Pool Safety Fences

Pool Fence Installation, Pennsylvania

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 85% of the children who drown each year do so at their own or a friends’ pool. The majority of these drownings can be attributed to momentary lapses in parental supervision combined with the lack of proper pool safety barriers.
Foremost in protecting against drowning, all experts suggest erecting barriers to provide layers of protection for a child who strays from supervision. Barriers include a fence or wall, door alarms for the house, and a power safety cover over the pool.

According to the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, you should install child proof fencing around swimming pools. A successful pool barrier prevents a child from getting OVER, UNDER, or THROUGH and keeps the child from gaining access to the pool except when supervising adults are present. You must be aware of the potentially hazardous properties of a pool.

B.O.C.A- National Building Codes. – Pool Safety Code Information

****NOTE: The following information is intended as a general overview of pool safety codes and may not apply to your specific application. It is vital that before ordering, you check you local laws and regulations as they may vary from the B.O.C.A. standards. We cannot be responsible if the fence you order does not meet your local codes.****

The Building Officials and Code Administrators (B.O.C.A.) outline contains safety measures for swimming pool fences. Many communities have adopted these standards in an effort to minimize and, hopefully, eliminate accidental drowning of children.

The most important items are these:

• The fence must be at least 48″ tall
• The minimum space between the lowermost top rail and the bottom rail must be at least 45″.

So some fence styles, if chosen, may have to be taller than 48″

• The spacing between pickets must be less than 4″
• The space between the bottom rail and the ground must be less than 4″
• The gate(s) must be self-closing
• The gate(s) must be self-latching
• The gate(s) need to open out (away from the pool area)
• The opening mechanism of the latch must be at least 54″ above ground

Check out this PDF for more information about PA state code.