Custom Ipe Wood Dual Swing Gate in Emerald Hills
We built a custom dual swing driveway gate for a hillside property in Emerald Hills: horizontal Ipe wood boards in a dark iron frame, a matching side panel cut to fit the boulder embankment, and two LiftMaster LA500 operators, one per leaf.
The project
Automatic Gate Masters completed this custom dual swing automatic driveway gate for a hillside property in Emerald Hills, CA. The entrance was a real design problem: the driveway sits between a natural boulder embankment on one side and an existing wood fence on the other. Rather than drop a generic rectangular gate into the gap, we fabricated the whole entrance to the property's slope, space, and landscape. The finished design pairs warm Ipe wood with a dark iron frame and coordinated automatic operation.
The main opening is closed by two large swing leaves. Each leaf is a custom iron frame filled with horizontal Ipe boards. The dark frame draws a clean architectural outline, the wood brings warmth and texture, and the narrow gaps between boards keep the gate visually lighter than a fully solid panel while still screening the driveway from the road.
Custom Ipe wood dual swing gate
Automated with two LiftMaster LA500 operators
The angled panel beside the boulders
Cut to follow the rock instead of leaving a gap
Horizontal Ipe in a dark iron frame
Consistent board spacing across both leaves
Built to the hillside driveway
Two leaves meeting cleanly at the center
Custom Ipe wood and iron construction
We fabricate our gates in house, so the gate is built to the opening and to the site, not cut down from a stock size.
Ipe was chosen for the infill because of its dense grain, rich natural color, and suitability for exterior architectural work. Its reddish brown tone sets up a strong contrast against the dark metal frame and picks up the existing wood fencing around the property, so the new entrance belongs to the site instead of competing with it.
The boards run horizontally to emphasize the width of the entrance and give the gate a clean, contemporary line. Spacing between boards was held consistent across both leaves and the adjoining fence sections, so the lines carry straight through the whole opening.
The dark finished iron frame is the structural foundation. It was fabricated to carry the weight of the Ipe while holding straight, defined edges across a wide driveway. The posts, perimeter frames, and center meeting point were all aligned so the two leaves read as one balanced piece when closed.
Horizontal Ipe boards
A dense hardwood with a tight grain and a warm reddish brown tone, run horizontally across the full width.
Custom dark iron
Fabricated to carry the weight of the wood and hold clean, straight edges across a wide opening.
Narrow board spacing
Tight gaps screen the driveway from the road while keeping the gate visually lighter than a solid panel.
Two matching leaves
Sized to the driveway and set to meet cleanly at the center when the gate is closed.
Horizontal Ipe wood boards in a custom dark iron frame · Emerald Hills, CA
The custom angled panel beside the boulders
The most important detail on this job is the narrow section next to the left gate post. The property's natural boulders rise at an angle right beside the driveway, leaving an irregular opening that no standard rectangular fence panel would fill.
So we fabricated a matching Ipe and iron side section that follows the shape of the rocky embankment. The lower edge of the panel was angled to sit alongside the boulders rather than leaving a large open gap or patching it with some unrelated filler. The horizontal Ipe boards continue straight through the custom shaped section, which is what makes it read as part of the gate design instead of an afterthought.
The entrance ends up working with the terrain while keeping one consistent architectural line across the whole opening. It is a good illustration of why custom fabrication matters so much on hillside properties like the ones in Emerald Hills.
The takeaway for homeowners: the hard part of a hillside entrance is rarely the gate itself. It is everything around the gate, and that is where a stock panel gives up.
Dual LiftMaster LA500 automation
Two leaves, two operators, one coordinated entrance.
The gate is automated with two LiftMaster LA500 swing gate operators, one controlling each leaf. The LA500 is an articulated arm operator commonly used on residential swing gates. Giving each side its own operator lets the two leaves open and close together as a coordinated system, and the operators were positioned and configured around the geometry of the entrance, the arc of each leaf, and the mounting space actually available.
For a gate this size, the dual operator arrangement supports the weight of the custom leaves while giving the homeowner convenient automatic access for daily entry and exit. The automation was integrated without disturbing the clean front facing look of the Ipe and iron design, so from the street the entrance still reads as materials and craftsmanship rather than machinery.
We used the same operator on our custom steel swing gate project in Burlingame, where a single LA500 handles one 15 foot leaf.
See our gate openers →Installation considerations
What the site actually demanded before a single panel went up.
The gate posts, hinges, and frames were positioned to support the weight and the movement of the finished gate. Center alignment was set so the leaves meet cleanly when closed, and the perimeter clearances were held so the system moves without contacting the surrounding fence or the rockwork.
The finished result
Natural materials, modern fabrication, and a design that answers the property.
The completed entrance combines the warmth and character of horizontal Ipe with the structured, contemporary look of a dark iron frame. More to the point, the design responds directly to the site: the angled panel follows the hillside instead of fighting it, and the dual swing layout works within the space the driveway actually has.
Custom gates in Emerald Hills and the Peninsula
Emerald Hills is hillside country. Driveways climb, lots are cut into slopes, and rock, retaining walls, and mature landscaping sit right where a gate post wants to go. That is exactly the situation a stock gate cannot solve, and it is why almost every entrance up here needs its own fabrication rather than a catalog size.
We design and build custom driveway gates, install gate openers and access control, and handle swing gate installation across Emerald Hills, Redwood City, and San Mateo County. If your gate is already in and giving you trouble, we also handle gate repair across San Mateo County Planning a new gate rather than a repair? automatic gate installation in Redwood City..
Working with a sloped or awkward driveway?
Slopes, boulders, retaining walls, and narrow approaches all change what a gate can do. We come out, look at the actual opening, and design around it. Free on site estimate.
See Custom Gate Design →Emerald Hills gate project FAQ
What is the gate in this Emerald Hills project made of?
Why did you use Ipe wood instead of a softer wood?
Why is the side panel next to the boulders angled?
Which operators automate this gate?
Why does a dual swing gate need two operators?
Can you build a custom gate for a sloped or irregular driveway?
Planning a custom gate for a hillside driveway?
We design, fabricate, and install custom driveway gates throughout Emerald Hills and the San Francisco Bay Area. We build the gate around the property's architecture, terrain, access needs, and the materials you want. Free on site estimate and a written fixed quote before any work begins.
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