Vanderbilt 3.5 ft. H x 5 ft. W White Vinyl Railing Gate Kit

I needed this gate for entry to a pool area. I built my deck using a white vinyl rail system at a height of 42 inches. Unfortunately the only kits I could find readily available, were for 36 inch high gates. But then I found this gate, which unfortunately doesn't exactly match the top rail on my deck, but being that I wanted a taller gate I went ahead and bought it anyway. ...atleast the color matches, right? :) The gate kit came in decent packaging, although there were already a few scratches on the top rail, but nothing to be too concerned about. They're bound to scratch a little anyway. There weren't any instructions for the actual assembly of the kit, but fortunately it's not too involved. You just need to cut down the top and bottom rails to accommodate the width you need, while making sure that the holes for the balusters are centered so that the spacing between the balusters on the left and the right are equal. The top and bottom rails attached to the gate uprights by way of rubber cement. I'm not sure that I'm a fan of that, but perhaps that's simply because I'm not familiar with the strength of rubber cement on vinyl. So I was disappointed that it wasn't attached with screws, but perhaps that won't be a big deal. ...After allowing 24 hours to dry, it seemed fairly sturdy to me. ...Please note that immediately after applying the rubber cement, while it is still wet, is the point of assembly, where you need to ensure that the gate is "square". If you wait until after the glue is dry, you will not likely have much success. Fortunately, by design, the gate is naturally somewhat square. The hinges are made of plastic, but they seem to hold the gate up fine and were easy to install. The hinges do come with directions for installation. After installation, the tension needed to be adjusted. Pool gates require that the gate will enclose automatically, and that wasn't the case fresh out of the box. But this was fairly easy as well. The magna latch was smaller than I expected. I have another gate on this deck for which I purchased the magna latch separately, and the magna latch is twice as tall on that gate. However, the magna latch that comes with this gate is somewhat smaller, which can be seen in the picture. For my particular gate, this means that the entry control point is lower to the deck than I would have preferred. But I suppose this is a "me" problem, as I could have designed the post to be somewhat taller, to accommodate a taller mounting height for the magna latch. (hindsight is 20-20, as they say) ...anyway, the magna latch does come with directions and is fairly straightforward to install. The tension cross brace that is installed on this gate is just a piece of profiled sheet metal, and attaches with screws. Only time will tell if the gate sags or not. For now, it does not. The price of this gate kit isn't as bad as it may seem, being that all parts are included with it, AND, it includes a magna latch. You don't need to go out and buy anything else. The same can not be said for other kits. I built two additional 36" height gates for stairway entrances that were approximately $96 each and only included the uprights, hinges, and standard gate latch. I still had to buy the rail kits, balusters, and attachment brackets. This might cost you an additional $80 to $100 per gate. Then, if you want the peace of mind that the magna latch provides, to ease worries that your small children might master the simplicity of a standard gate latch and drown in your pool, you'll need to pay an additional $60 or so for that. None of these numbers include tax. Being that I purchased this kit, taxes and shipping (free) included, for approximately $270, and it is 42" high rather than 36" AND it includes everything, I found the price to be reasonable in comparison to the alternatives. All being said, the gate seems fairly solid and I'm happy with it, as it is functional and seems sturdy enough. Of course, time will be the judge for how I ultimately feel about it. I didn't give the gate 5 stars, simply because I wouldn't give anything five stars, as that would imply that there was zero room for improvement. ...and I don't deal in absolutes. Ever. :) ...So it gets four stars simply for the way my analytical mind works, and the fact that I have to use rubber cement to attach the top and bottom rails to the gate uprights. Also, I would have preferred the taller magna latch.

Instructions are lacking some but the overall quality is very good. A bit pricey but still worth it. I have 6 steps coming up to my deck but one end is only 3 feet off the ground so I installed the gate to be able to get large or heavy things off/on the deck easily without navigating stairs when needed.

Concur with all the above! Instructions are available from this product page above. My only dig would be that the latch instructions were not very clear - look at the diagram to see which part goes on the gate and which on the post. Also, the latch goes on the same side as the hinges, the opening side. Duh!

Very high quality gate. Was easy to assemble. Only modifications I made was to trim 1" off the bottom of each of the 2 vertical end posts for ground clearance. The spring loaded hinges are strong and easy to adjust. It's a perfect match to my existing fence. It came with a swimming pool type gate latch I didn't need. I preferred to use an eyehook. It was shipped in a ridiculously long and skinny box. Weird.

I needed it a little shorter but it was very easy to modify.

Quality product, but needs to include assembly instructions.

Used this gate on my deck to prevent my dogs from going to another side of the yard. Easy to install and looks really durable.