Hi all! I’m back to share an outdoor project Stephen and I tackled a few weekends ago during Libby’s nap time. We love the deck at our new house, but were always hesitant to spend time there when Libby was awake because of this wide set of stairs that lead down to the yard.
Our toddler tends to make a beeline for those stairs but hasn’t quite mastered them yet. We decided it was time to make a baby gate for the deck so we could enjoy this space as a family. On a trip to Home Depot, we came across these pre-made fence sections. One was all we needed, and it was almost exactly the same style as our existing deck railing. 
We also picked up two extra 2×2 slats for reinforcement, wood screws, a pack of four corner braces, two heavy duty black hinges, a black gate latch, and a caster wheel.
The first step was to cut down one side of the fence right up to the first vertical slat.
Then Stephen cut and fit one of the extra 2×2 slats to reinforce this end of the gate. 
Then we drilled pilot holes and screwed this new 2×2 into the gate and added corner braces to the top and bottom corners for more stability.
Next we attached the hinges to the deck and the gate and marked gate for length while it was in place.
The width we needed didn’t land on a vertical slat, so we cut the gate to length and then reattached a slat at the very end. This slat was reinforced with another 2×2 like the slat on the other end of the gate.
The last steps were adding the caster wheel (so the gate can easily swing/roll open) and latch.
And that’s how, in the course of one nap, we added a baby gate to our deck!
We plan to paint or stain the gate to match the rest of the deck (although it’s pretty close in color already), but we have to wait for the cured wood to weather a bit before painting it. When Libby woke up from her nap, we tested it out. She didn’t necessarily like the new addition, but I’d say that’s some successful baby proofing! 
What do you think of our new gate?
