Four years ago I made a horrible looking gate out of 2x4's and spare lumber. It had a simple hook latch on one side and swung in like a real gate using hinges affixed to a banister. I used a 1x6 block mounted on a stud in the wall as both the catch for the latch and brace to stop the gate from swinging the wrong way. It was designed to prevent infants and toddlers from falling down the stairs.Isgrimnur wrote:Those things are dangerous. My friend made sure to get ones that were actual gates that could be swung open and closed. Of course, these are hardware mounted to the walls, so not exactly an off-site babysitting solution.
Over the years it has been modded a few times, including putting a shield around the latch so little hands can't easily reach over or under to get to it, and shoring up small gaps that little hands persisted in using to get to the latch. The finished product has yet to be breached by the Youngest (3) though the Eldest (5) can easily let himself down as needed.
We went through three "baby gates" that our kids just knocked over, ripped off the walls, or generally abused to death before I built this.
I find that the gate still serves a solid purpose in turning the upstairs into a "safe haven" for the cats if one of my wife's dogs gets loose, and does keep the 3 year old from going downstairs to raid the fruit bowl so he can bite everything twice and throw it away.