# baby gates in a rental



## pumpkin (Apr 8, 2003)

We are renting a townhouse while our house is being built. It has a long staircase right outside the bedroom.

We can't screw anything into the walls.

I was thinking a pressure mounted gate on the bottom stair. The kind that swings open and you can step through. I can't put it lower because there is only wall on one side.

For the top I figured we just have to leave it open. DH is arguing that some gate, even a pressure mounted gate, is better than nothing.


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## Addy's Mom (Nov 20, 2009)

You can't screw anything into the walls because there's no place to do so, or because you aren't allowed to do so?

(When I was renting, we permanently mounted a baby gate at the top of the stairs. I removed it and spackled and repainted the holes, no problem).

If there is anywhere you can safely and properly put a baby gate, even a pressure one, I'd do it.


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## Drummer's Wife (Jun 5, 2005)

I've seen people screw them into the wall in rentals. It depends on what your lease/landlord says, but usually, the worst thing is that when you move out they charge you a couple bucks per big hole (deducted from your deposit).

We have stairs near the bedrooms, too, but haven't needed to gate them (moved here when our youngest was 9 mos, he's almost 3 now) but every family has different needs. Just mentioning that incase your LO is still really young, and you are just planning for the future.

ETA: doh, nevermind, I see her age in your siggy.

I would do what Addy's mom did and repair the holes yourself if you think the owners would be upset.


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## pumpkin (Apr 8, 2003)

We are renting short-term so we can't put any holes in the walls or make any modifications at all.


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

We bought a gate, and never installed it. We just didn't allow ds in the hallway alone and closed the doors if we were in an upstairs room. But i have seen several pressure mounted gates at the top of stairs in folks houses, as well as, screwed in ones, and as long as your rental is painted "rental white" I think you'd be able to paint over it very easily


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## pumpkin (Apr 8, 2003)

Its actually a really nice designer light brown. Nice fixtures. Seriously its like a private home. This place normally only does extremely long leases, but given the slack rental rates these days we negotiated an exception with the caveat that we leave no trace when we move out.


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pumpkin* 
Its actually a really nice designer light brown. Nice fixtures. Seriously its like a private home. This place normally only does extremely long leases, but given the slack rental rates these days we negotiated an exception with the caveat that we leave no trace when we move out.

Then I would just keep the door shut when you are upstairs. Or put a pressure gate in the doorway if you want the doors open to be able to hear someone downstairs etc.


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## justKate (Jun 10, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
Then I would just keep the door shut when you are upstairs. Or put a pressure gate in the doorway if you want the doors open to be able to hear someone downstairs etc.

I would probably do this in your situation. BUT here's what we did at the top of our stairs. The top of the stairs is a wall on one side and a banister on the other. We didn't want to drill in to the banister because we'll be renting/selling it within 18 mos. so we bought the KidCo banister mount hardware but didn't use the wood that came with it. We cut and painted a 2x4 to fit alongside the banister (ours is raised off the floor, unlike the one in the photo). Then mounted the gate to the wood, the wood to the mounts, and the mounts affixed to the banister per the instructions. Then drilled in to the wall (which was only 4 tiny screws). Seriously, tiny, especially if you have someone who knows what they're doing. I can send you pics if you need...

Good luck! At least it's short-term.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

If you have a coffee table that is longer than the opening, lay it on it's side behind each wall on either side when upstairs and you need it gated off. Too heavy for baby to move.


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## npl (Nov 29, 2008)

Do you have banister rails at the top and bottom?
I just saw an adapter kit designed for top-of-stair gates for where you can't fix to the wall/drill into the bannister rail. It's basically straps that hold a framing piece against the banister, and then you mount the gate against that, IIRC.
I think I saw it on the Graco.ca website, funnily enough, but under one of their other brands. Also, check out companies like KidCo, and I think that Evenflo makes a kit for their stair gate, too.


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

We don't have a gate upstairs 'cause we spend so little time up there & so I am sure to just never leave ds unattended in the landing (we generally keep all the doors upstairs closed).

I would NOT use a pressure mounted gate at the top of the stairs. I have seen them fail too many times (we have used them for years for our dogs). With no gate at least you know you have to be there. With the pressure mounted I think it gives you a false sense of security.


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## annekh23 (Nov 1, 2008)

Took one look at the bottom of the stairs in our first house and realised gating the bottom would be close to impossible, worried a bit and it turned out to be a complete non issue. Gated the top as it was between our bedroom and the kids room, by the time DS could open his bedroom door he was also old enough to go up and down the stairs without direct supervision.

Moved house when DD was 17mths old after having spent 2mths living in a very non child friendly rental and surviving and decided not to bother, it's also not been a problem.

We now have a baby, we've no plans to put a gate in either top or bottom of the stairs, but we may put one in between rooms downstairs, which would essentially be equivalent to one at the bottom of the stairs. We'll just play it by ear and see how life develops, like how much work it is to keep her supervised and/or contained in other ways.


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## Super_mommy (Nov 13, 2009)

We don't use a gate.. We don't want to change anything in this rental home.


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## justKate (Jun 10, 2008)

*pumpkin*, I just thought, you might be able to use zip ties to secure a gate to something. Just brainstorming.


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## lexbeach (Mar 6, 2002)

We've always just taught our babies how to safely climb up and down stairs. Our babies and toddlers were way safer on the stairs than our now 6-year-olds are!

My mom baby-sat for our twins when they were about 14 months old. We did not have a gate at the top or the bottom of the stairs, but there was a pressure gate upstairs in the doorless-doorway to our office (to keep the kids out of the computer wires, etc.). My mom felt so "unsafe" about there not being a gate at the top of our stairs, that she moved the pressure gate from the office doorway to the top of the stairs while she was playing with the kids in their room. Of course, one of our toddlers pushed on the gate and ended up riding it all the way down the stairs.







Thank goodness he wasn't the least bit hurt, but my mom was pretty traumatized.

Never put a pressure-mounted gate at the top of the stairs. The safest choice is to teach your kids how to be safe on stairs . . . then they'll be safe around stairs wherever you go, regardless of baby gate status.

Lex


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## LDSmomma (May 11, 2009)

We're renting, and we have two gates mounted to the walls, and we have had to move one of them a few inches down once (what a pain), and we just spackled. We can't even tell!


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lexbeach* 
We've always just taught our babies how to safely climb up and down stairs. Our babies and toddlers were way safer on the stairs than our now 6-year-olds are!

My mom baby-sat for our twins when they were about 14 months old. We did not have a gate at the top or the bottom of the stairs, but there was a pressure gate upstairs in the doorless-doorway to our office (to keep the kids out of the computer wires, etc.). My mom felt so "unsafe" about there not being a gate at the top of our stairs, that she moved the pressure gate from the office doorway to the top of the stairs while she was playing with the kids in their room. Of course, one of our toddlers pushed on the gate and ended up riding it all the way down the stairs.







Thank goodness he wasn't the least bit hurt, but my mom was pretty traumatized.

Never put a pressure-mounted gate at the top of the stairs. The safest choice is to teach your kids how to be safe on stairs . . . then they'll be safe around stairs wherever you go, regardless of baby gate status.

Lex

Very good point. Although our gates are more about keeping me from chasing a baby up the stairs 100x a day 'cause he thinks it's great fun!


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## LaurenAnanas (Feb 26, 2008)

Is the layout such that you could mount a pressure gate perpendicular to the stairs?

We did that with this one: http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Ha...3309322&sr=8-1

and haven't had any problems. It is very secure, even with an extender- she likes to bang on it and yell at the dog downstairs. We have it in the hallway kind of right before the stairs. So it keeps her away from the stairs, but if she were to somehow push it over (we've tried and can't even do it ourselves), she would still be in the hall and not sliding down the stairs.

It may not be the absolute best solution, but it's working well for us. Also, we took it out after a month, to move some furniture, and there were no marks on the wall.


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *DahliaRW* 
If you have a coffee table that is longer than the opening, lay it on it's side behind each wall on either side when upstairs and you need it gated off. Too heavy for baby to move.

Please, only consider this if you can get it extreamly upright and it is at least as high as a safety gate. Either of my children would have immediately climbed over a table simply on it's side by about 10 months. And the legs would be there to pull on as well.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lexbeach* 
We've always just taught our babies how to safely climb up and down stairs. Our babies and toddlers were way safer on the stairs than our now 6-year-olds are!

Our "dangerous on the stairs" guy is 8, but other than that


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TiredX2* 
Please, only consider this if you can get it extreamly upright and it is at least as high as a safety gate. Either of my children would have immediately climbed over a table simply on it's side by about 10 months. And the legs would be there to pull on as well.

Our "dangerous on the stairs" guy is 8, but other than that









That is why you lay it on it's side, smooth side facing the upstairs.


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