Automatic Pool Covers are a great way to make your swimming pool safe, but what about swimming pools that do not allow the use of an autocover because of design constraints?
When our family put in a swimming pool many years ago, our oldest daughter was only 3 years old. She was not able to swim yet, and we hadn’t really thought seriously about the dangers of drowning or swimming pool safety until the pool was being filled for the very first time. I used to design swimming pools for a living, and I had designed our pool with a raised natural rock wall and waterfall along the back of the pool up against a small slope which prevented us from installing an automatic pool cover. We decided instead to install a safety fence from the left side or our property line fence straight across the yard connecting to the wood fence along the right side of our property line essentially dividing the yard into two separate areas. There is still enough space to walk around the pool for cleaning and sitting around the pool inside the fenced area. Our oldest daughter is now 17, and our youngest daughter is 6. Our children are all now such strong swimmers that we can take the fence down, but it’s so nice to have the peace of mind provided by the pool fence when younger children are around or visiting.
Like my own pool, many pools today are designed without an automatic safety pool cover in mind. If your pool has a unique shape or raised decking area adjacent to the pool, this may prevent you from ever being able to install an automatic safety cover. The most common solution to this problem is a Removable Mesh Safety Pool Fence from Poolsafe. Swimming pool fences look much nicer than most people imagine, and they are a very safe option for protecting your pool. Poolsafe Fencing has a great deal of flexibility when it comes to the shape and style of your pool and layout of your pool area. They come in several different colors and come in two height options of 4 or 5 foot tall. Removable swimming pool fences meet the requirements for the secondary barrier in the 4 foot height and some cities and counties will accept the 5 foot height as the primary barrier. A pool fence is also not limited to a completely flat install area. We can design the fence to go up steps or slopes and can even install the safety fence in paver or natural stone decking.
Poolsafe always recommends installing a self-closing/self-latching gate with the fence. The gate must swing away from the pool, and it’s a good idea to position the gate in a location where it will be most visible.
The ability to remove and take the fence down is a nice feature especially if you are entertaining and there are no children present, or if you happen to have a Lifeguard on duty. Most of our customers rarely take their fences down until their children and friends and family’s children are all strong swimmers. I think we only removed our fence two or three times when our children were little.
Many of my customers tell me that they love the fact that the holes drilled for installation of our swimming pool fences are as small as a dime. The sleeves that we put into the decking material also come with small caps so once the fence is removed the installation sleeves are hardly noticeable.
A swimming pool fence by Poolsafe is also a cost-conscious option for safety. Most of my customers are pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive a safety pool fence can be when compared to other options.
Being a pool owner, it is your responsibility to make sure your swimming pool is safe and secure. And when an automatic cover isn’t possible, a swimming pool fence by Poolsafe is another great option for safety.
Happy Swimming!
-Dan Newbold
Safety Consultant for Poolsafe Inc.
