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July begins the hottest month of the summer season for Memphis and surrounding areas, and with that comes the desire to stay cool, whether you’re playing games inside or reading a book by the pool. While enjoying pool time can greatly increase your summer fun, it’s important to ensure that your pool is safe not only when it’s being used but also when it’s not. Keeping family, pets, and neighbors safe is an added responsibility for pool maintenance, but ensuring safety is always a valuable action to take.
Building code requirements for pools note that all pools must be surrounded by a barrier. This barrier must be at least 4 feet tall with the gap between the bottom of the fence and the ground being no more than 2 inches. The openings in the fence should be small enough that a 4-inch ball can’t pass through. These measurements may seem arbitrary; but consider how small of a space a pet or a toddler can squeeze through to gain access to a barriered space, or even how small of a toy could fit below or between the panels of fence. Having a barrier around the pool means limiting small pets and children’s access to an unsupervised pool environment.
Concerning the barrier around the pool, it must close and latch by itself with the latch being at least 54 inches above ground or on the inside of the gate, where it is not easily within reach of children. This latch for the barrier must also stay locked when not in use. If your home comprises one side of the pool’s barrier, then alarms must be added to the doors leading to the pool; or a pool safety cover must be installed.
Inviting friends and family over for a pool party can make for an enjoyable summer celebration. However, commercial pool parties cannot be held on residential properties. When visitors are paying to have access to a pool on a residential lot, the property owner is making him or herself vulnerable to liabilities not included within the home’s residential use; and they are violating zoning regulations that prohibit restrictions concerning home-based businesses and commercial activities within residential areas of neighborhoods.
Pool safety is more than preparing your floaties and waiting to jump in until 30 minutes after you’ve eaten. It means safeguarding your pool in line with code requirements before any incident can even occur and to confirm that you’ve made your pool safe beyond your lounge time. If you have questions about code requirements for public or residential pools, contact Plan Review to discuss your plans and ideas before you begin. You can email planreview@memphistn.gov or call (901) 636-7384 to speak with a Plan Examiner.
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