Do I need a gate at the top and the bottom of the stairs?

In most homes with a crawling or walking child, yes. The top of the stairs comes first and needs a screw-fixed gate. A gate at the bottom stops a child climbing up on their own. We recommend what suits your stairs and your child’s stage.

Can a gate be fitted without drilling?

At the bottom of the stairs and between rooms, a pressure-fitted gate is often suitable. At the top of the stairs we recommend a screw-fixed gate. In a rented home we can use banister kits and the least visible fixing points, and the holes can usually be filled when the gate comes down.

When can the gates come down?

Most families take stair gates down once their child can manage the stairs safely or could climb over the gate, often at around two years old. If you have a complete home installation, we can look at this together at your six-month recheck.

Baby gate installation in Dubai.

A gate at the top of the stairs is only as good as its fixing. We choose the right gate for each opening in your home and fit it securely, whether it meets plaster, stone, metal or glass.

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Pale plaster staircase rising between two walls in a contemporary home

What we look at.

Every staircase is different, so we start with what the gate will be fixed to and how your family uses it.

The top and bottom of every staircase
Banisters, spindles and glass balustrades
The wall at each fixing point: block, partition, stone or tile
Opening widths, including wide and angled openings
Doorways and kitchens you may want to close off
How your family moves around the house each day

Choosing the right gate.

Screw-fixed gates: The top of the stairs needs a screw-fixed gate. Pressure-fitted gates can be pushed out of place, and most have a bar across the bottom that an adult carrying a child could trip on.
Pressure-fitted gates: Fine at the bottom of the stairs and between rooms where you’d rather not drill, as long as the walls either side are solid.
Wide and irregular openings: Open-plan spaces and wide stair openings may need extensions, a configurable barrier or a different position. We will tell you what is possible before anything is fitted.
Tested gates: We choose gates tested to EN 1930, the European standard for child safety barriers, and fit them according to the manufacturer’s guidance.

Glass, metal and stone.

Glass balustrades: We don’t drill glass. We fix to the wall side where we can, or use a clamp kit made for glass balustrades.
Banisters and spindles: Banister kits let a gate be fixed without drilling into the banister itself, and keep it square on round or narrow posts.
Stone, marble and tile: We drill these with the right bits and care. If a surface won’t take a secure fixing, we’ll say so and suggest another spot or product.
Gypsum and partition walls: Hollow walls need the right fixings, or a fixing into the frame behind.

Part of your Home Safety Plan.

Most families have gates fitted as part of a Home Safety Assessment, so they’re planned alongside everything else in the home, from furniture anchoring to window restrictors.

Only need gates? Say so in your request and we’ll talk you through the visit and pricing for your stairs and doorways.

Each gate appears in your Home Safety Plan with its location, the product we propose and its installation price. You decide what to go ahead with.

How the assessment works

Gates are one layer of protection. They never replace an adult watching young children on and around the stairs.

Common questions.

Ready to make your home safer?

Request an assessment and we’ll call you back to arrange a time.

Request an assessment