I am in the process of bidding out the construction of a new pool and patio extension. I have young kids so I will also need a pool safety fence. One of the builders recommended pool guard (https://poolguardtexas.com/). It appears to be a solid option. I was wondering if anyone had experience with it or other options that they could suggest? The main thing we don't like about it is it is pretty damn ugly and we are spending a lot of money to build a nice pool and patio so having this eye sore out there is disappointing, but our kids safety has to come first.

One option I'm curious about is a wrought iron fence but I'm guessing 3 or 4 years from now when I don't need it anymore that's not something that can be removed.

I've heard the retractable nets are prone to break and have been advised against using one of those...

Any other ideas?

Also, as I think about design, any suggestions on how many feet of decking I'll want between the pool and patio to allow for this fencing? I'm thinking 5-6 ft minimum as the fence will be at least 24-30 inches off the edge of the pool.

are you thinking fence or net?

My BIL had a net. worked great.

Whatever you do, 48" high with a self-latching gate for insurance purposes.

Where are you located?

Some municipalities will let you put an alarm on the door(s) to the pool in lieu of a fence. It'll go over this in the permit packet your builder gets from the city when pulling a permit.

I only mention this since you noted "spending a lot of money on the pool just to have an ugly fence".

Rexter said:

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Whatever you do, 48" high with a self-latching gate for insurance purposes.

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Yes - even once your kids are grown you should keep a fence around your pool.

I am not sure we are comfortable with just an alarm. We have young kids, 1 who is not going to be old enough to swim for another couple years at least.

On the net, RLB can you send me a link to the type of net they used?

I used https://poolfence.com/ and have 2.5 feet on each side to walk. I 100% recommend them. My in-laws put up a safety fence around their pool using a different company and the quality of the one I used is much better.

Put some thought into how you want it configured and where you will want access. We ended up running the safety fence from the back of our house and connecting it to the back fence rather than doing it all the way around the pool - saved some money and also keeps the "pool side" of the safety fence much more open.

It is an eyesore relative to not having one, but I can easily take it down and put it back up in under 5 minutes if we are having a party with no high-risk guests.

No experience with a net, but seems like a PITA to deal with if you want to go for a swim.

Vernada said:

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Rexter said:

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Whatever you do, 48" high with a self-latching gate for insurance purposes.

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Yes - even once your kids are grown you should keep a fence around your pool.

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When you all say this...are you stating you should effectively have 2 fences in your backyard? One around the pool and one around the peremiter of property?

I called to confirm with my insurance and did a facetime of my backyard and we only have a perimeter fence and he said that was 100% ok and all we needed.

he doesn't know, but it looks exactly like the ones on the link you provided in the OP.

We just broke ground on our pool this week and have decided to go with a net from Katchakid. They install both nets and fences. After much discussion, my wife and I decided to go with a net. We have a 1 year old, and the safety of the net outweighed the inconvenience of taking the net off/on in our opinion. Our neighbor has one and they are big fans of it.

Either way, your pool, your house, your decision. Our early experience with Katchakid has been excellent. Just looking forward to getting this pool done, so we can start to enjoy it! Best of luck.

A few problems I have with the nets, particularly the manual ones:

1. Me or my wife may get lazy or may just forget to put the net back on
2. In comparison to a fence, you can't have people in the pool and still have a defense against a child getting in the water. So if my older kids are in the pool, we would have to be very careful that our youngest didn't go get in as well (with a fence this is much easier to control).

Because of those 2 reasons, I think we are unlikely to go the net route.

We built a pool in the fall and did a protect-a-child fence. We ultimately decided that your #1 concern there was a very real possibility for us. Saturday afternoon after a few drinks the last thing you want to do is put the net back on, even if it is quick and simple.

Additionally, since building we feel completely comfortable with our kids (3.5 and 1.5) play in the backyard while we're doing things around there and not have to worry about them throwing stuff through the net or if the net is on correctly. It would be a gigantic pain in the ass fishing toys and balls they threw in the pool through the net all the time.

Absolutely no regrets with the fence and I'd do it 100 times again before I did the net.

We did katchakid for a net and leaf cover too. Moved to a house with a pool when kids were 4 and 2.5. The custom fit and install was perfect. Once you you get the hang of it, it's seemless, and we needed a leaf cover anyway with the amount of trees in the backyard.

Every situation is different, but cutting my kids loose without even having to look into the backyard has been priceless. I'm a cheap MF and over analyze every purchase.... didn't want to know how much and didn't care.

PS: it holds over 500 pounds of 3 over served men.

For those making note of maybe not wanting to put the net back on after day in pool and a few beverages, you are talking at most about 10 minutes if you do it yourself. Less if you have someone help.

I would make the decision more on appearance and function of your backyard in the net vs fence. If you have a smaller yard, then net may make way more sense. Pool at our old house would not be usable with a fence.

On perimeter fence meeting municipal requirements, I have found this generally true. However, some municipalities including the one we live in technically require that it not only be self latching but also be locked or have a child resistant lock (like the pool fences have). Insurance requirements may vary as well.

Finally, we considered but never purchased the wrist alarm for young child. If you envision a scenario of older kids playing while younger ones wander around, even a fence will not matter as the older kid may let younger one in (heck, if you do not trust them enough to lookout for younger one getting in water, you trust them to make sure the gate is closed?), then invest in a water contact wearable alarm.

Infant swim lessons also seem to be a very great idea. No experience with them though.

Thinking electric is out
.

planoaggie123 said:

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Vernada said:

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Rexter said:

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Whatever you do, 48" high with a self-latching gate for insurance purposes.

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Yes - even once your kids are grown you should keep a fence around your pool.

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When you all say this...are you stating you should effectively have 2 fences in your backyard? One around the pool and one around the peremiter of property?

I called to confirm with my insurance and did a facetime of my backyard and we only have a perimeter fence and he said that was 100% ok and all we needed.

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I'm sure that's all your insurance requires.

But, you keep the second fence up anyway because it's the right thing to do.

Friend I previously worked with never had kids and still ended up with a drowned kid in his pool.

We keep locks on the surrounding fence so hopefully that will mitigate such a disaster.

We have a pool net that we put up on in the months that we don't swim. best thing ever.

Our neighbors 45lb dog walks across and gets his feet wet. my 9 lb dog bounces across it and stays dry.

If you are in Austin or near. Check out Texas Tiny Pools, They are putting in ours right now and their solution is expensive but innovative

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They will do up to 15 x 20 geometric and it preserves your yard space

I have a half acre lot, no need to conserve yard space.

planoaggie123 said:

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Vernada said:

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Rexter said:

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Whatever you do, 48" high with a self-latching gate for insurance purposes.

---

Yes - even once your kids are grown you should keep a fence around your pool.

---

When you all say this...are you stating you should effectively have 2 fences in your backyard? One around the pool and one around the peremiter of property?

I called to confirm with my insurance and did a facetime of my backyard and we only have a perimeter fence and he said that was 100% ok and all we needed.

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Perimeter fence is ok, provided it had a self-closing/latching gate, or is locked at all times.

Appreciate the response. We have both. Realize there is some risk involved when not more "closely" securing but feel pretty comfortable with our setup. Beyond that wanted to make sure no issues with insurance / umbrella policy

My other reason is to keep the pool cool and leaves out