Swing or slide: what your driveway decides
Malibu driveways climb, curve, and sit tight to Pacific Coast Highway or a canyon road. A swing gate wants level ground behind it. A slide gate wants a run of fence line beside the opening for the gate to travel along. Where neither is clean, a cantilever slide or a pair of outward swinging leaves solves it. We do not pick from a catalog; we measure the lot and draw the gate that fits it.
Want to see one on your own driveway first? Try the gate visualizer: upload a photo, pick a profile, drag it into place. Free, in your browser.
Wind: the thing catalogs never mention
A driveway gate is a sail. Malibu canyons funnel Santa Ana winds down the same corridors the fires follow, and a solid privacy gate on a hillside driveway takes that load on every gust. Wind decides more about the gate than the look does: how open the infill is, whether it swings or slides, how heavy the posts and footings are, and how big the operator has to be to move it against a gust without stalling or bending the arm. On exposed lots we favor slatted or louvered infill that lets wind through, slide gates that do not present a full leaf to the wind, and operators sized with headroom. On sheltered lots a solid gate is fine. We check the exposure on the site walk before we draw anything.
What each of these choices does to the price is laid out in the journal: what a driveway gate costs in Malibu, and what moves the number.
Aluminum or steel on the coast
Salt air eats untreated steel and rots wood. Powder coated aluminum is the default for most lots: no rust, light enough for a smaller operator, and available in wood-look finishes that read as walnut or teak from the street. Steel where the design wants weight, a longer clear span, or a weathered finish. Both are noncombustible at the point where the gate meets the house.
Pedestrian gates that match
Every driveway gate gets a matching walk gate in the same profile and finish, with the same access hardware, so a guest at the walk gate and a delivery at the driveway gate use one system. Self-closing hinges and latches for pool code where the walk gate is on the pool side.
Automation and access control built in
Every gate we build can be opened, closed, and watched from anywhere in the world. Operator, keypad, video intercom at the street, phone tap, license plate recognition, guest passes by text, and battery backup for the outages that follow every wind event. No monthly subscription. Canyon lots with weak cell service get a cellular or hardwired intercom sized for the signal that is actually there. Details on access control.
Noncombustible where the gate meets the house
A gate hung on the house wall is inside the five foot zone. Under the adopted Zone 0 rules no new combustible gate may attach to the house. Ours are aluminum or steel by default, so the question never comes up. Where the gate ties into an existing wood fence, we build the noncombustible return at the same time. See Zone Zero fences and gates.
Questions we get about driveway gates
Swing or slide for a Malibu driveway?
The driveway decides. A swing gate needs level ground on the inside for the leaves to open. A hillside driveway that climbs right after the gate usually needs a slide gate, or a swing gate hung to open outward toward the street where the setback allows it. We measure grade on the site walk and tell you which one your lot can take.
Aluminum or steel?
Aluminum for most coastal lots: it does not rust, it is lighter on the operator, and it takes a wood-look finish well. Steel where you want a heavier gate, a longer span, or a weathered finish. Both are noncombustible, which matters for the section near the house.
Does the gate come with the opener?
Yes. The operator, keypad, intercom, and battery backup are designed in with the gate. Power, conduit, and the loop or sensor layout are part of the same drawings, so there is no second contractor and no second trench.