Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools 15
Barriers for Residential Swimming
Pool, Spas, and Hot Tubs
The preceding explanations of CPSC’s pool barrier guidelines were provided to make it
easier for pool owners, purchasers, builders, technicians, and others to understand and
apply the guidelines to their particular properties or situations. Reading the following
guidelines in conjunction with the diagrams or figures previously provided may be help-
ful. For further information, consult your local building department or code authority.
Outdoor Swimming Pools
All outdoor swimming pools, including inground, above ground, or onground pools,
hot tubs, or spas, should have a barrier which complies with the following:
1. The top of the barrier should be at least 48 inches above the surface measured on
the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool (figure 1).
2. The maximum vertical clearance between the surface and the bottom of the
barrier should be 4 inches measured on the side of the barrier which faces away
from the swimming pool. In the case of a non-solid surface, grass or pebbles, the
distance should be reduced to 2 inches, and 1 inch for removable mesh fences
(figures 1 and 10).
3. Where the top of the pool structure is above grade or surface, such as an above
ground pool, the barrier may be at ground level, such as the pool structure, or
mounted on top of the pool structure. Where the barrier is mounted on top of
the pool structure, the maximum vertical clearance between the top of the pool
structure and the bottom of the barrier should be 4 inches (figure 9).
4. Openings in the barrier should not allow passage of a 4-inch diameter sphere
(f igure 11).
5. Solid barriers, which do not have openings, such as a masonry or stone wall,
should not contain indentations or protrusions except for normal construction
tolerances and tooled masonry joints (figure 2).
6. Where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the
distance between the bottom and top horizontal members is less than 45 inches,
the horizontal members should be located on the swimming pool side of the fence
(figure 3).
7. Spacing between vertical members should not exceed 1¾ inches in width.
Where there are decorative cutouts, spacing within the cutouts should not exceed
1¾ inches in width (figure 4).
8. Maximum mesh size for chain link fences should not exceed 1¼ inch square
unless the fence is provided with slats fastened at the top or the bottom which
reduce the openings to no more than 1¾ inches (figures 5 and 6).
9. Where the barrier is composed of diagonal members, such as a lattice fence, the
maximum opening formed by the diagonal members should be no more than 1¾
inches (figure 7).
10. Access gates to the pool should be equipped with a locking device. Pedestrian
access gates should open outward, away from the pool, and should be self-closing
and have a self-latching device (figure 12). Gates other than pedestrian access