Comments on: BabyGate Mod

By: Jim K.

Jim K. — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:24:38 +0000

It’s projects like this that seem to make my wife think twice before commenting on my scrap pile.

By: David Bryan

David Bryan — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:48:14 +0000

Forget about the post, just wrap the Little-Bundle-of-Joy in the foam. Stick in a breathing tube, of course, and don’t forget to put a in a handle and a D-ring for a leash.
I sure hope you got some attaboys for this, you deserve ‘em.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:06:29 +0000

Nice engineering, but would it kill you to have painted it first? If you’re going to walk past it for the next year or so at least make it look nice.

By: ChrisW

ChrisW — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:59:53 +0000

I would use much stronger cable ties, or at least three times the number of this size tie. Either way, they should be replaced annually.

By: dave

dave — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:04:59 +0000

when you wanna get rid of those little tie-wrap bits take a set of pliers and twist the end as close as you can get it to the termination piece until it shears off. that way when your little tyke touches it it won’t cut him. we use this trick in the trades every time.

By: Vincent Ma

Vincent Ma — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:45:41 +0000

I totally agree with Old Coot and Scott. Even though, right after I took that picture, I cut the ends of the cable-ties, now I’m concerned about the knobby bits that still stick out. I’m thinking of wrapping the post (especially the corners) with foam.

Benjamen also has a great idea.. when I did it those are the only scraps I had that were still straight .. but I might go ask my buddies for scrap and try Benjamen’s idea, and get rid of them cable-ties completely.

By: Zathrus

Zathrus — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:43:03 +0000

I’d actually wonder how much scratching is going to occur to the post after a few years of having that in place. The missus might discover that having you fill four holes would’ve been easier and less damaging.

And the round problem isn’t so much of an issue if you can move it up or down an inch or two to make things work. I had to do that for the gate at the top of our stairs. The bigger issue was the opposite side where it attaches to the wall — I wound up buying a piece of PVC trim, coping out a portion to match the return on the handrail, and screwing it into the 2×4 that the gate couldn’t reach (because of the handrail and it being a corner).

All that said — I do wish I’d thought of that… since now I have around 10 holes to fill on ours (mine, plus the previous owners, plus my screw ups!). I think I would rather refinish the dang post.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:37:42 +0000

We need to build something similar for my nephew. I’ll put some pictures in the flickr pool when we do.

By: Benjamen Johnson

Benjamen Johnson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:26:30 +0000

It’s hard to tell if there’s enough room from the picture, but couldn’t you just screw another piece of wood into the side flaps to capture the post completely and dispense with the cable-ties.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:54:33 +0000

I did the same thing with my stairs (minus the ears), but never thought to send in a pic (dope slaps self).

I agree with the Old Coot: slide those tie ends in between the balusters and newel post and clip them short. If you’re feeling CDC-grade cautious, you can file the sharp ends down to avoid any scrapes from curious fingers.

By: Old Coot

Old Coot — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:11:07 +0000

I’d be very concerned about those cable-tie ends finding their way into Horten’s eyes. They should be turned away from accessible areas or otherwise made safe.