About the service
I start by measuring the room and asking how your day actually runs: where the cot stands, which way the doors swing, whether a radiator, sockets or trailing cables sit inside the child's reach. That conversation decides the shape. A plain rectangle in the middle of the floor suits a large room; an L along the wall lets two walls do half the work; cutting off a corner with two panels gives the most play area for the least timber. Panels are joined with hinges, so the whole thing folds like a concertina and slides behind a wardrobe, and as your child grows I come back, add panels or rebuild the perimeter for a new furniture layout.
The rails are birch plywood and planed batten, finished light so the room stays bright. Rail spacing is worked out so a head cannot pass between the rails and a hand cannot get trapped, and I never fit horizontal cross-rails that work as a ladder for climbing out. I test stability by hanging my own weight on the top rail: nothing may slide, tip or walk across the floor. Barrier height is chosen for the age, lower for a baby pulling up to stand, taller for a confident walker. The gate gets a latch an adult opens one-handed and a child cannot open. Corners are rounded, every fixing is countersunk and plugged, and the oil I use is a safe one, handed over only once it has fully cured and aired off. A soft mat is cut to the inside of the perimeter.
Barriers are a separate job: one for a doorway, one for the stairs. A stair barrier is fixed only into a solid wall or through the banister with screws, into the stringer where that gives the better hold. Pressure-fit barriers at the top of a flight are dangerous and I will not fit one. And the thing I say to every client: a playpen and a barrier never replace an adult watching. They buy you a few seconds, nothing more. Please check that every fixing is still tight once a fortnight.
— visit to measure up, choice of layout and rail height for your child's age
— hinged folding panels in light birch plywood and batten, rounded corners
— gate with an adult one-handed latch and a soft mat cut to the inside
— doorway barrier and stair barrier screwed to the wall, banister or stringer
— delivery, fitting, handover talk and later visits to add panels as the child grows
The rails are birch plywood and planed batten, finished light so the room stays bright. Rail spacing is worked out so a head cannot pass between the rails and a hand cannot get trapped, and I never fit horizontal cross-rails that work as a ladder for climbing out. I test stability by hanging my own weight on the top rail: nothing may slide, tip or walk across the floor. Barrier height is chosen for the age, lower for a baby pulling up to stand, taller for a confident walker. The gate gets a latch an adult opens one-handed and a child cannot open. Corners are rounded, every fixing is countersunk and plugged, and the oil I use is a safe one, handed over only once it has fully cured and aired off. A soft mat is cut to the inside of the perimeter.
Barriers are a separate job: one for a doorway, one for the stairs. A stair barrier is fixed only into a solid wall or through the banister with screws, into the stringer where that gives the better hold. Pressure-fit barriers at the top of a flight are dangerous and I will not fit one. And the thing I say to every client: a playpen and a barrier never replace an adult watching. They buy you a few seconds, nothing more. Please check that every fixing is still tight once a fortnight.
— visit to measure up, choice of layout and rail height for your child's age
— hinged folding panels in light birch plywood and batten, rounded corners
— gate with an adult one-handed latch and a soft mat cut to the inside
— doorway barrier and stair barrier screwed to the wall, banister or stringer
— delivery, fitting, handover talk and later visits to add panels as the child grows
