So you are ready to buy a baby gate? If you are like most people, you will either go to the baby store or look at the Internet. Most people will get turned off by the Internet unless they know exactly what they want. This occurs because nothing replaces the good ole look and feel of the product. A middle of the road approach would be to go to a local store, look and price the gates, then go back to the Internet to get the best price and selection available.

 

Assuming you have read our section on baby gates and decided on a type of gate, confusion will set in when you begin looking at the gates in the store. Primarily this occurs because the basic functions of the gate are deceptive. That is, the sturdiness of the gate, the appearance of the gate and the way you have to open it will come into play.

 

Our favorite gate is the Evenflo 1050 and 1155. These gates are made of maple wood. Their price is one of the lowest on the market for an easy to install and easy to use gate. They open with one hand, slide and swing both ways and can be lifted out of their hinges to get them out of the way for a party or moving furniture. They are also very light and place minimum loads on the mounting structure.

 

Their drawback is, that they must be installed in perpendicular applications. That is the gate must go straight across to the other side, such as a doorway or a hall. There can be no angle mounting. The other disadvantage is that they are difficult to mount on stair posts as they require a perfectly straight surface. Most posts are are round and tapered from top to bottom.

Another gate in this same category, that was the precursor of the Evenflo gate is the Northstates gate. This is also a wooden gate. Like the Evenflo gate, it slides and swings and can be lifted out of the hinges when needed. It is a little smaller in height, smaller wood slats and has a different locking mechanism. The price is also less than the Evenflo gate.  The mounting structure of this gate is identical to the Evenflo gate, but the opening mechanism allows for angle mounts. Because of this feature, you can mount this gate to stair posts if you do not mind placing a small hole in the post.

 

The next step up in gates brings you to the Cardinal and Kidco Gates. These are metal gates and come in various configurations to meet varying demands of installation.

 

The Cardinal gates are either aluminum or steel and are powder coated. Thus they can be used outdoors. Do not count on a gate lasting more than four years outside as even coated materials tend to get water and corrosion in them. For a baby gate this should be no problem as baby gates are only good for children up to two years old.

 

Cardinal gates have several models. They can be expanded with sections both on top to keep dogs in and on the end to increase the opening size. They mount easily with their own mount that requires only two screws and have opening mounts that will allow angle mounts. There is one gate that is self locking when closed. All gates can be lifted out of their mounting structure when necessary.

 

Kidco gates start with a line of metal and wooden gates that open and close like doors. The gates are solid length, so the swing length is equal to the closed length. These gates can be expanded by adding sections to the length. Installation is more difficult and requires greater attention to the details of mounting them perpendicular to the wall. They all open with one hand and are self locking when closed. One line has angle mounted opening hardware to take advantage of difficult areas.

 

Kidco has some unique gates for overcoming some of the problems with large or long swing gates. These are the Configure gate and the Elongate, both metal gates.  The Configure gate is our favorite and we've installed hundreds of these gates.  These gates are six foot in length and consist of three panels, each two feet long with the center panel being a gate. Where each panel connects, it is on a hinge that can be moved in ten degree angles and locked. So a four foot opening would use the two foot of gate across the opening and the balance of the two sides at an angle which is two feet. The gate is not critical on installation for perpendicular mounting, in fact it can be mounted in many areas where other gates can not. Once you grasp the idea of how the gate works, it can be configured to fit almost any area imaginable.

 

The gate can add two foot or eight inch sections to achieve almost any length needed. It is ideal for areas where there are irregular stairs or difficult protrusions for the gate to protect. You can even use two gates together and have two different openings across a twelve foot or longer length. The gate snaps out of its mountings and folds to a small size that will fit inside just about any closet when not needed.

 

The Kidco Elongate is a five foot gate with a two foot door. It is designed to go across an opening from five foot up. Thus you add two foot sections to increase the length The gate is used to close off long openings of a room. The gate must be on one side of the opening. It cannot be in the middle or some other location of the gate. For openings five foot or less it is cheaper than the Configure Gate, but for six feet or more the Configure Gate is a better choice.

 

Kidco makes two other gates from the Configure Gate. The first is the Play Den. This is essentially the Configure Gate with enough sections to close it in a circle. You can make the play area larger by adding more sections and also buy a floor mat that fits the standard size.

 

Kidco then takes the Configure Gate design and makes the Hearth Gate. This gate is designed to go around fireplaces, protect the hearth and the fire pit in one step. It is powder coated with black heat resistant coating and comes as a standard length of ten feet. That allows the gate to come out from the wall by the side of the fireplace two feet, go across to the other side of the fireplace for six feet and then back to the wall two feet. Again, as with the Configure Gate, you can add two foot or eight inch sections to increase any of the lengths to fit your fireplace. Best of all, the gate snaps out of its mounts and folds back up so it can be removed for company or special occasions.

 

You will also run across other gates and when you do, you will have to decide if their features and costs benefit meet or exceed the gates described here, as these gates have become the standard of the industry and are the most trusted in the market.