Removable Pool Fence Installation & Lessons Learned

[sharper4]

We are having a removable pool fence installed around our pool next week. I have a young son (almost 3) and think it'll give us a little more peace of mind. The visual barrier alone will keep him away but I don't want to freak out every time we're sitting on the patio that he's going to trip and fall in.

The installer asked me to be home in the morning when he starts laying out the location for each of the poles. Our basic plan is to fence off the corner of the yard (including the shed) so the fence will hug one side of our pool. That means it'll have a couple sections installed in the ground (pvc piping laid in concrete) with tension applied by attaching to the existing fence.

I'm curious if anyone has a recommendation or lesson-learned regarding the actual location for the poles though. I want to stay off the coping ... but how far back into the deck should we place the poles? If you're swimming (with most of the fence still in place) then you'll still have space to use the other side of the pool or jump from a wall. I had planned to have it installed just a few inches from the coping.

We didn't purchase any gates. They were $400+ and we're expecting this to be a (mostly) short term solution (maybe a couple years before it can come down for good). The fence is tension based and hard to remove while under tension. When you want to swim you unlatch the poles and then either open or remove a section of the fence. The 15 ft sections only weigh 12 lbs.

Any lessons learned or recommendations?

 

[CraigMW]

When we bought our house with an existing pool, we were very concerned as we had young kids at the time. So, before we moved in (after escrow had closed), one of the first things to do was install a child safety fence around the pool. We were obviously concerned about how it would look, and did not want to lose the use of the deck for entertaining, etc. We ended up getting a fence system with removable posts and mesh (I cannot remember the brand, but it was pretty expensive... around $3500 for our pool). I decided that it was important to set the fence back far enough from the waterline so that it was possible to walk around the edge. This is important for maintenance and when folks want to sit beside the pool and just dangle their feet in the water. I would suggest setting the fence back at least 2-3 feet from the waterline for these purposes. It has now been over 4 years that we've been in the house, and both kids are older and experienced swimmers. Even so, we've decided to leave it up. The advantages to leaving it in place:

1. When we have guests with younger kids, it provides some peace of mind, though adults are always required to keep an eye on them in the pool. The fence is there to control the situation, but does not keep children completely out of harm's way. Adult supervision is ALWAYS required.

2. The way it is configured, the kids cannot run along the pool deck to jump in. If it weren't there, I know they would do this given the opportunity. This could easily lead to injuries or worse, so it's a great way to control this activity.

3. Keeps small animals away from the water. We have racoons, bunnies and opossums that would love to wash their hands and catch of vermin in the water. With the fence, they cannot do this.

4. It minimizes leaves from being blown into the water. We still get plenty of leaves that drop in from our neighbor's trees, but they cannot be blown from the yard.

I strongly advise getting a fence. You could in theory access the pool by removing a pole from the ground by unhooking it from a neighboring pole. Having done this, I can say it is not easy to do. You will need to be able to access the pool for maintenance. Moreover, you will find yourself opening a section when kids want to use the pool and then leaving it open for convenience. This negates the layer of safety that the fence provides. So, unless you and your guests are extremely vigilant about this, you really need to invest in a fence. You should get the kind that is self-locking and is not easily opened by young children. Again, this is a safety issue, and in many places, a code issue.