Top of Stairs Gate with Banisters

Updated on August 01, 2012
K.F. asks from Hillsboro, OR
5 answers

I need a gate for our new home at the top of the stairs. It has nice wood banister poles on both sides that we really don't want to drill into. Our current home has a pressure mounted Summer Infant walk through gate which is fine at the bottom of the stairs, but we don't feel like it is secure enough for the top (not because it is pressure mounted but the actual latch itself). The one we currently have at the top of our stairs is a hardware mounted, swing open type gate. These won't work at our new home because of where the stairs open up to (no where to have it swing open without constantly banging your thighs into it).

So, we need a gate that is:
* Sturdy enough for a toddler pushing on it at the top of a staircase
* Can be mounted with a banister kit or something else that won't require drilling into the wood
* Is a walk through (so always closed until you walk through it ) or is retractable
* Preferably doesn't have the bar to walk over at the bottom - I don't want to be tripping down the stairs!
* Can be operated by our older kids (at least the 5 year old)

Anyone have one that they like and will work for us?

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More Answers

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K.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

You can buy pieces of wood and lash them using zip ties to the banister. Then, you drill the gate into the extra wood, rather than into the banister itself. It protects the banister but still provides the safety of a hardware mounted gate.

As for a gate itself, I'm not sure what kind you'll like. We have a safety first gate that we are happy with, but we do have the space to keep it open when not in use. We could keep it closed all the time though if we chose too. My son is five and has been able to open and close it himself for at least a year.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Find a stair gate and use zip ties (the really big ones) to affix it to the banister. We have to use zip ties on one side of our gate and the other side is in the wall. You might also look into a mesh one that retracts into the holder on the other wall, or the kind that swings both directions with very little hardware. Good luck. Our top of gate stair is curved, plastic, and rolls on wheels.

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A.G.

answers from Seattle on

I don't have much experience with gates so I can't exactly answer your question. We have stairs, but I didn't like the inconvenience for me and I didn't like listening to my toddlers scream about the gate when I put it up. I taught my children to go down the stairs on their bellies when they were still crawling. The only mishap we had was when my 6 month old tried to crawl down the stairs before I had a chance to teach him. (it was on the day he learned to crawl up the stairs.) if you can't find a gate that works, you might try teaching him to go down the stairs on his own.

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M.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

We mounted the gates into the wood banisters and you cannot even tell that they were there so don't disregard that option-it is the safest thats for sure.

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