Last Updated on August 14, 2017
If you are looking to install a new in ground pool on your property it is important to take into consideration the different rules and regulations set forth for you to follow. One of the main stipulations when installing a new pool is in regards to a child safety fence. You probably have noticed around town that most homes that have a pool also have some sort of a child safety fence put up around it. That is because any installed body of water deeper than 18 inches requires a child safety pool. Essentially, unless you are opting for a kiddy pool or something incredibly shallow, the child safety fence is a must and you’ll receive fines and other citations from the local government due to ordinance violations. This doesn’t mean you have to spend an arm and a leg in order to install and place a new fence around the pool, you just need to know a few specifics in order to keep all those around the pool safe.
The main qualifications regarding your fence is that it must stand at least five feet tall. You can build a tall of a fence as you want, but anything under the five foot mark is still going to result in fines and other negative situations coming from the pool. If you’re going to install a fence you might as well make sure it stands at least five feet in the air.
It is possible to use just about any sort of material for the pool fence, but if you decide to go with brick, you do need an additional construction permit (on top of the pool permit), should any port of the fence stand higher than three feet in any direction. If you want some resemblance of a brick look but don’t want to have to obtain the additional permit you can opt into installing a foot or two of brick as the base and have a cast iron or other material stand on top of the brick. Regardless of the combination of material though, simply make sure the fence is at least five feet tall.
Lastly, if this fence is installed around a public pool the public pool must have a four-foot deck running around the entire pool, so there is at least four feet of walkway room in any direction, made of a non-slip material to walk on.
