Problems With Installing a Fence for an Above-Ground Round Pool

Meeting Building Codes

• Identify the safety requirements you must meet, or you might waste time and materials installing an unsuitable fence. Ask your local building department for a detailed list of regulations. Typically, you must install a fence of a specific height, usually 48 inches, around the pool. Your above-ground pool might have walls that satisfy this requirement, but some building departments require an independent fence.

Wrong Type

• Forestall safety issues by installing fencing that children can’t climb. Chain-link fencing, for example, provides many hand- and footholds for children -- though inserting vinyl slats can make scaling the fence harder. Also, avoid fences with wide-set slats through which children can squeeze. Instead, choose a fence type that is difficult to climb, such as stockade, and orient it so the support brackets face the pool, where children can’t use them to climb into the pool area.

Uneven Height

• If your fence must traverse a slope near your pool, you have two choices. First, you can install the fence normally, allowing its top edge to dip and rise parallel to the slope of the ground below. This is the easiest approach, though you might not like the crooked look. Your other option is to create a stepped effect by installing each section with a level top edge, but you must fill any resulting gaps on the bottom of the down-slope sides of the fence sections. Otherwise, children can scamper under the fence, negating its purpose.

Gate Problems

• The gate should not swing open toward the pool. Children who lean against the gate might accidentally knock it open. Instead, orient the gate so pushing against it will lock it. The locking mechanism should be high on the gate, where children can’t reach it. Also, the gate should be self-closing and self-latching, just in case you forget to close it after leaving the pool area.