Driveway gates in Encino

Start with the driveway, not the catalog

A driveway gate has to fit three things before your taste: the room on your lot, the height the city allows, and where it sits against the street. Get those right and style is the easy part. We connect you with a licensed installer who builds gates in Encino and measures all three at the house.

Call (818) 873-7383 Ask about a new gate

A closed black iron double swing driveway gate between cream stucco pillars — Design rendering

Swing or slide

Swing gates

One leaf or two, hung on posts or pillars and swinging into the property. They suit a flat, clear area behind the gate. A double gate splits the weight, so each leaf and hinge carries less, and it opens faster.

Check the arc. Each leaf needs its full width of clear space: no rising slope, no planter, no parked car. On a driveway that climbs away from the street, a leaf can hit the ground before it fully opens.

A single leaf black iron swing gate across a narrow driveway beside a garden — Design rendering

Slide gates

One rigid panel that rolls along a wall or fence line. They suit a sloping drive, a short drive with no room to swing, or a wide opening where swing leaves would be very heavy.

Check the run. Beside the opening you need a clear straight stretch at least as long as the opening is wide, free of steps, trees and meter boxes. A cantilever gate needs more length for its counterweight tail, and in return has no track on the ground.

A black steel slide gate rolled open along a stacked stone wall — Design rendering

Height: the city decides before you do

Encino is in the City of Los Angeles. In R zones, a fence, wall or gate in the required front yard can be no more than three and a half feet tall, measured from natural ground level. On RA or A zoned lots the limit is six feet. Either can reach eight feet only with a Zoning Administrator's approval. (LAMC 12.22 C.20(f)(2))

Note the words "required front yard": the limit covers that strip of the lot. Where your gate can go, and how tall, depends on your zone and how deep that front yard is. Check the address before anything is made. How the height rules work

3 ft 6 inthe front yard limit on R zoned lots; 6 ft on RA and A lots; 8 ft only with city approval

LAMC 12.22 C.20(f)(2).

Setback on the big streets

A gate in the public right of way on an arterial street should sit twenty feet back of the curb face, per the city's permit manual, so a waiting car is off the road. Anything closer needs written LADOT approval. In Encino the arterials include Ventura, Balboa, White Oak, Hayvenhurst, Havenhurst, Louise, Lindley, Woodley, Burbank, Magnolia, Oxnard, Victory and Sepulveda. (LA Bureau of Engineering, Revocable Permit manual, Front Yard Fences, Walls and Gates)

Even on a quiet street, a gate set back one car length is easier to live with. You pull off the road, the gate opens, and nobody behind you waits in traffic.

A car waiting on a driveway apron in front of a closed gate that sits well back from the street — Design rendering

Tracks, wheels and hinges

The parts nobody looks at decide how long a gate lasts. A slide gate's track should sit flush and level, with wheels sized for the weight. A swing gate's hinges and post carry everything, and a heavy leaf on an undersized post can lean and start to drag. Ask what post and hinge are proposed, and why.

A walk gate to match

Most driveway gates are better with a walk gate beside them. Visitors and deliveries use it without opening the big gate, and on an automated gate it keeps people out of the moving opening. Build both at once so bar spacing, height and finish match.

A black iron driveway gate with a matching walk gate beside it on a stone pillar — Design rendering

Adding a motor now or later

You can automate later, but only if the gate was built for it: a stiff frame, a post or pad for the operator, and conduit for power laid while the driveway is open. Adding conduit after new pavers go down is the expensive way. Automatic gates

What sets the price

No figures here; nothing honest can be said without seeing the drive. What moves the number: opening width, swing or slide, steel or iron and how much decoration, new or existing pillars, the ground under the gate, and whether a motor and access control go in now. The installer quotes after measuring.

Questions about driveway gates

Which is better for a sloped driveway, swing or slide?

Usually a slide gate. Swing leaves need level ground, and on a driveway rising behind the gate a leaf can strike the slope. A slide gate runs across the slope along a wall or fence. If there's no room for a slide run either, a swing gate can hang on rising hinges, but that's a site call.

How tall can a driveway gate be in Encino?

In the required front yard, three and a half feet on R zoned lots and six feet on RA or A zoned lots, with eight feet only by Zoning Administrator approval, under LAMC 12.22 C.20(f)(2). A gate set behind the required front yard is a different case. Check your address before ordering.

How far back should the gate be from the street?

On an arterial street, where the gate sits in the public right of way, the city's permit manual says twenty feet back of the curb face unless LADOT approves otherwise. On other streets, setting it back at least a car length still keeps you out of the road while it opens.

Can my existing gate be made automatic?

Often, if the frame is stiff, the hinges or wheels are sound and there's room for the operator and power. A light or flexible gate may need bracing first, and some older gates aren't worth motorizing. Ask the installer to check the frame and posts before pricing an operator.

Tell us about the driveway

Call, 8am to 7pm every day(818) 873-7383

One licensed gate installer who covers your street gets your note.
They call you back to talk it through and set a time.
The quote, the work and the warranty are theirs.