What are the pool fencing requirements for homeowners?
Homeowners should take pool fencing requirements seriously. According to recent studies, more than half of all pool drownings that occur in the U.S. involve children under the age of five. Attention to pool fence and other safety issues is a vital imperative for everyone owning or living near a pool or back yard spa. Requirements for pool fencing are not as rigidly set as most other standards in the Uniform Building Code because they are contained in the appendix portion of the code, rather than the main chapters. Municipalities that adopt the code into law have the option to include the fence requirements in the appendix or to write specific standards of their own. It’s wise to consult your professional home inspector or local building department with regards to pool or spa safety. In jurisdictions where standard fence requirements are in force, there are ten basic rules to keep in mind when fencing an area around a pool or spa: • Fencing should totally surround the pool area. • Fenci