Swimming Pool Fence Installation

Installing a Swimming Pool Safety Fence

Overview:

A swimming pool fence installation is not an option in most cities and towns. It is mandatory to provide safety for children as well as peace of mind for the home owners. Swimming pool fencing and the landscaping around the fence can actually enhance the aesthetics of a pool and the overall beauty of your back yard.

Most local building codes require swimming pool fence installation around pools. The cost burden to install a fence often is a deterrent to having a backyard pool.

In addition to the pool cost and its installation, the additional cost of  a swimming pool fence installation often puts the whole idea of a backyard pool beyond a home owner’s budget. That does not have to be the case if you are a handyman. A free weekend with a few basic household tools and a good plan you can install your own fence at as reasonable cost. You can install a swimming pool fence at a very reasonable cost, usually $8.00 to $10.00 a linear foot in addition to the fence post and concrete.

If your pool is an underground pool, above the ground pool, or a semi-above the ground pool, there are many companies that sell a variety of different style fences that are right for your pool. Most of them will even provide assistance in fence design and installation instructions. If you are a woodworker you may consider designing and making your own fence out of wood. I would recommend that if you use wood use cypress or mahogany as both are attractive and very durable in an outside environment.

A semi-above the ground pool is an above the ground pool that is stalled on a ground slope whereby a part of the pool is at ground level as an in-ground pool and the remainder sets on above the ground. A fence does not have to completely surround a semi-above the ground pool. It only has to be around the area of the pool that is not four feet above ground level. The section of the pool that is four feet above the ground serves as a safety barrier.

Listed below are nine easy steps on how to install a swimming pool fence. Before beginning, check with your local building inspector for the local code requirements. Usually fencing requirements are straight forward; four feet high around the pool with a gate that incorporates a safety latch.

Installing The Fence (Create A Plan)

• The plan does not have to be elaborate but it should be detailed enough to determine exactly what your material requirements are. If you are buying your fencing material from a supplier, the fence sections usually comes in six foot lengths that are attached to the fence post and the posts are cemented in the ground.

• Use a thick twine to outline where you intend to build your pool fence. Position a marker at each six foot interval for the post. Measure the overall length of the string to determine how many linier feet of fencing required.

Fig. 1

• Locate where you want the gate to be. Most gates are 3 feet wide.  

•  Using a posthole digger, remove the earth from all the post locations. A six inch diameter hole is adequate, see Fig. - 2. Dig the holes approximately eighteen inches deep.

Fig. - 2

• Position a post in each hole. Using a level and two strings to align the post. One string along the path of the fence and the other at the desired height of the fence, Fig. -1. Adjust the post height by either digging the hole deeper or filling it in to align with the string. Use the level to insure that each post is vertically straight. This will insure that your completed fence is straight and level fence.                                  

• Dump a sixty pound bag of dry premix concrete in each posthole insuring that the post stays straight and aligned with the string. Pour in water and allow the concrete to harden, Fig-3.

Fig. - 3

• After the concrete is hardened install the gate section first and then each section of fence using the hardware provided (usually a bracket and bolts or screws).      

• Landscape inside or outside the fence.

Fig - 4

Installing a swimming pool fence is quite easy. It is a requirement that is mandatory in most communities for safety and will provide the home owner with peace of mind.

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Swimming Pool Maintenance

Swimming Pool Safety

Swimming Pool Winterizing

Removing a Swimming Pool