Door & Gate Hardware for Swimming Pools

Obviously, you need to have pool fencing and pool doors and gate locks, but depending on where you are, the laws of each municipality can be mind-bogglingly confusing. So we begin this article with the strong advice that before you take anything we say as gospel truth, you should consult with your city and state (and in some cases HOA) to make sure that you’re following all of the regulations to the letter. Pools are fun and relaxing and a great way to spend time as a family, but the dangers of an unfenced pool are too terrible to bear: drowning is the #1 cause of unintentional death of a child between the ages of 1 and 4. Let me repeat that: drowning is the number one cause of unintentional death of a child between 1 and 4. There are 390 drownings in backyard swimming pools per year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

So, we know what’s at stake--our very lives. With that well-established, let’s look at how we can make sure that we and our loved ones are not one of those statistics. 

What Do the Laws Say Regarding Door and Gate Hardware for Swimming Pools?

Think of the laws surrounding pool safety as a pyramid, with the federal government at the base, then the state laws (which are generally more restrictive), then county laws (counties sometimes have laws and sometimes don’t), and finally city and town laws at the top of the pyramid. 

The most important place to start is with the Safety Barrier Guidelines for Residential Pools: Preventing Child Drownings, which is put out by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

The guidelines state that fences should be a minimum of 4 feet high, although 5 feet high is preferable. If a picketed fence is used (as opposed to a vinyl privacy fence), then the pickets cannot be more than 4” apart, and the bottom rail of the gate needs to be no more than 4” off the ground. And if the house serves as one of the walls (if a backdoor opens into the pool area) then alarms need to be placed on those exterior doors.

Now, when it comes to Door and Gate Hardware: All doors to pools must be self-closing and self-latching, and the locks must be beyond the reach of children. 

According to the Guidelines: A successful pool barrier prevents a child from getting over, under, or through and keeps the child from gaining access to the pool except when supervising adults are present. 

Gates To Pool Areas

Gates should open out from the pool and be self-closing and self-latching. In other words, when you leave a pool, the pool gate must swing closed by itself and lock by itself. Being an outward-opening gate is an extra precaution to make sure that a child cannot push on a gate with a semi-unlatched piece of gate hardware and enter the pool area. Instead, a child pushing on a semi-unlatched gate will actually push it closed and lock it rather than gain entrance.

The weakest link in any pool fencing system is the gate latching hardware. The rules for a gate latch are that if the self-latching mechanism is less than 54 inches off the ground, then the distance from the top of the gate to the latch must be at least 3 inches (to prevent little hands and arms from reaching over the gate and unlatching it). Also, and perhaps most importantly, the fence should have no opening larger than ½ inch within 18 inches of the latch. This is to prevent someone from reaching between the pickets from underneath or from the side and unlatching the pool fence.

What Gate Latches and Locks are on the Market Today?

There are a wealth of latches and gate locks for backyard pools (and pools at multi-family units), and they come in all price points. You can get the basic spring-loaded gate to swing it shut automatically and then all you technically need is a mechanical latch that can only be reached by an adult. 

But if you want to move up a step, the lowest rung on the pool gate and latches ladder would be something like the Locinox Gate Keep SAKLQF, Standard, Adjustable, For Swing Gate Locks. This is a standard lock that is designed for the latch bolt to fall squarely into it. Made from stainless steel with an aluminum stop plate, this is definitely the economy gate latch and lock. 

A step up from that would be the Locinox FORTIMA Gate Lock, Child Safety Magnetic Latch, which is a magnetic latch allowing for smooth opening and secure closing. It boasts the strongest magnetic force on the pool gate market, and it is opened when the magnet is pulled up, so no amount of downward pressure from a child trying to enter a pool area will undo this gate lock. And don’t let the high-tech magnetism of this lock fool you: it is hardy. It can withstand temperatures below negative 22 degrees F and as high as 165 degrees F. 

For locked gates, the Locinox Gate Lock LUKYJ5 is everything that you could ask of a swing gate lock--the gate swings into place and the gate lock doesn’t merely latch the gate closed but it secures it with a 1-⅛” mortise cylinder that requires a key to unlock. 

Conclusion

Pool and gate safety are extremely important, and there are a lot of laws and regulations that surround the subject of pool gate latches. Make sure that your pool is secured with the very best lock and latch that you can get to make sure that your children (or your neighbor’s children) do not become a statistic.

See more Child Proof Gate Concecpts and products.