Important Considerations before measuring:

• A gate cannot hinge directly to drywall. Instead, a decorative wood plank (we provide, view sample) must be anchored into the drywall. You then hinge to the plank.

• To anchor a plank, a wall stud or brick MUST be located behind the plank's location. They almost always exist at the top and bottom of stairs, or at any place two walls join.

• You will need two planks when you mount a gate between a wall and a wall. You may hinge to one plank, and latch to the other. Or, for two-door cafe styles, you hinge to both planks (one door per plank) and latch in the middle.

STEPS FOR MEASURING

1. 1. Measure the width of the gate opening at several points high and low. Find the minimum wall to wall distance  (WW). This is the narrowest part of your gate opening.

2. 2. We assume that any baseboard, if present, does not protrude more than 3/4" into the gate opening (excluding any shoe molding). If your baseboard depth exceeds 3/4", then please note this on your order. We discuss baseboard issues with ALL CUSTOMERS that order wall planks, to ensure your gate will clear the baseboard.

   1. By default, our planks are 3/4" deep.
       

3. 3. ONE DOOR GATE:
   Order a gate 3/4 inch less wide than (WW - 1 1/2 inches)
   For example, if you have a 36" gate opening, and two 3/4" planks are required (which "use up" 1 1/2" of space), than your gate width would be 36 - 1 1/2 - 3/4 = 33 3/4" gate width. This 3/4" tolerance ensures that you have room for your hinges and room for the gate to swing. If your walls are uneven or not truly parallel, you may want to make your gate 1/8 to 1/4" smaller to allow a full inch, rather than 3/4 margin.

4.   TWO DOOR GATE:
   Order a gate 1/4 inch less wide than (WW - 1 1/2 inches)
   For example, if you have a 47" gate opening, and two 3/4" planks are required (which "use up" 1 1/2" of space), than your gate width would be 47 - 1 1/2 - 1/4 = 45 1/4" gate width. This value would include a 1" gap between the doors. 

   1. So, in this illustration, each door would be built to 22 1/8" inches wide, plus a one inch air gap between doors, plus an additional 1/4" for margin, plus two 3/4" planks. This adds up to 47". When ordering, you would specify a 45 1/4" gate width.

5. This 3/4" tolerance ensures that you have room for your hinges and room for the gate to swing. If your walls are uneven or not truly parallel, you may want to make your gate 1/8 to 1/4" smaller to allow a full inch, rather than 3/4 margin.

6. 4. Order a gate height to meet your safety requirements or to be compatible with any surrounding chair rail. Gate height is measured from the bottom of the foot rail to the top of the handrail, in inches.  The sides of the gate are 1" higher than the top of the handrail. Ensure that the gate side rails lie below any obstacles such as chair rail that may be on the wall.

7. 5. Please use our design assistance form if you have unusual newel post concerns or any other obstacles on the floor or wall which may affect the position of the gate or plank.