What is the difference between pressure and screw fit baby gates?
What is the difference between pressure and screw fit baby gates?
Blog Article
Very simply pressure-fit stair gates do not require the need to drill screws into the walls to install. To install a pressure-fit stair gate, the user will insert pressure-fit spindles into the four holes at the top and bottom, left and right of the gate. Typically the spindle will be threaded through a handwheel. Once the user twists the handwheel, the thread inside the stair gate will catch on to the spindle, and the pressure fit pad will be pushed outwards away from the gate until it applies sufficient pressure against the surface it is being installed against. It is recommended to try to keep the amount of pressure applied even against each of the four points.
Screw Fit Baby gate will typically come with a template that will highlight exactly where you need to drill holes to attach the fittings to the surface you are installing the gate. Typically the fittings will require two holes and the correct screw fittings will be supplied with the gate. If installing into a potentially crumbly surface it is recommended to use raw plugs. Both screw-fit gates and pressure-fit gates have to undergo the same rigorous safety testing to pass the EN1930:2011 safety standards. Safetots do not advertise baby gates unless they have passed this standard. Therefore there is no difference in the stability of a screw-fit gate as compared to a pressure-fit gate.
However, as with any product that is pressure fit, there is always the possibility that something heavy could knock against the fittings which could cause the fittings to lose alignment. Additionally, if a boisterous child were to attempt to swing on the gate, or the gate was to regularly get slammed shut, again the fittings may become dislodged. It is always recommended to check the pressure fitting spindles have not become loose over time, and if necessary to twist the handwheels to tighten the gate again.
The core difference between a pressure fit gate and a screw fit gate is the presence of a trip bar. Pressure-fit gates by their nature of design will always have a trip bar (the bar that runs along the floor connecting the gate frame). Obviously, this type of gate should not be installed anywhere where it may be dangerous to trip, particularly the top of a flight of stairs. Screw-fit gates are designed in a similar way to a barn door (yet with a locking mechanism), and therefore typically they do not have a trip bar. Screw-fit gates, therefore, are considerably safer for use at the top of a flight of stairs