Dark colored mesh fences are very transparent and rarely show dirt which explains their popularity. However, before removing your fence you should rinse it off with a garden hose. The fence can collect a lot of dirt, just like a car sitting in a parking lot or driveway.

Proper installation of the fence provides a “tension fit” that prevents most children from lifting the fence out. However, this tension fit does not mechanically hold the fence into the patio.

You will notice in examining our safety gate hooks, that these hooks were designed to improve safety by preventing children from unlatching a safety gate hook latches found on most mesh fences. At the end of each stainless steel clasp are small holes designed for a padlock. Guardian has solid brass padlocks available that all operate with the same key. This will prevent any child (or adult) from unlatching the sections of fence. We recommend this system when you have age disparity issues in your family or if you have a rambunctious child.

The mesh surface of all Guardian pool fences will not allow finger or toe holds, thus making our fence one of the least climbable fences available. However, parents must continue to supervise their children because you never know if they might try and pull a chair up to the fence to gain a height advantage.

This question is the most difficult to answer without seeing your property. The best way to answer this is to help you evaluate your own property. Please answer the following questions:

What you are about to read below is not scientific. This is about helping you make a determination about fence height without a professional evaluating your backyard pool area.. This is how I tried to answer these questions when acting in the capacity of a marketing professional/parent from 1988 through 2002. This was something I did 6 days a week for almost 15 years. I tried to look at the pool area as if I was the child. I wanted to know how this child could beat my system before they did it, so I could help the parents determine what they should do to keep their children safe. That’s why customers called for an appointment to evaluate their backyard. It’s astonishing the things I learned about children while doing this.
As a personal note, many times I recommended to parents that they put up a 5 foot high fence. Most of my customers listened to what I had to say. The parents that didn’t listen to my advice sometimes called at later dates and told me that their children did in fact go over the top of a 4 foot fence. They usually used patio furniture as their ladder. We have had countless customers over the last 20 years pay us to take down their 4 foot tall fence and put our 5 foot fencing into the same installation. Rarely did a customer that purchased our 5 foot fence ask us to remove it and install a 4 foot high fence. Remember, THIS IS NOT SCIENTIFIC. This is one way for parents to determine the height of a fence in their pool area without a professional evaluation.

Fact: The US Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1988 established 4 foot high fencing as a minimum height for fences around pools.

Fact: The higher the fence the more difficult it is to get over it.

QUESTIONS

• Do you have children that are generally obedient and follow instructions or do you have children that are wild and rambunctious?

If you answered cautious children, grade yourself a 1. If you answered rambunctious children, grade yourself a 2.
Reason: If you know your children are calm well behaved and generally cautious consider yourself blessed. You probably are not going to have a problem with a 4 foot tall fence. If your children aren’t little angels and you’re worried about them because they throw caution to the wind and can climb almost anything, then you know that regardless of anything else you should put up a fence higher than 4 feet.

• Do you have twins or more than one child under age 4?

If you answered one child and you’re not planning to have more children grade yourself a 1. More than 1 child under 4, grade yourself a 2.
Reason: If you have two or more children under the age of 4 you should realize that these children will work together to achieve a goal. They don’t necessarily need patio furniture to get over the top of a 4 foot tall fence, because one child can help another get over this fence. Remember, the 4 foot tall fence is the MINIMUM height recommended by the USCPSC.

• Do you have a large backyard for the children to play in or a small backyard?

If you have a large backyard, grade yourself a 1. A small backyard, grade yourself a 2.
.Reason: “The smaller the backyard the higher the fence”. I have told that to thousands of customers over the years. The reason is because the closer children play to a fence, the more opportunity they have to get over the top.

• How far away from where the fence is going to be located is your patio furniture?

Under 20 feet away grade yourself a 1. Under 15 feet away grade yourself a 2. Under 10 feet away, grade yourself a 3.
Reason: Patio furniture is the most common way for a child to circumvent a pool fence. One of the smartest things parents can do is get the furniture out of the backyard. If that isn’t possible, then tie the furniture together so that individual pieces of furniture can’t be moved up to your fence. Don’t say, “My kid won’t do that”. Assume your children will do that and your pool area will be a much safer environment for your children when they are playing outside.

I hope these Q & A and some of our way of thinking helped you with some of the issues dealing with swimming pools and children.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments. We can be reached at: info@guardianpoolfence.com

Sincerely,

Steven Sadinsky, President
Guardian Pool Fence Systems Inc.