Los Angeles County fence requirements

[allyway]

I am new to posting on this site, but I have gained lots of valuable info from all you wonderful people! We live in Altadena which is unincorporated and considered L.A. County. Unfortunately, that means really difficult permitting and passing inspections. We just had our pre-pebble inspection and had 4 action items that need to be fixed before proceeding. One has got me really frustrated and unsure how to proceed. I've looked up the county requirements and do not see anything that says the fence has to be permanent, but the inspector says our removeable mesh fence has to be anchored into the concrete, basically making it permanent. I have never heard of this before and wonder if anyone else has ever had that problem. If so, how did you anchor it? I'm having a hard time even figuring out how we would do that. If we do, we might as well leave it there permanently because if we take out the anchors, we'll have all these little holes in the deck and in the poles. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Dan-H]

My removable fence was anchored into the concrete deck. This was done a few years after the pool was built and it was drilled with a large, hand-truck (aka dolly) mounted deck drill that was water cooled and noisy.

When the fence is out, I have a bunch of small 1" holes in my deck and they go un-noticed when the fence is not in place.

 

[Soupy]

Same here, there are plastic sleeves that go into the deck holes, and caps for the holes that I never bothered to use. I’m not sure how you’d install a fence on the pool deck without drilling the concrete. The holes are not a big deal at all.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Are you talking about this type of fence? Life Saver Pool Fence: Voted Best Pool Fencing by Parents

How did you propose to anchor the fence that the inspector did not approve of?

 

[allyway]

If I'm reading this correctly, it sounds like you just have a removable fence with holes drilled in the deck where the poles go. Is that right? Well, we have that already. Our inspector wants us to get a special sleeve that drills into the deck around the original hole and also drills into the pole itself to make it permanent. I have not heard of anyone having to do this before. Our neighbor who put in a pool less than a year ago has the same fence but they were not required to do this.

 

[allyway]

Here is a picture which is, what I assume, she wants.

​

I only found it by scouring the internet. It basically screws the pole into the sleeve and the sleeve into the deck. I think it is specific to the company that installs the fences because it looks different than what we have and they say it's a patented technology. We have the Water Warden brand fence. It is already installed. She wants us to make it permanent, not removable. Doesn't that sound wrong? I have only heard of home daycares having to meet those kind of requirements.

 

[kevinp768]

It may be worth asking the inspector for either a copy of, or a link to the county code requirements so you can see what it is they are referencing in regards to the anchoring.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

It may be worth asking the inspector for either a copy of, or a link to the county code requirements so you can see what it is they are referencing in regards to the anchoring.

Good advice!

Maybe you can call up the city/county and speak with the building department supervisor. The code itself is black and white, but the interpretation and application of the code often varies.