apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

First off -- do not remove the gate unless you are sure you can maintain a secure apartment without it. The only break-ins I've heard of in recent years involved windows facing fire escapes that were left unprotected. Second, it should be a fire safety gate, i.e. one that can be opened from the inside WITHOUT needing a key. Though the rules are only sporadically enforced, the Fire Dept does occasionally inspect and fine illegal fire bars and objects left on fire escapes.

One of my living room windows faces a fire escape -- the gates and the metal work of the escape ladders are all black, so I bought black mini-blinds which I never lift up, only open the slats for light. The space outside this window is between buildings and gets realtively little light, so all I get is a mish-mash of angular lines in the background. While not hiding the gate ( or fire escape ), it helps to diffuse attention to all these hard materials in a very New York way.

On the other hand, if you get a lot of light from your gated window, the suggestion to paint the gate white is a very good one -- then consider some white sheers over that to soften the sight the metal gate.

On painting... you could always paint the grate roughly the same color as whatever the window looks out on, so that the grid blends into the view rather than matching your wall. This would work better with a fairly uniform view, such as someone's else's wall.

Or go to entirely the other extreme and do something wildly funky that makes it a "feature," like painting it beige /yellow and marking it with one-inch lines so that it's a giant folding ruler.

"...if you can't remove, carefully store and replace with a lock or an alarm..."

What sort of lock and/or alarm would you recommend, if Nanette does want to take the gate down?

I have thin horizontal bars painted a glossy white, and I hid them behind many layers of gauzy curtains, some of which are ripped to give me soft horizonal lines. I still have the light that I need, but I don't have to look at the bars. Now they don't even leave a shadow because the light is so diffuse. You could hang christmas lights behind light curtains, as long as you have enough space between them to not set the place on fire...

I would not remove your bars -- they're there for a reason. I lived in an apartment without them and had my computer stolen and nasty, muddy footprints across my bed. I'm just glad I wasn't home at the time. If you can, I bought new white bars to go in my windows, and they're a lot nicer than my old rusted ones. You can get them at a locksmith/security shop.

I'm replacing my regulation accordian drab gates with a custom-welded piece of steel art. I was gonna do the whole gate myself but have too much other heinous apt. reno work to do pronto to dabble in fun stuff. It has a few curly pieces I bent myself.

My friend is a metal sculpture artist if anyone is interested.

paint and x-mas lights sound good as does the idea involving making them looklike a yellow ruler. Hot-glue sequins onto them and feathers in key spots, light the whole thing in led blinkies (don't burn hot) and make it into a circus attraction.

-- Olga

Slightly related question. Is it legal to have gates on fire escape windows? My landlord refuses to install them, sighting that it's against the law.

The only windows in my apartment face the fire escape and I have had two attempted break-ins.

hsp

A couple of thoughts about this:

The other day I was walking up Fifth Avenue from 14th Street, and I saw in the window of the Paul Smith store, they had white sheers that had a pattern in them that was obviously taken from one of the patterns that window gates come in.

I was in too much of a hurry to stop in and see if they sold them, but I'm guessing that they probably might still only sell clothes.

But anyway, you could always do something LIKE that yourself, if you can't find that exact thing -- buy some plain white sheers, and perhaps carefully use some painters tape to tape off lines and paint some white opaque lines in a crossed diamond pattern and then put these in front of your diamond-patterned window gates. Make sure that you are very careful to replicate the exact size and shape of the diamond pattern in the gate, or it will probably look very wrong. If you have 2 windows, only the fire escape one will have the gates, but the sheers would go on both, and it would probably even it out a bit. Heck, on the UN-gated one, you might even put a 2nd depth of sheer just to even it out even more! Of course, this means painting the gates white, if they're not already. And those gates are probably NO FUN to paint. But Rust-o-leum makes brush-on versions of the same ones of their paints that you're used to seeing as sprays. Make sure you use their primer first, though!

Another idea:

Paint the gates and the wall near them the same color, first off. THEN ... buy some blue painters tape the same width as the gates, and make a pattern on the wall to replicate the shape of that diamond pattern. THEN use a paint in a shade of whatever's outside that window (kind of like that other person said to paint ON the grate, only this is on your wall); if you only see sky, then use a sky color that's sort of the color that the sky is at dusk or dawn, since that's when you're the most likely to be looking out of it, if you work during the day. Anyway, paint that color onto the wall over that painters tape, so when you take the tape off, the entire thing will blend in with that grate, and completely neutralize it.

Yet another idea would be to use either floral curtains or curtains with an all-over ivy pattern so that the grate seems more like a trellis.

OOPS. I meant "citing" not "sighting" in my posting.

hshppy -- You can absolutely have gates in NYC, you just have to get the type that let you get out quickly in a fire. Anywhere else, you should ask a locksmith or in a pinch at a hardware store. I don't know if your landlord is required to put in gates if you ask, but since they're normally fitted to an individual window and don't move with you, it's really something he should do, rather than you. You can call 311 and ask the city if he's required to do that...

In the meantime, put a chopped down broomstick fitted to in your window so it won't open. You can also use a tension rod to stop your window from opening.

YES! You can do that chopped-down broomstick thing and if you don't want to have to look at it, and if you have those dark brown new windows that they're putting in most windows these days, you can paint it the "bronze" color that Janovic sells for that very kind of thing (although, let's face it, the color isn't very metallic at all).

Just don't forget that it's there when YOU try to open the window some time, or you'll kill your back!

Odd that this came up today—just this morning my ancient landlord, in a royal snit, told me that the downstairs neighbors have complained about the fire escape grates and said that he has to remove them, so I need to take the pin out of mine tonight to allow for removal. Makes me a little nervous since it seems like it would be super easy to just...crawl in off the fire escape unless I keep the window closed and locked at all times. And even then, it's a huge window, easily big enough to crawl through if it were broken. My neighborhood is fairly safe (Hoyt Street in Brooklyn) but should I worry about break-ins?

Kate, if you don't want to take them down, you shouldn't (unless the gates don't comply or something, and that's why they are being taken down).

I don't have a fire escape (we have fire-safe stairs) but taking out the grate would make me nervous, too--especially if I lived alone or with a female roommate. You could get one of those alarms that sounds when the window is opened, though I think that would probably only really work to awaken you if it happened during the night, and the window wasn't broken (which presumably would wake you up, too).

We gave up on trying to make ours disappear (our gate is enormous, with prison-style vertical bars). Instead, we used that faux-rust spray paint you can buy at any Home Depot and made it the focal point of our room.
The result is very "urban"--reminiscient of graffiti and street culture--and we love it.

Hoyt Street, Brooklyn- you should always worry about break-ins. Every neighborhood is relatively safe. Do not remove your window gates, especially because you think it would look prettier without them.

You should definitely worry about break-ins... I don't want to scare everyone but not so long ago there was a rapist on the upper east side that was climbing up fire escapes and crawling through windows without the grates. Luckily the police caught the guy but this stuff does happen. Maybe I'm just paranoid because one of the rapes happened on my street but it's better to have an ugly grate on the window than a burglary or worse.

Hoyt Street, Brooklyn

Definitely worry about break-ins. I live not too far off of Hoyt and as I said in my previous posting, I've had several attempted break-ins.

- break-ins can happen anywhere, anytime - period.

- Landlords are NOT required to supply security gates.

- Landlords have NO RIGHT to prevent you from installing a security gate as long as it complies with FDNY code -- and all sold in the city now do comply.

I NEVER leave the window open BEHIND the gate when I sleep or go out (fortunately I have plenty of other windows for ventilation) -- fire escapes, particularly in the back or side of a building, are the achilles heel of apt security.

Thanks, guys. I'll ask the landlord tonight for more details about why the neighbors want theirs removed (I'm likely to get nonsense on this one, he's sort of nuts) and why mine has to go as well. I don't mind it because I have another large window in the room and get plenty of light. I have sheers over my windows and just leave that one pulled most of the time, so the gate really isn't an aesthetic issue.

Ditto on worrying about break ins! I don't live in NYC, I live in DC where everything is lower to the ground, and I'm constantly amazed at how many people leave their doors or windows open and are subsequently stolen from. Anyway, you can also try the "nail" technique--driving a hole into the frame of the window and the window itself and using a nail to pin it in so it cannot be opened....but if I were you, I'd keep the gate!!!

Can anyone suggest sources for custom and beautiful (and fire-code compliant) window gates? When I renovated, I put in the nicest I could find from a locksmith, but its still ugly. Thanks.

I'm about to move to Hell's Kitchen, because it's cheaper than anywhere I'd want to live in Brooklyn, including Prospect Heights where I live now (my landlord's selling my unit, or else I'd stay). The new place has 2 windows facing the back. One is on the fire escape and has a sliding gate. The other is not against the fire escape, and has vertical bars. I want to remove the vertical bars and keep the gate. Are the bars truly overkill, as I believe?

Window gates are NOT illegal. If they face a fire escape, they should be the sort you can open. The fire department will talk to your landlord if you ask them.

I got my window gate (the kind that opens) for $300 when I moved in from a locksmith place. They make them to fit your own window.

ON BEAUTIFUL GATES:
In NYC, I don't know. But I've got an idea about having something made by a wrought iron person in a Moroccan style. It might be pricey, though.

I'm thinking about moving to a ground floor apt (Park Slope, brooklyn) and there are no gates.Unfortunately there are tons of windows (I think about 5-6). I'd be willing to install the kind of gates that go outside the window, as they seem cheaper and are relatively pretty. The super says that at least one has to be the kind that can be opened from the inside, in case of fire. I know swing gates are expensive, but does anyone know the relative price of those ugly accordian style gates that you can lock from the inside? I'd be willing to forgo one window to the ugliness if it'll save me some cash.

Is it against the NYC Fire code to have interior fire safety gates that requrire a lock and key? Or is it just recommended not to have a lock and key.
Thanks.

any suggestions on a good merchant/installer for window gates in brooklyn?

hi - i purchased a couple of gates from Kendi Ironworks at http://www.kendigates.com/

they are very enthusiastic and they make the gates custom. the two options are for self-installation (you measure you install, about $300 per gate) or for custom installation (they measure, they install).

we got the "sunshine gate" because it seems less heavy and oppressive.

hi, i'm moving into a ground floor one bedroom soon and wondering what kind of security bars i can get for my 6 windows. does anyone know if window guards (the kind that are used to prevent kids from falling out) can also work as effective security bars? thanks!

The security gate option is the way to go, esp. on fire escape windows, where you need the expensive kind that can be opened easily (from the inside). They're big, they're heavy, they're hideous, they make you feel like you're in jail and that life sucks, but ain't nobody getting in your window.

I had them in my old apartment, but in my new place I was trying to rely on the old sawed-off broomstick trick. Ugly surprise: got burglarized (in a nice safe neighborhood in Queens). The flaw seems to be that a sturdy wire can be inserted between the window sections and knock the broomstick out of the way. I mean, mine was wedged in real tight, and this seems to be what happened. Going back to the big gates...

This is what I do!!

www.minemetalart.com

not inexpensive as it's all hand made but with it.

I'm in Williamsburg, I have a store on Bedford and Grand called MINE - 177 Grand St. it's a showroom/ retail home shop.

Krisitna Kozak

Hi,

I have four windows in my tenement walkup in NYC and am on the second floor. Three of the windows have the outer security bars and one has the inner security bars (for access to the fire escape).

I'd like to remove the three bars that are on the outside of the window because I feel too clausterphobic. Any tips on how to remove them? Is it easy to do-could I do it myself-how? Or, if I hire someone to do it, any idea of costs?

Also - thanks for the tip about painting the bars white - sounds great!

Thanks.