Pool safety fencing that passes inspection

What the code actually requires

Under Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act and the building code that implements it, a residential pool barrier generally has to:

• Be at least four feet high on the outside face, measured from the ground.
• Have no gaps, openings, or protrusions that would let a small child crawl through, squeeze under, or climb over.
• Have no handholds or footholds that make it climbable — this is the requirement that quietly fails a lot of otherwise correct-height fences.
• Be positioned so that anything nearby can't be used to climb it.
• Have gates that open outward, away from the pool, and are self-closing and self-latching, with the release mechanism placed high enough to be out of a small child's reach.

Codes change and local jurisdictions add their own amendments. We build to the requirements in force for your address and county at the time of installation, and we're there for the inspection.

Removable mesh pool fence

Fine-mesh panels on aluminum poles that drop into sleeves set flush in the deck. Strong enough to meet the barrier requirement, transparent enough that you can watch the pool through it, and removable section by section when you're entertaining. The self-closing, self-latching gate is the part that has to be right — a mesh fence with a gate that doesn't latch is not a barrier.

Permanent aluminum pool enclosures

When you want the barrier to be a permanent part of the yard, powder-coated aluminum picket is the standard. It won't rust in the pool-chemical and salt environment, it doesn't block the view, and the picket spacing and rail placement can be configured to meet the barrier requirements. More on aluminum fencing →

Not just for new pools

Two situations bring most of these calls: a new pool that needs a barrier before it can pass final inspection, and a home changing hands where the inspector or the insurer flagged a non-compliant barrier. Both are on a clock. Tell us the deadline you're working against when you call and we'll tell you honestly whether we can hit it.