Something to stop the kids running onto the street

a bus would stop her.

admittedly only once and be fairly terminal but she wouldnt do it again…

Not funny.

No change of mind at all, the reasons I don’t think a gate will work is –

:The width of the gap, when opened it will block access to the rear garden

:The wall to the right is my neighbour’s house, the car port was built at the same time as the houses so there has not been a previous agreement to attach something to his house

:As has been mentioned before a gate that size will be expensive and whilst I value the life of my daughter highly I’d like to think there are more cost effective solutions

:The word temporary suggests (in my mind) something that’s not bolted/screwed/attached to either my or my neighbour’s houses.

1. Can you not put a fence up, and a small gate? You never answer this suggestion…

2. ok, but its easy to make a gate and fence without fixing to your neighbours house.. this has been explained several times – have you seen this? do you need hlp to understand how to do it?

3. Not expensive. As mentioned above you want sth that is up to the job otherwise you and your wife will always be wondering if she has managed to get past it..

4. Screws and bolts can be undone..?

you may need to be more precise in your questions..

btw i am not trying to be condescending in any way atall – i realise that in this world what to some may seem easy and quick to do to others seems way too much. so sorry in advance if you take it the wrong way..

A bit of a left field option, but at the end of some railway station platforms they have pads of stuff that looks like heavy duty rubbery-tarmac (like in a play area) shaped into lots of cones, so it’s really awkward to walk on. Stops drunks wandering off the edge of the platfrom and onto the track.

Or some kind of concertina barrier thing.

Or a row of plant pots, but it depends if you could make it awkward for her to get over but still allow you to get in and out if you routinely go from the back to the front garden.

Ooo, or brick up the back of the car port and have an obstacle course style rope climb up onto the roof of it.

All this aside if you don’t want to use any screw, bolts etc then the safest and easiest course of action is to just open the back door for her when she want to play in the garden then shut the gate into the back garden. Voila problem solved.

You could even play with her or drink tea whilst she plays pirates/ballerina etc

http://www.wickes.co.uk/gardens/fencing/icat/fencing/

3x bolt down Met post holders
3x short fence posts
1x 5′ overlap panel
1x 3′ gate

These will fill the gap safely and relatively cheaply. They won’t need fastening to any wall. The can be removed by unscrewing 12 bolts. They will leave 12 small holes to be filled in the floor. They won’t fall over and crush a child.

I know you said that you don’t want a fence and gate, but a fence and a gate is the only safe option and has the benefit of not looking awful.

SentryCat™

Autonomous paint ball gun?

Alternatively one of those stock control fences that you bury underground that triggers a shock collar. (You might want to wind the output down a tad on the collar).

Heras fence panel and a couple of the rubber bases.
Not pretty, but mobile and will do the trick.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.Xheras&_nkw=heras

Personally I’d spend the extra on a folding gate attached to your house, but with a retaining hole drilled into the driveway at your neighbours house end. A bit more expensive, but ultimately more useful and will look nicer.

Could you not just park the car diagonally to block the gap?

What about putting a post in the ground a few millimetres from your neighbours wall? Then isn’t actually attached. Relatives have a Stairgate in the house that is a vertical roll of netting that you pull out and hook on the other side. Could do something like that bit bigger? Then just rolls up in the post when not in use.

Supervision and a Gate?

Anything else will be such a faff to look nice and be effective it will never get used.

Could you not just tell her to not go on the road?

Thanks for the useful suggestions. Will mull it over and see what I can come up with.

sharkbait – Member

Could you not just tell her to not go on the road?

Ever tried convincing a headstrong three year old with a penchant for investigating and exploring not to do anything that looks like it might be fun? The short answer is we’ve tried that, it didn’t work hence my original question.

I vote for the laser robot. However you actually need a gate or a gate and fence just not the one you picture when rejecting the idea. Is the drive yours or shared with your neighbor?

If it is shared what ever you do will need to work for your neighbor too and fence and gate is the best looking and most useable solution. If yours your only issue is fixing the far end Meta post or bolt drooping down is an answer.

Three year olds don’t do obedient nor risk assessment in my limited experience. So education is not the answer. We have a 6foot fence and gate to seal crankbrat in the rear garden if ever we lose sight of him he will be down the side of the house trying to work the bolt on the gate.

bigG – Member
Thanks for the useful suggestions. Will mull it over and see what I can come up with.

My pleasure

Just get a piece of fence big enough for the gap and put slide bolts either side. bolt in place, al a previous post’s, when needed then move when you don’t want it there. you could even have a small gate in it as well.

this way nothing is permanently fixed and the holes for the slide bolts can be filled.

Open your car doors wide and then reverse into the gap, folding and jamming the car doors between the houses 😀

Or the sensible option:

1. Tell your neighbour the problem and ask if they mine if you fit a gate and you will do so with the minimum of damage to their house and will make good when it is removed.

2. If this is still a no go then get a long scaffold board as a base and make a flat bottomed U channel which makes the gap narrow enough for a standard wide gate – get one as high as possible. Attach the U shape to your house using decent bolts and to the driveway if possible. Then have the gate/gates so they lock.

3. Failing that just stick up an electric sheep fence. Stick it on full power first so they learn not to test it and then after a while you can turn it down to save the battery. That’s what we do with the sheep anyway 😉

let the au pair do her job

What docstar said, plus

“You’re name’s not down you’re not going out”

Get a border collie and train it to herd your offspring! 8)

Edit – like this:

extend the lip of your carport so it goes past the doorframe
Hang your “some sort of roller screen” from it that can fasten to a couple of hooks in the floor

Now then

[Stereotype]Get your good lady to park the car?[/stereotype]

This is actually a serious suggestion (sorry), but how about making something like these (obviously without the barbed wire and pointy ends)? You can make them as long or short as you like so fairly easy to move and as long as you make the bases fairly wide they’ll not fall over!