Top of the Stairs Gate for an Irregular Opening

Hi S. - First off, I strongly urge you to NOT use a springloaded gate at the top of the stairs. Crawlers turn into cruisers and soon she will be using the gate to support herself to a standing position. Just too much risk that she and the gate will come crashing down the stairs. Not to mention that a tightly fitted spring loaded gate is hard to get in and out of, especially at the top of the stairs.

We have a similar configuration at the top of our stairs - hopefully I can explain clearly enough how we mounted our gate. You might consider asking your handyman to do it for you - he would probably charge you around $50.

We purchased a very basic natural wood gate with vertical slats. It was under $40 and mounts to the wall. We've had it for over 5 years and it is still just as stable as the first day we put it up. We also mounted one at the top of our deck stairs. They are available at Wal-Mart, Toys-R-Us, Babies-R-Us etc.

We mounted the hinge on the wall side so that when it is open, it sits flush with the wall. On the post side, we fashioned and attached 2 small pieces of wood big enough for the mounting hardware. The pieces are cut into a wedge so that the mounting hardware can face the wall directly.

We painted the pieces to match the woodwork and caulked around the seams so it's hardly even noticeable.

Here's an easy way to find the right angle. Hold your small piece of mounting wood up to the post and position the front of it so that it's at the correct angle so that the hardware faces the wall directly. The back of the block will have a corner facing the flat edge of your post. Hold a straight-edge up to the post and over the corner of the wood block and draw a line on the block parallel to the post. The line will be where you cut.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi-
We had a similar situation at our house. A wall on one side but a metal railing on the other. We found a gate at Home Depot that's a tension gate that stays in place and has a gate that you open with a foot peddle that you step on. It makes it easier when you're coming up the stairs. It's made by The First Years. It should work as long as your opening is straight across.

1 mom found this helpful

I had a similar problem and we just taught my son how to climb down the stairs. He showed no interest in the stairs for a long time and would just crawl right past them until he saw his sister go down them, so we taught him how to turn around and go down on his belly (kind of). We probably spent an hour on the stairs one day and he thought it was fun going up and down but I didn't make it a game (I wasn't chasing him, giggling, etc.). Ever since then we haven't had a problem. I still follow him down the stairs incase there is a problem but I feel ok knowing he knows how to get down if he needed to.

GOOD LUCK!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi S., we have the same kind of problem at the top of our stairs the gate won't align with the actual railing, so we bought a gate at Babies R Us. I can't remember the brand, but I think it was KidCo (purple box.) It was a bit pricey at about $89, but well worth it. The gate is now secured with hardware (very important to have the gate at the top of the stairs drilled into the walls) and it swings open pretty easily for adults, but our daughter hasn't figured out how to open it and hasn't tried (she's 2 1/2.) I spoke with a sales person at Babies R Us and explained our situation and he was very helpful. I think we also had to purchase a gate extension kit (only $10.) Good luck.

I had irregular stair top as well. I just had to use the hallway at the top or just gate off whatever room she would be in, bedroom, master, etc. Kind of a pain but better than a gate tha may cave and fall.

S.,

Just want to let you know that I think the Angle Mount Gate by Kidco could help:
http://www.kidco.com/main.taf?erube_fh=kidco&kidco.su...

This company is great and can answer any questions for you if you have any reservations.

Good luck!

T.

We also have a loft with a weird set up. I used the Configure Gate from One step ahead. Very sturdy, never a day of trouble with it and you can configure it to look as symetrical as possible in an irregular opening. I liked it so much we used one in the living room space too.
R.

Hi S.,
I am not familiar with your house model but I had a similar issue. My suggestion is to put the gate away from the stairs in the hall. My pediatrician actually cautioned me from putting the gate at the top of the stairs do to the possibility of it wiggling loose or opening unexpectedly. Putting it in the hall worked well for us.
Take care,
B.

Have you tried Leaps and Bounds? They have a websight. Also we were renting a townhome with similar issues and ended up putting the gate on the child's room (far from ideal, but you can do that temporarily for safety).

Good luck,
R.

Stacy,
I got the Kiddy Guard about 5 years ago when my oldest started crawling. I think it fits your needs. It is a bit pricy, but I feel worth every penny. It has held up well and can be adjusted to fit any opening. I love it. Here is a link for it:
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...
Good Luck!

The lady across the street from me has some little kids, and three sets of stairs so she teaches her babies how to climb down the stairs on their own so she doesn't need a million gates that the older kids push over anyway. I've been trying this, and after a week my son can climb up the stairs, we're still working on climbing down. If you get desperate this may work for you! :) Let me know if you have questions about how to teach the stairs.

Hi S.,

We have a similar set-up at our house. I take one of those regular babygates and set it on the top step, then expand it as wide as I can get it. It stays in place really well, but I still have to watch the kids like a hawk because it would not hold up with anyone climbing on it.

I looked at some gates that roll like window shades, but I never bought one. (I think they have them on onestepahead.com)

Good luck!

love, P.

I can't really picture the top of your stairs. We have a pressure-type gate that doesn't sound like it would work. But have you looked at the gates you install "permanently?" Of course, you can take them off later, but they stay on and swing open when you need to get through. It seems like they would have more options for installation because they are anchored so securely.

My daughter's God Mother found a great gate for her for a similarly strange place - too wide, banister on one side, wall on the other, over flooring height change... She ordered it on line, but I have now seen them at Target - It is white aluminum, but what is great is that it is sold in panels, so you can make it the size/shape you need. My daughter used 1x2 boards on either side of the banister and screwed them together to make it sturdy & yet not damage the banister... My grand daughter is now 3, and it has survived the test of time. (o:~

We have the exact same problem with our upstairs and ended up getting a free-standing gate. It's one of those that are like a circle or corral for kids, but we opened it up and basically made a long zig-zaggy fence out of it. Our walls into one room upstairs and railing are the support for it and it is very sturdy. It would take quite a force to knock it down. Not sure if this makes sense! Here is a link to the one we have http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=226697.... Best of luck!

We had stairs with an irregular opening at the bottom. It was very difficult to find a gate thatworked. We ended up with one that attached to screws in the walls. It expands and shrinks according to your needs. One end latches for opening and closing, it just swings on the other end. It was perfect because we had a wide opening and a wierd angle. I don't remember the brand. But it looks kind of like lattice. It expands to several feet, if I remember correctly. We bought it at Wal-amrt for 20$, of course that was 5 years ago.