# DIY pet gate



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I posted a few days ago asking for pet gate recommendations. After a little bit of Googling, I found a blog post that explained how to make a simple, cheap pet gate. I decided this was a better choice, since it's completely customizable, a fraction of the cost, and much sturdier. The supplies for this cost about $20. The wood was under $10, the latch I chose was $6 (there were smaller/cheaper options but I have about a .6 inch gap between the edge of the gate and the door frame when shut so I needed a larger latch to cover that gap), hinges maybe $4 for the set (I used ones I already had). Already had wood glue, a variety of screws, and some brackets my dad suggested I use to keep it square and add strength. My hardware is mis-matched b/c I already gold had hinges and black screws, but the bolt that fit is silver. If you're buying all the hardware you could obviously match it. The wood was cut by hand. I pre-drilled holes to avoid splitting the wood so I did need my power drill. Now I just need to prime and paint. I've been meaning to cleanup and paint all of the trim in this back hall area, so I'll paint the gate when we do that project (so please overlook the banged up trim!). This gate will work great in this space because when it is "open", it latches across a narrow pass-through we use as a coat closet. The dogs will steal shoes so we used to have a plastic baby gate propped across the doorway but it got knocked over several times a day. This new gate protects the shoes when "open", or locks the dogs in the basement when "closed". I positioned it in the hallway rather than at the top of the stairs so I can still let the dogs outside without opening the gate. This is mostly to confine dogs while we have company (including a newborn baby) for an extended stay next month.

DIY pet gate - a set on Flickr



















I used these instructions (with a different latch):
DIY Baby and Dog Gate Instructions -


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## DonnaKay (Jan 20, 2014)

Looks great! I like it much better than the plastic baby gates. Good job!


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## Susan_GSD_mom (Jan 7, 2014)

Great job! We have one spot where we need the same--baby gates aren't all that durable, your design would work perfect!

Susan


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## nktigger99 (Aug 22, 2006)

Looks great..........we need to do this.....we use just a cheaply wood pressure gate....this would work because the latch would be easy enough for the boys to do.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Looks great!  I love DIY projects


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

that is awesome...I bet if you advertised in your area you could make some money making these for people. GREAT JOB!


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Looks awesome! I might make one between my living room/basement and kitchen/upstairs. I have a babygate leaning in that spot already and as you said, it is annoying to be moving it constantly.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Thanks guys! A few things if anyone is considering making one.... 

The wood I used was cheaper, untreated pine. That's pretty soft. If you have a chewer, you probably don't want to leave him/her near the gate unsupervised. 

My gate is 34" wide and has 5 slats plus the vertical edges. Legend's head *almost* fits through, so if you have baby puppies or smaller dogs that would try to poke their head through, you might want more slats or some sort of mesh/screen on the back side.

I mounted my gate into some pretty thick doorframes/door jams using 3" screws. If you are mounting into plaster or drywall you might have to do it differently (anchors? I'm not sure).

If you use these instructions, when you are buying the pine 2x2s, make sure to pull them all out and look them over. They are cheap (less than $2 a piece) and are often warped/twisted/split. We had to cut open several packs to find 4 good ones. I rolled them on the floor to make sure each side was flat and even.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Just leaving a comment so I can find this thread again.


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