Childproofing and baby proofing in Virginia-Highland

Bungalows are great houses, and they need specialists

Virginia-Highland is one of the most concentrated collections of 1920s Craftsman bungalows in metro Atlanta. Most of the housing stock was built between 1910 and 1940, with short front porches, narrow hallways, tight staircases to an attic or second floor, and the original plaster-over-wood-lath walls that make the neighborhood beautiful and also make childproofing harder than it looks.

The original plaster walls are the number one reason DIY childproofing attempts fail here. A standard drywall anchor does not work the same way in plaster, and drilling at the wrong speed causes cracks that spread across an entire wall. We adjust for this on every install: slow drill speeds, pilot holes sized for lath, and anchors that seat into the wood behind the plaster rather than relying on the plaster itself.

Virginia-Highland specific problems we solve

• Plaster wall installs. Every piece of mounted hardware (gates, anchors, window stops) is pre-drilled into wood lath with the right bit size. No drywall anchors. No cracked plaster.
• Narrow stairs to an upper floor or attic bedroom. Bungalow stairs are often 28 to 32 inches wide with a round newel post at the bottom and a wall-mounted rail on the other side. We clamp to the newel with a banister adapter and into a stud on the wall side.
• Small bedrooms that pack furniture tightly. When a crib, a glider, and a dresser are within a few feet of each other, anchoring matters because a toddler can reach everything from one spot.
• Two-prong ungrounded outlets. Common in bungalows that have not been fully rewired. Standard outlet covers fit, and we flag which outlets lack grounding so families know to avoid plugging sensitive electronics in them.
• Converted attic playrooms. Many Virginia-Highland homes finished the attic at some point for a kid's room or bonus space. These often have low ceilings, knee walls, and stairs that need their own gate.

The most common requests here

First-time parents in Virginia-Highland frequently book a full home assessment in the third trimester. The bungalow layout means there is almost always something in each room that needs attention, and trying to piece it together room by room takes longer and costs more over time.

Rental tenants in the neighborhood (duplexes and back-units are common) usually start with adhesive cabinet locks and pressure-mounted hallway gates from our gate installation service. These solutions leave no damage and come off cleanly at move-out.

Nearby neighborhoods we also serve

Near Virginia-Highland we also cover Decatur, Brookhaven, Druid Hills, Morningside, Candler Park, Inman Park, and Poncey-Highland. For the full list, see our Atlanta service areas overview.