I need help finding a baby gate for a tricky stairwell.

July 14, 2009 11:52 PM

I need help finding a baby gate for a tricky stairwell.

First time mother here and I would really like to have some Moms/Dads opinions about baby gates. I have been searching for a week to find a gate that fits my needs, and I have concerns about them all.

Here's my problem. I have a tricky stairwell and I need a gate for the top of it. The opening is 46" wide. There are baseboards running along the bottom of one side. It's an awkward designed space, and I'm not sure if there are two studs on either wall placed equally enough to mount a baby gate into them. A handrail was in the wall, and it completely fell out, so I'm nervous about hardware-mounting. I'm also nervous about pressure-mounted gates, because I'm afraid my daughter can push it hard enough and it would fall.

Here's what I would like ideally... A gate that can be pressure-mounted and hardware-mounted. Easily opened with one hand while carrying a child. Securely locks into place when closed. Sturdy material. Bonus points if my cats can get through it, but that's not really important. Would be nice if it swings only one way, but not a neccessity.

I really liked the Safety1st SmartStair but it isn't big enough for the opening.

What do I do if there are no suitable studs to mount a gate? The stairwell goes right off the livingroom and kitchen, so it would be very hard to just keep her away from it. Can I mount from two studs if they aren't straight across from each other?

Safety is my major concern here. I'm willing to pay for a quality gate, preferably under $200. I'm terrified she will tumble down the stairs, it's really stressing me out now that she's so mobile. Please give me some suggestions.

posted by sporaticgenius to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Best answer: A handyman-type carpenter should be able to build you something simple. It won't fold-away, but it could be a single solid piece of wood on a hinge (opening toward you, obviously) with a simple catch. And a carpenter will certainly be able to find secure studs or mount points.

This is an hour or two's worth of work, and should be $200ish with just plain raw wood: I imagine a single piece of plywood inside a frame (for nice edges), that's $30 worth of wood. Add $10 for the hinges and latch and $150 for labor.

You can paint it and make it pretty after he leaves on your own time. Cool value-added idea: paint it with blackboard or whiteboard paint and let it be a kid-height drawing place.
posted by rokusan at 11:57 PM on July 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: That's such a great idea, I can't believe I didn't think of that. I'm calling a carpenter tomorrow.
posted by sporaticgenius at 12:04 AM on July 15, 2009

I like the Baby Dan gates for awkward spaces. I had an 8 foot space I needed to block off when my grandson was small and their gates were perfect for big spaces and awkwardly shaped spaces.
posted by Lolie at 12:31 AM on July 15, 2009

I've uploaded some photos of a baby gate that a local guy made for us. He's put them in our previous house as well. (Please ignore the layer of renovation dust on everything, and our banister safety hack with the plastic mesh)

He attaches two bits of wood on either side of the stairwell, but mostly I wanted to show you a couple of features in case they are useful. He put a little rolling caster on the bottom of the gate (at the far end from the hinge) This means if somebody leans on the gate, or stands on it for a bit of a swing, it won't rip off its hinges.

He also makes his own "childproof" latch from a regular sort of slidey-bolt, with a bit of plastic over the top, which simply pivots on a screw. The latch sits on the downstairs side of the gate. This has all worked well for us, and confounds adult visitors. It is easy to open with one hand.

The cage-barrier dowels are close enough together that our small cat can't get through, but he can jump over the top of it. (Even if he sometimes sits on the downhill side and miaows pathetically)
posted by slightlybewildered at 1:17 AM on July 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

We used/use the older version of http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-10512-Top-of-Stair-Plus-Gate/dp/B000YZAYYS/ref=amb_link_83941551_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=hero-quick-promo&pf_rd_r=0PY6C6D6XWPC29WKYTNB&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=472153831&pf_rd_i=B00004YMZE">these, which fit our older house's wider areas. We've kept them up now for six years, because the old cat can get through them but the new dog can't. To get around our baseboard/wall/stud problem, we just bought a small section of baseboard from the off-cuts bin at Home Depot; used some kind of special plugs to mount that to the wall; painted it to match the wall; and then mounted the upper hinge to it. After six years they're still in good shape, clean up easily, and are strong enough for the five year old to stand on (and now climb over, but that's fine - the Basset Hound can't). The latch has been great - simple for us but hard for the kid, it swings either way, and can be lifted straight out of the hinges easily for moving furniture and stuff.
posted by peagood at 5:31 AM on July 15, 2009

Yeah, we do two things that the gate manufacturers tell you not to do. First, I've mounted a gate through a baseboard (generally with a spacer to take up the gap on the top). Second, I've even mounted gates on hollow wall segments where there's no stud. It's not my preference, but sometimes you don't have an alternative. The stress on these things when closed is generally along the direction of the wall and not perpendicular to it so a good wall anchor will hold pretty well. You could pull it out if you really tried hard and the gate were open, but a kid would be pretty large before any damage was done, and the larger they are the more they can follow directions.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 7:16 AM on July 15, 2009

I say, screw a section of 2x4 to the wall to mount the gate in, if you have to. (Or 4x4, depending on how much your baseboard comes off the wall.) If you use enough wallboard anchors, you won't need a stud behind it. She'd have to literally tear up the wall to make the gate fail.
posted by Citrus at 7:24 AM on July 15, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks everyone
posted by sporaticgenius at 7:40 AM on July 15, 2009

We use the KidCo angle mount gate, which can be mounted into your studs even if they're not straight across from each other. And it only swings one way.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 10:33 AM on July 15, 2009

You may like the Gatekeeper Safety Gates. They can be custom-crafted for your needs.
posted by dhartung at 10:44 PM on July 15, 2009