Babyproofing Services Across Essex

When babies start crawling, the world gets dangerous very quickly. Stairs, kitchen cupboards under the sink, sharp coffee tables, top-heavy bookcases, blind cords, plug sockets, oven doors and trailing kettle leads all become potential accidents waiting to happen. Handyman James offers a complete babyproofing service across Essex — fitting all the right hardware, properly, so it actually works rather than coming off the third time it is pulled.

Stair Gates

Stair gates are the single most important piece of safety hardware in any home with a young child. Fitted at the top and bottom of every staircase, they prevent the most common cause of serious injury in the home: a fall down stairs.

We fit screw-mounted gates wherever possible (which need to be drilled into the wall or banister rather than relying on pressure) because pressure-mounted gates can be pushed open by a determined toddler. The position at the top of the stairs in particular should always be screw-mounted. We can fit gates to standard newel-post staircases, awkward angled staircases, wide openings, narrow corridors and unusually shaped doorways using extension panels and bespoke brackets where needed.

Anti-Topple Furniture Brackets

Tall furniture — bookcases, wardrobes, chests of drawers, TV units — needs to be fixed to the wall behind it. A toddler pulling out the bottom drawer to climb on can topple a chest of drawers in seconds, with potentially fatal results. The standard anti-topple brackets supplied with flatpack furniture work properly when fitted; the difficulty is making sure they are fitted at all, and into the right kind of wall.

We fit anti-topple brackets on all heavy furniture across the home, using the right plugs and screws for plasterboard, brick, breeze block and lath-and-plaster walls. We also fit similar restraints to free-standing dressers, bookcases and tall toy storage units.

Cupboard and Drawer Locks

Kitchen and bathroom cupboards contain cleaning products, medicines, sharp knives and other things that need to be out of reach. Modern magnetic locks fit invisibly to the inside of cupboards and drawers and are released with a key magnet that lives on the fridge. They are far better than the old strap-style locks, which look untidy and rarely last.

We also fit oven door locks, fridge door locks and dishwasher locks for households where these are an issue.

Window, Door and Stairwell Safety

Window restrictors limit how far a window can open — important on first-floor windows and above. Door slam stoppers prevent fingers being caught in slamming doors. Banister guards prevent a small head fitting between widely spaced spindles. Corner protectors cushion the sharp edges of coffee tables and granite worktops. Blind cord cleats and tidies prevent dangerous loose cords. We fit all of these.

For cellars, garages and other rooms a child should not enter, we can fit child-proof bolts high up on doors that cannot be reached.

Whole-Home Survey

On request we will walk through the whole house with you, room by room, and identify everything that needs attention. This is the most thorough way to babyproof — we then quote for the whole job and you have peace of mind that nothing has been missed. Fill in the contact form to arrange.