Top 5 Mistakes Homeowners Make with DIY Pool Fence Projects

Backyard pool and hot tub surrounded by a black mesh pool fence.

If you want to create a safer swimming pool area, you need to avoid these safety pool fence mistakes. DIY pool fence installation is a great way to protect your pool and loved ones while saving money. When properly installed and set up with ASTM-certified components and materials, your removable mesh pool fence can provide protection against unsupervised swimming pool access, reducing the risk of accidental drowning. All it takes are authentic All-Safe Pool fence parts, the right tools, and attention to detail when setting up your pool safety barrier.

Removable Mesh Safety Pool Fence

Thousands of lives are lost annually to accidental drownings, and a lack of adequate safety barriers is cited as a contributing cause in the majority of these tragedies. One of the most common pool safety barriers, often required by building codes, insurance carriers, or law, is a pool safety fence that meets or exceeds a minimum standard of protection. This can include methods of construction, fence height, materials, allowable gaps, and how the fence is secured. Removable mesh pool fencing is a modern fencing option that’s cost-effective without compromising on protection.

This pool safety fence style uses strong metal poles anchored in deck sleeves around the pool to support a strong, damage-resistant mesh material stretched tightly between them. It deters climbing, has no large gaps to push through, and is secured by a self-closing and latching gate. It can also be completely removed in a matter of minutes to create more room around the pool for entertaining and then be reinstalled almost as quickly when it’s time to close the pool again.

DIY Pool Safety Fence Mistakes

When installing your pool safety fence, it’s important to follow our walk-throughs, safety instructions, and safety-conscious common sense. Remember the old adage of “measure twice and cut once.” Take your time and ensure you’ve got the proper measurements and placement before cutting, drilling, or otherwise altering your pool or pool fence materials. When in doubt, reach out to your local independent All-Safe Pool Professional. They’re your go-to source for professional pool safety barrier help.

  1. Improperly Drilled Holes

The holes that anchor your removable safety pool fence are vital to its integrity. They need to be sufficiently deep enough to support the poles through inclement weather, determined people, motivated pets, and other stressors and leave no gap underneath the material for a small child or pet to go under. They also need to be drilled vertically to keep your fence looking good and minimize uneven pressure and tension once the fence is installed. Finally, they need the correct spacing to ensure your DIY pool fence mesh will be stretched tautly to avoid sagging that could aid climbing.

The easiest way to make sure your poles are correctly drilled is to make precise measurements and use the appropriate tools. We offer coring bits to create the perfect-sized holes for your poles, deck sleeves, and drill guides so you can hit the right angle every time. 

Black mesh pool fence gate tightly closed to protect backyard pool.
  1. Sagging Gates

Your safety pool fence gate should swing open smoothly and close freely on its own, latching itself shut in the process. This helps reduce the risk of a gate being left ajar or unsecured, leading to a heightened danger of unsupervised pool access. Improperly installed gates can sag, leaving them unaligned with their posts or unable to close on their own.

Adjusting your pool fence gate is a relatively easy process. In fact, it’s one of our most asked-about pool fence repairs you can do yourself with minimal tools. Adjusting your pool fence gate for perfect closure would be part of any DIY pool fence installation, and its fit should be checked and adjusted regularly to maintain your safety pool fence’s effectiveness.

  1. Missing Hardware

Your pool fence hardware can be small and easily go missing before, during, or after the installation process. It may be tempting to let a few missing screws slide or transfer hardware from another location on the fence to “spread out’ the missing pieces or replace broken components elsewhere, thinking this keeps your fence strong and effective.

The truth is that any missing or damaged hardware on your fence reduces its integrity and puts your loved ones at risk. We sell all the parts, hardware, and miscellaneous components needed to install or repair your safety pool fence, including the small hardware pieces that tend to be lost the easiest or wear out fastest. 

  1. Incorrect Fence Height
Black mesh pool fence on steps around a swimming pool.

Fence height isn’t just about matching any existing pool fence segments you have installed. In many cases, minimum fence height requirements may be set as a condition of your property insurance, by the legal jurisdiction you live in, or by your HOA covenants. The wrong fence height can leave you with a fence that doesn’t match from one section to another or that’s out of compliance, leading to the potential of big fines.

Before starting any safety pool fence project, make sure you know the requirements your pool fence needs to meet. Then, carefully measure any existing structures or fencing you want to meet or exceed in height. Take the taller of those two measurements and order your pool fencing materials accordingly. We offer removable mesh pool fence sections and parts for both 48” and 60” safety pool fence enclosures to satisfy the vast majority of minimum height requirements. We even offer step poles to keep uneven or stepped pool areas protected.

  1. Improper Pole Usage

We offer several different types of poles or posts. While peg and full-diameter poles can be used to create strong safety pool fences, they aren’t interchangeable. In addition, gate and corner posts come in several varieties, and all poles and posts are offered in a range of colors and finishes to match your aesthetic.

Make sure you know which pole type you need to order as well as the number and configuration of specialty poles and posts for your fence. That way, you know you’re getting fence supports engineered to work well together and create a secure perimeter around your swimming pool area.

Order Your DIY Safety Pool Fence Parts and Accessories

We’re proud to offer professional-grade pool fence parts and accessories to protect your investment in your property and the people and pets you love. Build a safer pool area with ASTM-certified components for your DIY pool fence. Order your safety pool fence components from All-Safe Pool today.

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Color Variations

Colors on your screen or brochure may not match the actual color of your product.

Due to the many variations in monitors, phones, and browsers, color samples and product examples may appear different on different screens. Computers and mobile devices are not all calibrated equally and color reproduction on the Internet is not precise. The same is true for printed items such as brochures and other sales literature. 

In addition, the colors of our products photograph differently under different lighting conditions. For example, photos taken in full sunlight will vary from photos taken on a cloudy or overcast day. Similarly, shadows from nearby objects can affect the color and transparency of our products. If a precise color or specific shade is important, please inspect the actual color of your product prior to installation.

Colors will vary from batch to batch.

Many of our products’ materials are not available through typical stores and vendors and therefore must be custom manufactured specifically for our use. In order to control costs and provide you with the best value possible, our raw materials are produced in large batches and can often take several months to receive. The colors of our materials can, and often do, vary slightly from batch to batch. Although we make every effort to minimize color variations, we cannot be responsible for these differences when they occur. If a precise color or specific shade is important, please inspect the actual color of your product prior to installation.

Color names are subjective and may not be what you think the color should be.

For example, we use the name “putty” to describe some of our products. Your idea of the color “putty” may be different than someone else’s idea of “putty”. In addition, products may have the same color name but may not be the exact same color. For example, we have different shades of “black”. Please do not order using color names as your only guide. If a precise color or specific shade is important, please inspect the actual color of your product prior to installation.

Inspect the actual color of your product prior to installation.

If it is important that your product be an exact color or shade, it is highly recommended that you inspect the actual product prior to its installation and address any concerns with your local independent installer. Most independent installers do not offer refunds or accept returns due to color variations.