Fencing Solutions Waikato Ltd (FSW Ltd) have been involved with many pool, school and park fencing projects, having been the contractor to Waikato Kindergarten Association, Central Kids, and many private Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres for their fence and gate needs.
Timing always poses a challenge – ideally, being able to get work done in their holiday period. If we have to work when kindergarten is in, then the next challenge is answering all the questions from the 4-year-old onlookers from behind a temporary fence. Fielding questions like ‘What are you doing?’.
The requirements for ECE fencing and gates are as much to keep the public out as it is to keep the children in. It is unbelievable the number of instances of vandalism or theft from such an organisation. The focus first is on function: fences now are generally 1.8m high with a maximum gap between vertical rods of less than 90mm, flat top panel and commercial grade. Gates have heavy-duty self-closing hinges and in all cases, a pull-top latch that is lockable. In some cases we have installed a two-step unlock process with an additional magnetic slide pull latch. All of our fencing materials are sourced from Modern Fence Supplies in Hamilton.
Pool fencing
Pool fencing is also one of the many services offered by FSW Ltd, working alongside pool companies who are installing a pool. It is often a step-by-step process where the pool builders will do all their ground works and surrounds. The pool needs to be fenced as soon as it has more than 400mm of water in it, in accordance with the Building Act 2004, the legislation that governs pool fencing requirements in New Zealand.
The Buildings Act 2004 requires all residential pools and small heated pools with a maximum depth of 400mm or more require a physical barrier that restricts access to the pool by unsupervised children under five years of age .
A temporary fence is installed at this stage to keep the work area safe and away from inquisitive children. We will install a fence with a panel that has a NZSA approved PS1. For commercial sites, we are required to submit a PS3, which is a producer statement to warrant that the work completed is as planned and follows any engineered standards.
Glass fencing is another option that can either be bolted down with spigotts or aluminium posts. Glass pool gates are required by the Act to self-close and self-latch. The Act also requires mandatory inspections every three years to ensure compliance with the regulations .
The Building Performance website provides a comprehensive guide for pool owners to understand the pool fencing requirements of the Building Act 2004 (the ‘Act’). The guide includes information on why pool fencing is important, the types of pools that require a barrier, the requirements for pool fencing, safety covers for small heated pools, applying for a building consent, and more.
Pool gates
Gates need to follow the rule of being at least 1200mm high, swinging away from the pool on self-closing hinges, and the pool latch needs to be self-latching. Over time, the springs in the self-closing hinges will soften. An easy self-check on gates is whether they can self-close from a distance of 100mm.
In the case of a glass gate, the opening latch must only be accessible from the inside and be 300mm lower than the top of the gate.
Climbing hazards
Another part of the Act that can be overlooked is that any climbable object must be at least 1200mm away from the outside of the fence and 300mm from the inside of the fence.
It is likely that local councils will require that the pool fencing be a part of the building consent. These plans will be approved by the council, and when the pool is complete, the fence will be signed off.
We get a number of enquiries from pool owners who have been notified that either their fence has failed an inspection or there is an inspection due. It is the responsibility of the pool owner that their fence passes the compliance test at any time.
Article written by Todd Sherburd from Fencing Solutions Waikato Ltd (FSW Ltd)
Published in the Pools & Schools Feature in WIRED Issue 72 / MARCH 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ
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