Stair gates can help you to make the stairs in your home off-limits to small children and pets - and they are not only for stairs - but can make any part of the home out of reach. There are different types available, including automatic locking gates, pressure safety gates, and high security stairway gates that mount either to the door frame or to studs within your wall - or that simply expand outwards to form a barrier between two immovable objects.
The fixed stair gates that you will find have been engineered for areas of the stairs on either the lower or upper level, although they can be used in other areas of the home - such as in a doorway - to keep babies and pets from gaining access to dangerous stairwells or simply to restrict their movement to parts of your home that you don't feel are safe for the child or pet. These types are fixed into one spot and will need to be installed and mounted appropriately in order to work well.
Auto lock pressure or pressure sensitive stair gates are easily mounted between the two supporting sides of a doorway or opening to a room. This type of gate uses the pressure of a tight fit in order to hold them into place - but have a latch that allows you to quickly release the gate for access to the room - and then shut the gate behind you. Most of these types of are made from steel and will last for a long time.
The pass through or high traffic types that you can find on the market are meant for areas of the home where you want to have the restriction of a gate but that are used often during the day - so you can quickly pass through when need be, but keep unwanted little ones from doing the same.
When shopping for your gate, you will be presented with various stair gates to choose from. To speed along the process, measure the entrance to the area that you plan to restrict before heading out to the store and look for a sturdy gate made of durable materials that will perform well and last for the long run.
