodeled, and many owners add one sooner for small children.
A hot tub or spa holding water over 18 inches deep counts as a pool, although a spa with a compliant locking safety cover is exempt.
Most pool fences take an estimated 1 to 3 days on site, depending on length and how many posts go into the deck.
Our deposit is never more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract, whichever is less, as California law sets.
Request a free estimate, and we will measure the barrier line, plan each gate swing 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.
