Whether you have a standard swimming pool design or something a bit out of the ordinary, custom pool covers can help make your pool safer. Backyard pools are the perfect retreat from the blistering summer sun, but they can also present unique hazards. Pool areas can often be crowded with furniture, toys, and gear that create slipping and tripping hazards, making the large body of water even more dangerous for people who are unaware, children who are unsupervised, or anyone with a compromised mental or physical state. If you own a pool, it’s your responsibility to have the proper safety features installed to limit pool-related injuries.
Protecting Your Pool Area
Custom barriers are one of the most popular ways to prevent accidental entry into the pool, and in many cases they may be required by your insurance policy, homeowners association, or building codes. Your swimming pool design has a big impact on your barrier options and what you can do to protect your pool.
Pool safety fences create a wall between your pool and those seeking entry. Made of sturdy, removable poles and strong, rip-resistant mesh, they have the strength to stop enthusiastic pets, curious kids, and stumbling adults. They’re engineered to resist climbing, don’t have gaps that would allow an infant, toddler, or child to pass, and use self-closing, self-latching gates to prevent easy entry.
Custom pool safety covers offer another option by creating a barrier on top of your pool’s surface. They’re easily installed on most swimming pool designs and use rails to anchor the tear-resistant cover material to the edges. Unlike floating covers which can ensnare someone falling into the pool, safety covers instead hold them up and out of the water until they can crawl, walk, or be pulled to the edge of the pool and out of harm’s way.
Swimming Pool Design Examples
The Simple Rectangle – The scenery may be unique, but this is one of the most common pool shapes out there. Simple lines, uncluttered decking, and a decent amount of space make it the perfect candidate for both a pool safety cover and fence. A custom pool cover’s rails can be installed on the pool-side deck or, in some cases, under the edge of the pool, creating a secure barrier. A removable pool fence would offer another layer of protection. The mesh of our fences is easily seen through, so you can know your pool is secure, but still be able to enjoy the view while lounging in the water.
Rectangle With Obstacles – While the lines of this pool remain relatively similar to the last one, the addition of ladders and a diving board present complications. If the ladders can be removed from their mountings, this swimming pool design is still the perfect candidate for a safety cover and safety fencing, as rails could easily be installed inside the deck hardware for the ladders. If the ladders are bolted in place, then a sturdy pool safety fence is your best option. It should either be installed in the raised mowstrip around the pool or a taller fence, allowing at least 48-inches above the mowstrips top edge could be installed inside the strip and closer to the pool.
Round Pools – Now we’re stepping outside of the straight-lines-four-corners comfort zone, but that doesn’t mean a pool can’t be safe. Round swimming pool designs aren’t any more difficult to design custom pool covers for and fences can be installed in almost any configuration. The rails of your safety cover would still run parallel to each other from one end of the pool to the other, essentially forming a square over the pool. With the large deck area available, your safety fencing options are wide open.
Complex Pool Designs – There is a lot going on with this swimming pool design. A kiddie pool, long, straight stretches ending in odd angles, and off-shoots of different depths. To start with, a complete safety fence is a must. While custom pool covers can add to the safety, the extremely unique design will leave weaker areas of protection, so your best barrier selection will be a fence to keep unintentional, unsupervised access at bay. The kiddie pool is easy to cover, as it’s a simple round design. The main pool, however, would need several covers that close at different angles, and may need a deck extension on the bottom right part of the picture to allow for proper rail placement. While it could be covered, most likely a professionally installed pool safety fence would be our primary recommendation for this property as it stands.
The Bottom Line
The point of these pools is that, whatever your swimming pool design and whatever your deck layout, there are safety barrier options to help protect your family, pets, and friends. A pairing of custom pool covers and safety fences is always best, but not always practical. Even with properties that are not right for safety covers, properly installed safety fencing creates a secure barrier that can help prevent pool-related injuries and accidental drownings.
If you’re ready to find out how affordable peace of mind can be, call our specialists. They’ll set up a time to come measure your pool, evaluate your swimming pool design, and make recommendations based on your pool and your specific needs. Contact A Safe Pool at 866-651-POOL today.
