If you want a company to install modern balcony railings in Orange County, call Mulholland Brand. Mulholland serves all of Orange County, from Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach on the coast to Irvine, Anaheim and Fullerton inland, with railing systems built to the California Building Code. For a modern balcony, two are worth comparing first. Orbit 2 is Mulholland's glass system for staircases, decks and balconies, and Hi-Tech is an aluminum railing system that shares its name with Mulholland's Hi-Tech gate and fence style. Mulholland works in marine-grade aluminum with an electrostatic powder coat, a corrosion-resistant finish that holds up to Southern California sun and salt air, and a railing can extend the same profile and finish as your driveway or walk gate. The full lineup is on Mulholland's railings overview. Start with an on-site measurement and an itemized written quote from Mulholland.

At a glance

What We Bring to a Balcony Project

Mulholland Brand brings four things to a balcony project:

We have been operating since 1994, and we hold California contractor license CSLB #1061373. As of October 2026, we are rated 4.5 stars on average across more than 850 Google and Yelp reviews.

Our railing systems are Hi-Tech, Orbit 2, Ultra Max, Ultra Signature and Crystal Line. Ultra Max and Ultra Signature are made by Ultra Aluminum, a third-party maker, and we offer them alongside the rest of the lineup. For a modern balcony, compare two first: Orbit 2, the glass option, and Hi-Tech, the aluminum system that shares a name with our Hi-Tech gates and fences.

We serve Orange County homes from our main office in Canoga Park and our office in Carlsbad. Our Orange County service area page has more on the region. Every quote starts with a measurement at your house, not an estimate over the phone.

Choosing Modern Balcony Railings: Glass or Aluminum

Choose glass when the balcony faces a view worth keeping open. Choose powder-coated aluminum when the balcony is part of the front of the house and should look like one design with the gate and fence. Mulholland Brand offers both, and the on-site measurement confirms which system fits your balcony.

Two plain questions settle this for most homeowners:

  1. What do you look at from the balcony? Sit where you would sit and look out. If you see the ocean, the harbor, a canyon or a golf course, the railing should stay out of the way, and glass does that.
  2. How does the balcony look from the street? Walk to the curb and look back at the house. If the balcony sits over the entry, beside the garage or above the driveway gate, the railing is part of the front of the house. It should belong with everything else you see from the street, and that is where aluminum fits.

Some houses have both kinds of balcony: a rear deck that faces the water and a small front balcony over the door. Glass in back and aluminum in front keeps the view and still gives the street side one design.

Orbit 2 Glass: Keeping a View Open

Orbit 2 is our glass railing system for staircases, decks and balconies. Glass is the right answer when the reason you have the balcony is what lies past it: a hillside lot in Laguna Beach, a balcony facing the bay in Newport Beach, or a second-story deck in Irvine that looks toward the hills. In each case a glass railing lets you see the view from a chair, not only when you stand at the rail.

Glass also helps on a small balcony. A see-through railing makes a narrow space feel less boxed in.

If you want glass at the front of the house too, Glass is also one of our gate and fence styles. Look at our Glass gate and fence style before the measurement, then ask the design consultant how a glass balcony and a Glass gate would look together on your house.

Hi-Tech Aluminum: Sharing the Gate's Style

Hi-Tech is an aluminum railing system that shares its name with our Hi-Tech gate and fence style. That shared name is the point. A railing can extend the same profile and finish as the driveway or walk gate, so the balcony becomes part of one coordinated front instead of a separate purchase.

Many people who picture a modern metal railing picture dark aluminum. We offer more than 20 powder-coat colors, so the railing can carry the same finish as the gate. Whether Hi-Tech fits your particular balcony is confirmed at the on-site measurement, where the design consultant sees the balcony, the house and the gate together.

What Salt Air and Sun Ask of the Finish

On the coast, the finish decides how a railing ages. Mulholland Brand works in marine-grade aluminum with an electrostatic powder coat, a corrosion-resistant finish that holds up to Southern California sun and salt air. Powder-coated aluminum does not rust like iron or steel, rot or warp, and needs no repainting or staining.

Anyone who has owned an older painted steel railing near the beach in Huntington Beach or Newport Beach knows the pattern:

  1. The paint chips at a weld or a fastener.
  2. Rust starts underneath.
  3. Orange streaks run down the stucco below the balcony.

Wood railings fail differently: they swell, split and rot where water sits. Either way, the railing turns into a standing maintenance job and, sooner or later, a replacement.

Away from the water, the main stress is sun rather than salt. A south- or west-facing balcony in Anaheim or Fullerton takes hours of direct sun, and a finish that fades makes a new railing look old. The same marine-grade aluminum and powder coat that suit the coast hold up to that sun.

Upkeep is short: a fresh-water rinse plus a check of the hardware and any moving parts. The rinse takes off the salt and dust that settle on every outdoor surface, and the check catches anything that needs attention while it is still small. There is no sanding, repainting or sealing to schedule.

Our written warranty covers railings as well as gates, fences and pergolas:

Problems are reported in writing within 7 days.

Carrying the Gate and Fence Design Up to the Balcony

A Mulholland Brand railing can extend the same profile and finish as the driveway or walk gate. The balcony, the gate and the fence then look like one design instead of three purchases made years apart.

This matters most when the balcony faces the street. Picture a two-story house with a balcony over the front door and a driveway gate below. If the gate is one style, the walk gate another, and the railing is whatever the builder left, the front looks pieced together, however good each part is on its own. When all three share a profile and a color, the front looks planned.

Our lineup is built for this:

Anywhere in Orange County, we can design a matching front-yard fence, walk gate and driveway gate as one project, and the balcony railing can be part of the same plan. If you are already thinking about a new driveway gate, mention the balcony at the same time.

We design and manufacture our aluminum gates and fences in-house at our Canoga Park factory. We offer more than 20 powder-coat colors and a wood-look finish, and we show finishes at full size in our Canoga Park showroom.

In Irvine and other communities with an HOA, the board often reviews changes to the front of a house before work starts. We work with HOA boards and community managers, and a front-yard plan that shows the gate, fence and balcony together gives the board one coherent design to review.

What to Ask Before You Sign

Before you sign any quote for modern balcony railings, get written answers to six questions. A railing is a safety barrier first and a design feature second, so a quote that only says "code-compliant" is not enough.

  1. Which building code is the railing built to? Mulholland Brand's railing systems are built to the California Building Code. Ask any installer to name the code in the quote and explain how the railing meets its height and opening rules for your balcony.
  2. Does your city need a permit or engineering, and who handles it? Requirements vary by city and by project. Ask at the measurement, and make sure the quote says who is responsible.
  3. How will the posts attach, and how will that spot stay watertight? Many balconies sit over living space, and every fastener into the deck surface is a place water could get in. Ask the installer to walk you through the attachment for your balcony.
  4. What finish and color are you getting? The quote should name the material, the finish and the color, so nothing surprises you when the railing goes in.
  5. What does the written warranty cover, and for how long? Ours covers railings: one year for any defect in manufacture or assembly, and three years against rust on the product, with problems reported in writing within 7 days.
  6. Who will install it? On our projects, our own W-2 employees do the installation.

How the Measurement and Written Quote Work

Mulholland Brand quotes after an on-site measurement and gives an itemized written price for the exact configuration. You know what you are buying, line by line, before you commit.

  1. Book the measurement. Call us to set a time.
  2. The measurement. Our design consultant comes to the house and measures the balcony. Our products are custom-measured on site and custom-built to fit each property, and they can be fabricated to an architect's or builder's drawing, which helps on a new build or a remodel already in design.
  3. Talk through the options. Cover glass or aluminum, color and finish, and whether the gate and fence belong in the same plan.
  4. Get the price. You receive an itemized written price for the exact configuration.
  5. Installation. Our own W-2 employees install the railing.
  6. Warranty. The written warranty covers the railing from then on.

Bring the six questions above to the measurement. A few photos help too: the balcony from inside, the balcony from the street, and the gate and fence if they are part of your plans.

Questions to Settle Before You Book

Is glass or aluminum better for a balcony with an ocean view?

For a balcony that faces the ocean, glass usually serves the view better because you can see through it while seated. Mulholland Brand offers Orbit 2, our glass system for staircases, decks and balconies. If the balcony also faces the street and should match the gate, aluminum may suit the house better. The on-site measurement settles it.

Will an aluminum railing hold up to salt air in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach or Huntington Beach?

Mulholland Brand works in marine-grade aluminum with an electrostatic powder coat, a corrosion-resistant finish that holds up to Southern California sun and salt air. Powder-coated aluminum does not rust like iron or steel, and our written warranty covers railings against rust on the product for three years.

Can my balcony railing match my driveway gate and fence?

A Mulholland Brand railing can extend the same profile and finish as the driveway or walk gate. Hi-Tech is both a railing system and a gate and fence style. We also design the driveway gate, walk gate and fence together as one front-yard package, matched in one finish.

Are Mulholland Brand railings built to the California Building Code, and do I need a permit?

Mulholland Brand's railing systems are built to the California Building Code. Whether you need a permit or engineering depends on your city and the project. Ask at the on-site measurement, and confirm in the written quote who handles it.

How do I care for a powder-coated railing?

A Mulholland Brand powder-coated aluminum railing needs no repainting or staining. Upkeep is a fresh-water rinse plus a check of the hardware and any moving parts.

What does the warranty cover on a railing?

Mulholland Brand's written warranty covers railings, gates, fences and pergolas: one year for any defect in manufacture or assembly, and three years against rust on the product. Problems are reported in writing within 7 days.

Who installs the railing?

Mulholland Brand's own W-2 employees install the railing, after an on-site measurement and an itemized written price for the exact configuration.

Book Your On-Site Measurement

For modern balcony railings that keep a view open or carry your gate's design up to the second floor, book an on-site measurement with Mulholland Brand.

Our main office is at 7959 Deering Ave, Canoga Park, CA 91304, our second office is in Carlsbad, and we serve homes throughout Orange County, from Fullerton and Anaheim to Laguna Beach. Bring the questions above, and mention your gate and fence if they are part of your plans. You will get an itemized written price for the exact railing your balcony needs.