Installing Baby Gate Two of Three

[Snap Marc]

If any if you care about the "Snap Marc" saga of baby gates. Well, here's Part II of III.

Part I can be found here: http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=48359

Here is a video link of this gate:
http://woodtube.ning.com/video/baby-gate-ii-of-iii

My wife said to me the other day, "Spencer will be able to hurdle these gates before you get them up." That lit a fire and made me get out of my own way and get another gate installed. By the way, building these three beauties was the easy part. Installing them, well requires learning how to be an engineer.

Part one dealt with attaching it to a round post with not much strength. Keep in mind, these gates are heavy as heaven's opposite. Really heavy! Next time I'll use hollow metal instead of solid iron.

So Part II deals with mounting this gate at the bottom of the stairs to a wall that has no available stud anywhere near where I need it. So I fabricated a similar mount used in Part I, but that would have left me needing to use sheetrock anchors, I was minutes away from starting, and then I said, no. I can't take this risk. I scrapped the mount I built and went back to the drawing board.

This time, I made an extra wide mount that did cover the closest stud. In addition to lag screws tapping into the stud, I also used those killer toggle bolts you can get at HD with the long white plastic things you snap off. They're hidden under each hinge. Those just add a little extra support behind that side of the mounting bracket.

So here are some pics. I broke the mounting bracket into two thick pieces of oak. I need to split them due to the deep moulding on our walls. I didn't want to start removing moulding.

Oh, also since the mount was much wider than the gate, I had to run a dado down the length of the mount to accommodate for the pin boss of the hinge. Without this recess, the hinge wouldn't lay flat in the mortise I routed. Usually the pin boss will fall of the edge of a mount, but that was not the case here.

So to say the least, it worked very well. Gate III is next, I saved the easiest one for last. Gate III will be on wheels like Gate I. But Gate II is floating in the air and is incredible stable and strong. Stronger than I had even hoped for.

Enjoy these pics. I even have a movie I'll see if I can post.

[cabinetman]

The gate and the mounting look great. You did some nice work. It looks like it belongs there. I have one thought that having the gate at the bottom of a stairway might present a safety issue in case of a fall or a slip.

If a fall happens part of the way up, a downward plunge could be devastating. If Spencer is just behind the gate and slips or falls against the gate (in a natural forward motion created by the angle of the stairway, he could face plant himself into wrought iron.
.

[Snap Marc]

You're correct in all of those scenarios. And trust me, I want to do everything to keep him safe. But then I look around my house and every single thing in every room. Do you know how many hazards he's surrounded by? They're seriously everywhere.

It's amazing there aren't more injuries. Even a simple kitchen cabinet door is dangerous. Slamming it while holding the edge could be crushed fingers. Luckily he's a very agile kid. He hardly speaks, but he can do the 20-yard dash in 1.9 seconds while playing with a hot wheel in one hand and his sister's doll in the other.

Even the gate itself is a threat. If he closes it and his hand is in the hinge area, that would equal pinched fingers. That's why I put the hasp-like clasp to keep the gate in the fully expanded position.

We'll always keep our eye on him. And Gate I is at the top of the stairs, so he won't be in the stairwell when the bottom gate is closed. Gate II is to keep him in the kitchen.

Trust me, safety is first and foremost. I appreciate that being your first thought as well.

Did you see the video??? My first one. Pretty cool, huh!

[cabinetman]

Did you see the video??? My first one. Pretty cool, huh!

Yeah, I took a looksee. Really neat video. You are destined for the movies.

I agree with you on the numerous possibilities for injury. It can be as simple as not having a cabinet door closed and bashing ones head on the edge. DAMHIKT. What you have there may work out just fine, for all of you.
.

[chabin76]

Looks great. How did you secure the far end of the gate so it does not swing out?

[crokett]

That gate looks great! Very nice work indeed.

[Snap Marc]

I use brass eyelets and spring hooks. Very effective. I haven't installed that yet, but right now it's so level and plumb, that it stay perfectly straight! Oh yeah!

[os1kne]

That's very nice work.