Outdoor Retractable Gates
Buy the best outdoor retractable gates selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
If you need an easy to use barrier for kids or pets, or something large for a more commercial application, than look no further than an outdoor retractable gate. With a myriad of styles to choose from, these simple yet versatile gate systems can protect your loved ones, your home, or your business. Just pull, and secure in place. Lockable options available.
Outdoor Retractable Gates
Buying Guide
Tara Gosselin
Interior Design Expert
Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.
Babies of all kinds, human, canine or feline, can move quickly and put themselves in danger before an adult human can catch them. An outdoor retractable gate is what comes particularly handy in keeping your children, puppies or kittens safe.
An outdoor retractable gate can help convert a patio or backyard into a play space that is sufficiently protected that you can have time to do a little handwork or prune the roses without being afraid that you’ll need to capture a young companion from a nearby busy street or from investigating some other hazard.
An outdoor retractable gate can also be used indoors. It can be installed at the top of a set of stairs or in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. Although it is difficult to completely baby-proof any room, a physical barrier can keep young beings out from underfoot in truly hazardous areas, such as kitchens. While a gate is never the complete answer it can buy precious seconds needed to snatch a little one from harm.
Outdoor retractable gates can also be used as security barriers. These gates, similar to the ones seen in malls after-hours, are usually made of telescoping metal mesh designed to discourage intruders.
One excellent choice for young puppies and for human children is the Dreambaby retractable mesh gate. The hinge side is attached to one wall, and the latch mechanism to the other. The fine mesh precludes any possibility of an infant getting caught in the scissor action of older styles of a retractable gate. Mesh gates can also be used as a protective barrier to protect young beings from falling out of second story windows.
As children and puppies grow, they can become determined and clever about getting over, around or through gates. When selecting gates, consider the mesh or grating sizes. Look for gates that have openings that are too small for your child or pet to poke their head through the opening. Outdoor retractable gates can vary in size or type, from small garden gates to driveway gates or even pull-down mesh protectors for your garage. Gates should be capable of being placed sufficiently securely that it is unlikely to be knocked down by an infant in a walker or a knot of tumbling puppies.
Small kittens – less than six weeks old might be restrained by a mesh gate, like those used for human babies or puppies. But as your tiny feline grows, he or she will climb. As soon as your tiny scrap of mischief is steady on all four paws, “Up” will become a favorite direction. For this reason, a kitten “gate” will need to be more like a full-sized door to prevent bold adventurers from making it over the top. For outdoor adventures, city cats need a cat enclosure to allow them to explore grass and sunshine safely.