Pool Fencing - retractable option?

Looking at options for pool fencing.
Just wondering if anyone has used/come across a retractable fence
May be non-compliant, but something that can be removed when the pool is in use/when there's a party, and left in place when the pool is not being used
Thinking of this for a small pool, in a smallish back yard
Would need to be compliant, and removable/retractable

 

I’d be very very surprised if such a thing existed.

 

The whole point is that little people need to be stopped at all times.

If you have a small space etc, and don't want a pool fence making it look smaller and less attractive, then glass panels are likely to be your only option.

 

Even if you have a large area, glass panels are a better option.

Pools are a serious investment and glass panels maximise the look and feel of that investment. The main downside to glass panels is the cost.

We installed a frameless glass fence on the pool side nearest our home.

Absolutely love it.

 

Yep, but in a small(er) space where the glass panels are often closer to the edges of the pool, they often need cleaning with fresh water after a day of swimming. I hate using water for something as trivial as cleaning off a pool fence when there are so many places with water restrictions (however, in an effort to conserve water, I'll often use a bucket and window cleaning mop).

We find that kids splash the pool water everywhere (as they should - they're kids, having fun), but the salt water dries on the glass panels, making them look horrible etc, and I worry about the long term impact of the salt water on the glass if it isn't removed relatively soon after swimming.

 

We don’t have that problem at our place. The glass panels are 5m or more from the pool edge. One of the advantages of living on acreage.

One problem we didn’t envisage is the occasional kookaburra flying straight into the glass panels. Obviously they can’t see them.

Thank goodness it doesn’t kill them. I am sure they are stunned for a few minutes. They must be learning that the fence is there as we used to get a lot more crashes 8 years ago when we installed it.

 

I don't believe any retractable fence would be compliant. All fencing is approved/inspected by councils (well it is in Perth) and if it doesn't comply then you have to make it do so.
The ability to open up the area if there is a party could still allow a child to drown no matter how many people are standing around.
If you want to area to appear larger then there are a number of design ideas which can assist
1. raise the pool up. If the pool is 1200mm above ground then you don't need to fence except where the stairs/access point is
2. situate it so that glass fencing can be used
3. fence just the pool area and have the sitting/relaxing area outside the fenced area so the yard has maximum space

Inspo

 

Plenty of drownings occur when the 'supervising adult' is too engaged with their phone than with supervising.

Others due to propping the gate open or faulty auto closing latches.

I recall having seen a self-closing door (from the house) opening directly into a small pool area and why it was deemed compliant. This would need to meet all of the requirements for pool gates.

 

As far as I am aware, the width of a gate is not restricted, just as long as it self closes. Therefore a 10ft section of the fence could made into a gate which could be kept open with a brick during the parties.
It probably would be a bit difficult to make such an opening self close, but another way round is that the opening does not have to be a "gate". To be compliant a section can be removable as long as tools are required to remove it. I don't think there is a definition of "tool".

 

No, the gate cannot be held open with anything, it must be self-closing.

It has to be self-closing, you cannot leave an opening greater than 100 mm which someone may pass.

 

We have some double gates on our pool which self close and latch to each other but I still don't think it's a great idea for people to have a fence that can be open or shut.

I would rather design out the issue than create a risk.

 

@Tufan Chakir not sure what the rules in each State are, but from memory the fence & gate doesn't have to be clsoe to the pool as such. You say it's small back yard? As long as the perimeter yard fence is compliant all the way around and any access from the house to the yard is compliant (so a self closing gate from any access into the yard from outside and self closing doors from the house to the yard are compliant) plus any windows looking out to yard are made so as not to be operable from inside the house, you may not need pool fencing at all?

 

The Kidsafe Victoria site says this about direct access from the house and propping open (bolding added by me):

Pool Fencing Laws and Requirements
All swimming pools and spas on residential properties in Victoria with a depth greater than 30cm (300mm) are required to be surrounded by a safety barrier (e.g. a pool fence). There are currently 3 sets of requirements for pool/spa barriers in Victoria - these are based on when your pool or spa was constructed:

• Before 8th April 1991
• Between 8th April 1991 - 30th April 2010, and;
• After 30th April 2010

Below are some important points to help explain the current requirements for pool barriers. Please note that the information below is not exhaustive and is a guide only.

• If a Victorian residential pool or spa has a depth of 30cm or more (300mm), it is required to be surrounded by safety barrier. This includes inflatable pools.
• All pools and spas built after 2010 require a four sided barrier (isolation fence), with no direct access from the house or any other building to the pool or spa.
• Safety barriers must be a minimum of 1.2 metres high.
• Barrier gates must be self-closing and self-latching.
• It is illegal to leave a pool or spa gate propped open.
• Climbable objects such as pot plants, eskies, pool pumps and chairs must be moved away from the barrier.

Pool Fencing Laws - Kidsafe Victoria

 

Interesting, thanks @Joynz - what terms as access then? My mate down the road had a spa installed next to the house. The wall of the house is one wall of the spa, that wall has a window in it that could be climbed through into the spa area. the fencer put a rod in the track on the outside so the window cant be opened from inside and the spa areas was supposedly to code?

So if the windows are effectively rendered inoperable then I guess a small fence local to the back door to isolate the door from the yard would work?

 

If the rod is permanent, it might be OK.

Will be interesting to see how the inspection of your mate’s spa under the new inspection regime for compliance goes.

The small fence might also be OK as long as it complies with the other requirements.

 

Window wouldn't need to be inoperable just have a restrictor to prevent opening beyond 110mm (or whatever the required opening), if the window is inoperable, then it doesn't meet the requirements for ventilation.

 

Yes, though a pool gate must open out of the pool space......
So it would still easily chew up a square meter of space

 

The Australian Standards for pool fencing require a structure. It cant be removed. eg a pool spa cant have a cover only either. The AS limit where a window can be. Once a window could be perm locked if it could open to the pool area. Now NO window is permitted access.

 

wish this was the case in NSW, my pool
Is 1700 above the ground, smooth concrete and I still had to put a 1200mm high fence in front.

 

Sorry, don't see this ever happening @Tufan Chakir, while there's still pool drownings....and complacent individuals.