How to Install Pool Mesh Fencing
Enhancing pool safety and awareness should be ongoing for homeowners who need to protect their visitors and family. The USA Swimming Foundation reports that "9 people drown each day in the U.S." Installing pool mesh fencing around a swimming pool can keep smaller children away from the water's edge when there is not an adult in sight. DIY homeowners comfortable with a drill can erect this type of fencing themselves. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Black marker
- Drill
- 1/2-, 3/4- and 1-1/4-inch diamond core drill bits four inches long
- Post sleeves
- Aluminum posts
- Mesh fence sections
- Metal fence clamps
- Screws
- Screwdriver
- Safety latches
Instructions
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Measure post positions with a measuring tape and mark with a dot with a black marker on the concrete surrounding your swimming pool. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions as to the distance between posts for your particular kit. Most kits have post placement at three feet apart for 15-foot fence sections. Measure each post position from center to center. Continue around the fence line in this manner to mark all post positions.
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Insert a 1/2-inch diamond core drill bit into the drill and press firmly downward on installation surface to drill a clean hole. Replace the bit with the 3/4-inch bit and drill the hole to this size. Replace this bit with the 1-1/4-inch bit and drill the hole to its completion size.
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3
Insert a post sleeve into each post hole. Insert a post into each sleeve inside of the holes and twist clockwise to lock into place. Place a metal fence clamp on both the top and bottom of the post lining them up with the pre-formed holes in the fencing. Screw two screws at the top and bottom through the fencing and into each post. Continue this method around the entire fence line. Most merchants carry sizes of pool mesh fencing in heights ranging from three to five feet tall. Choosing a higher mesh can contain small children as they grow so that only one purchase is necessary.
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4
Attach a safety latches to all adjacent poles. Safety latches vary from company to company but they generally clip around each post
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Tips & Warnings
To save time in drilling holes into concrete you may drill all of the required holes with the smallest bit, change to the intermediate bit size and drill all of the holes and then to the largest bit to finish the holes. This method saves the time of changing bits for each individual hole.
One or two sections of the pool mesh fencing are removable for entering and exiting the swimming pool. If you purchase a gate separately allow for hole placement of its poles as they may have different spacing than the fence itself.
Constructing a pool mesh fence on a wooden deck surrounding a swimming pool does not require diamond core drill bits. Use standard wood bits in the same three sizes to obtain correct hole size.
Installation in ground requires creating a ground plug four inches deep to insert post sleeves and posts.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Foot in the swimming pool image by Bettina Pressl from Fotolia.com
