Swimming Pool Gate Code Vinyl and Aluminum
“What is all the fuss about swimming pool gates? I keep my gates locked all the time!”
Great point! Many customers who have never had a pool do not realize how quickly an accident can happen. All it takes is one mistake and you could have a tragedy on your hands. Gates are THE point of entry for the pool fencing and children will watch adults enter here.
Pools ARE considered ATTRACTIVE NUISANCES by attorneys (and the LAW) and therefore also your homeowner insurance company. That means that YOU are responsible for providing safety precautions for anything on your property that will entice children to enter it. This list includes things such as trampolines, basketball goals, swing sets, jungle gyms, playhouses, treehouses, forts, putting greens, and of course, the BIG KAHUNA …swimming pools.
SWIMMING POOL GATE CODE
By code (BOCA), gates are required to be 48″ in height from the outside grade. The gate release latch is required to be at least 54″ in height from the outside grade.
How can this be? Well, for 48″ gates, there are special magnetic latches in long tubes that will extend above the fence and increase the distance to 54″ creating a child-resistant latch. Notice I said child-resistant, not childproof! Children can be very creative at times and show a great tendency, like the Marines, to improvise and overcome. The point of the 54″ release latch is to keep the pool gate latch out of the arm’s reach of small children.
SWIMMING POOL GATE CODE
Next, the gate IS REQUIRED to open outward, away from the pool area. The reasoning for this reg is that if a child can manage to open the gate and it opens inside to the pool then they can fall inside the pool area. This is exactly where we do not want unsupervised children to be! If the gate is correctly installed, opening outward away from the pool area, the gate may close back before they can maneuver inside the pool area.
SWIMMING POOL GATE CODE – MAGNETIC LATCH RELEASE ABOVE THE FENCE AT 54″ ABOVE OUTSIDE GRADE
SWIMMING POOL GATE CODE
Why would the pool gate close by itself and latch by itself? Pool code for swimming pool gates REQUIRES gates to be self-closing and self-latching! I can remember my children always running in and out of the house and never fully closing the door to the house. Living on a farm, we always had pets for the children…and if the door did not close and latch, we had all kinds of bugs, cats, dogs, and other creatures venturing in. So even if adults enter or leave the pool area, the gates should be in good working order and self-close and self latch. We use lifetime warranty spring-loaded latches (adjustable tensioned) and self-latching latches.
Why have adjustable tensioned hinges? Because over time, the springs will need to be adjusted to maintain a level of consistent closure. The closure should not be considered only for a wide-open gate, but also for a gate that is 3/4″ from closure. Why? Like when my children were in a rush and THOUGHT they had closed the door. So use adjustable tensioned hinges that are rated/tested at 10,000 closings for best results. To end the gate section, the hinge post AND the latch post should have a heavy post or a heavy reinforcement inside the post for the endurance of the gate.
