McNasty 260 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 We have a 1.5 year old who climbs everything. Literally spends all day trying to climb on stuff. I've had enough, so today I built this. Pretty proud of it considering I'm a novice at this type of stuff. The biggest challenge we had was that there was no real way to gate off the stairs as you can see from the 3rd picture. We had a gate that we slid back and forth between the bannisters, but he figured out how to move it so I had to find a way to block it off for good. I built another gate just like this at the top of the stairs but didn't take any pictures. I tied it down with zip locks (it's actually very sturdy for being so heavy) because I didn't want to put holes in anything and it needed to be easy to remove and put back. We're expecting our 3rd son in a few months, so I figured it was worth it to spend the money to not have to deal with this again. Built, stained, and mounted both gates from scratch in 1 day, not bad eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docwagon 856 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Looks really good. The Combat Engineer in me can't help but note the hinges are on the side that the 'enemy' is approaching from, as are the reinforcing slats that can be used as stairs to help gain purchase...but I'm reasonably sure your kids aren't going to have access to cutting tools and by the time they can heave themselves over will be old enough to not need the gate any more anyway. One thing I would consider on a more serious note is putting something between the zip ties and the banister. Even if it wiggles just a little with each opening it may be rough on the finish long term, sort of sawing through it. A little bit of mole skin or something like that would remove that possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McNasty 260 Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Sometime this week I was planning on doing something like that I just didn't know what would be the best solution. I will be getting some of those felt stickers that you put on the bottom of furniture legs and putting them between the gate sides and the main banisters it's tied to to prevent rubbing. Not sure what mole skin is but I'll certainly look into it. I do need something there because those zip ties are tight as hell. They need to be because the gate weighs around 20 lbs and all the weight is on the left banister. We wanted to make it high enough where he couldn't reach over and drop stuff and then get mad because he can't get to it (also why I only left a .25" gap btwn the boards so he couldn't put anything through it). He's nowhere near tall enough to reach the top so he shouldn't be able to grab anything to pull himself up on that bottom board. But of course the kid is a little ninja and has surprised us plenty of times. For now I think he's conceded defeat and doesn't mess with it. So far so good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The3rdWalker 1,268 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 May I ask what it cost you to make? Granted our son is three weeks from being born and not worrying about climbing but I really enjoy the design. i7 7700k, 16GB RAM, GEFORCE 1080, 240GB SSHD, 2TB SSD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumbers Crack 4,055 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I like it Mc....my only comment would be how long it will take him to try standing on the bottom step and working on the bolt?! If he tries to get past it, take a picture and post it in the thread Thanks to Capn_Underpants for the artwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McNasty 260 Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 All in I spent $150 at Home Depot, but that also included a 2nd smaller gate at the top. The hardware, wood glue, and stain was $50 of that. We put the bolt there for convenience as he's not tall enough to reach it yet. If it becomes a problem we can easily move it to the back side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docwagon 856 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/dr.-scholl's-moleskin-plus-padding-strips-4-5/8-inch-x-3-3/8-inch/ID=prod6067956-product Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerBurge 2,375 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 The scariest part of it all is that Bill is a farther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaGarratt 11,006 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 That is pretty sweet work and it suits your house. Stairs are such a pain that it was one of the main reasons why i live in a bungalow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McNasty 260 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 The scariest part of it all is that Bill is a farther Father times 2 going on 3 and my wife is still around. Winning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McNasty 260 Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Apparently he IS tall enough to unlatch the bolt. That took all of one day for the little fucker to figure it out. I swear James Bond is our milkman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docwagon 856 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Should have shown a Combat Engineer your plans before you built. Now you need overwatch for your obstacle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plumbers Crack 4,055 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Apparently he IS tall enough to unlatch the bolt. That took all of one day for the little fucker to figure it out. I swear James Bond is our milkman. I don't want to say I told you so but..... Thanks to Capn_Underpants for the artwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tronic44 3,642 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Really nice job dude, looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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