Get the details for our top of stairs baby gate solution.
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Why can installing a baby gate at the top of the stairs be so tricky? We needed to find a baby gate solution that would keep our daughter safe, but our offset banisters and awkwardly shaped double newel posts made things difficult.
After doing some research, here is exactly how we were able to make it work. Keep reading to see how we installed a safe and functional baby gate at the top of our stairs without drilling directly into our newel posts.
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Top of Stairs Baby Gate Solution
Materials we used
- 2 x 4s
- extra long cable ties
- Hardware-mounted baby gate
When looking for the best baby gates to go at the top of stairs, I saw to avoid pressure-mounted gates. One accidental slip of the pressure grip would be very dangerous in this location.
But we also didn’t see how we’d be able to drill into the unusual edges of newel posts either. -Until I came across this DIY trick to secure flush wooden pieces to your existing newel posts.
This allowed the attachment components of the gate to line up properly (and it kept us from putting permanent drill holes in our newel posts👌).
We measured our wooden pieces to fit the height of the baby gate and secured them tightly with extra-long cable ties. We tested it from every angle to make sure the pieces wouldn’t move AT ALL.
I was able to find the wood stain for our stairs in the garage. So I applied a quick coat to the new wooden pieces before applying the cable ties. It’s not perfect, but close enough to keep this as less of an eye sore.
Next, we were all set to easily install our baby gate as usual.
Do your own research and install your preferred hardware-mounted baby gate. I won’t tell you which gate to use, but here are the reasons we chose ours.
We personally love our retractable gate. It’s a nice low-profile option, since it can be rolled back when not in use. A safety locking feature keeps the screen tight when you have it open. It serves our family well. But we do remain diligent about opening it up when our toddler is upstairs.
I also liked and considered this gate. In general, a heavy-duty swing gate is a more reliable option since it’s in permanent use.
We added the second wooden piece to the front edge of the right-hand side. This gave us the depth we needed to safely push back from that first step and allowed everything to line up nicely.
This DIY baby gate solution for the top of our stairs cost us less than $20 (not including gate). It was the best option for our particular banister and newel posts.
Every set of stairs is unique. If you have a traditional post, you might consider this no-hole gate mounting clamp.
