[Help] When can/how should we start trusting our Labrador (6 mos) out of his crate when we leave?

Hello and thank you for any insight you can provide.Our current situation is this: we have a housebroken 6 month and change English Labrador. He's pretty awesome. He likes to pick stuff up off the floor and counter surf for things, but generally he's a pretty good dog. We walk him daily after work, take him to a dog swimming pool once or twice a week, take him to new and exciting parks on weekends, etc. We try to keep him stimulated and exercised.My wife and I both work full time jobs :(, so from about 8am through 1130, and again from 1230-5, he's in his crate. My wife comes home daily (she works very close, I work very far) to let him out over lunch, play around with him, take him outside, etc. He surprisingly has taken to the crate pretty good: a small biscuit and saying "crate!" and he jumps on in there with his kong and his blanket, and doesn't whine or complain.With all that said, the back living room which is open concept to our kitchen is where we keep his crate. That living room has a dog door insert in the patio door that leads to the backyard. The dog is very good at going outside to eliminate, and he never has accidents anymore. We are thinking about maybe babygating him into that back livingroom/kitchen area, with the dog door cover off and open, and leaving for 30 minutes to see what he gets up to. Is this way too much trust? Or is it way too early for us to do that with him? I'd like to get to the point where he doesn't have to be crated while we're gone, but I also want to make sure we're protecting him the best we can from his little self.Thank you for any input you might have. via /r/dogs http://ift.tt/2qQ9pMS