Climb points are one of the biggest issues that DIY projects face with fence certification – you may have installed the fence yourself, but if you place it too close to certain objects then you may cause a hazard and have to start all over again. To make it easier for you, here are some key points to consider when planning your new fence:
- Climb Points: Common climb points include tables, stairs, trees, raised garden beds.
- Fence Gaps: There Can be no gap greater than 100mm
- Effective Height: If there is anything climbable in the area, it can reduce the ‘effective’ height of the pool fence
- Doors: You also cannot have any door from the inside of a home open directly into the pool area.
- Fence Height: The fence must be at least 1200mm from the ground to the top.
- Climbable Distance: You can also not have anything climbable within 300mm of the inside of the fence.
- Windows: Windows also cannot open into the pool area unless they open less than 100mm or have a security screen.
Example For instance, if you have a pool fence 1200mm high, but a table or BBQ is in the area that is 500mm high then your fence is unsafe because the table reduces the height of the fence below the required 1200mm height.
The pool safety standard requires fences to have continuous 900mm non-climbable zones, areas that cannot be climbed by a small child. The standard also requires pool owners to create a clear area on the inside the pool fence immediately next to the external non-climbable zone. This means moving anything that would make the fence easy to climb:
- 900mm away from the outside of the fence
- 300mm away from the inside.
