If your planning a pool installation here are some safety measures to consider. note: some measures will require infrastructure to be installed prior to finishing your pool. Speak to your pool professional prior to breaking ground. Automatic, Power Safety Covers PURPOSE: An impenetrable covering that completely covers the swimming pool, blocking access to water. Cover is operated electronically or by a key independent of all other swimming pool equipment. Fencing PURPOSE: To isolate the swimming pool by way of a minimum four-foot-high enclosure. Manual Swimming Pool Safety Covers PURPOSE: An impenetrable covering that completely covers the swimming pool, spa, or hot tub, blocking access to water. Door Exit Alarms PURPOSE: Warns parent or guardian when a child opens the door to the swimming pool area. Self-closing/self-latching devices for doors and latching devices for windows PURPOSE: Keeps all doors and windows leading to the swimming pool, spa, or hot tub area securely closed, limiting access by children. Fence Gate Closer & Latch PURPOSE: To close and latch fence gates securely, making a swimming pool, spa, or hot tub inaccessible to a child. Fence Gate Alarms PURPOSE: Sounds when fence gate is open to the swimming pool area. Infrared Detectors PURPOSE: Wireless detection alarm that sounds when the area around the swimming pool perimeter is entered. Pool Alarms PURPOSE: An alarm placed in the swimming pool that sounds upon detection of accidental or unauthorized entrance into the water. Child Alarms PURPOSE: An alarm clipped on the child that sounds when the child exceeds a certain distance or becomes submerged in water. Rope & Float Line A rope & float line should be placed across the pool, alerting swimmers to the separation of the deep end from the shallow end of the swimming pool. Life Ring, ShepherdÂs Hook All rescue equipment should be placed near the swimming pool in an easily accessible spot, and should be kept in good condition. These can be used to pull someone in trouble to safety. Posted Emergency Information Post all CPR, other emergency information, and warning signs, as well as the emergency phone number "911" (or other emergency medical service number), near the swimming pool, spa, or hot tub. Outside Telephone A cordless or poolside telephone means parents donÂt have to leave children unattended while they answer the phone. Also, itÂs a good idea to

We went way over the top. We had a fence and a pool cover. Our boys are now teenagers so we have gone through 3 covers. We had the solid cover ( the type you can drive a car over ) unfortunately the horses thought they were solid and stepped on the cover whilst walking past. The cover is not warranted for that. After two of those we switched to the net type. I way preferred that type. You can see your water. The dirt does not accumulate on top. When it rains you have to pump the water off the solid covers. The dogs and horses stay off of the net. Why both? When we had parties and the kids were done playing the cover would go on, but the adults are still hanging, eating, and drinking around the pool. We had a two year old come to the hospital, where I worked, who had drowned. Growing up the neighbour's boy drowned. This was during the time we were deciding what to do. It was an easy decision to go with both safety guards. It is amazing how many adults can be around a pool and yet no one is watching the children. We also started having one adult sit by themselves, in turn, watching the kids play.

I am considering a safety net for my pool and was wondering if this left in place over the winter instead of a cover. Would you still need a cover over the net for the winter? If you only used the net, what does the water look like in spring and how long would it take to get clear? The safety of my kids is most important but I want to make certain that I am doing the right thing. Thanks, Slapshot

Safety Covers (the type that attach to recessed anchors and use springs) can be installed on virtually any pool shape and deck type. The down side of this type of cover is the time and effort to put it on and take it off. On average it will take a single person about 20-30 minutes and when you take it off you need to let it dry before storing it away. So obviously it's really designed for when you shut down the pool (assuming you even shut yours down at all) and not for daily use. The other type of cover I wouldn't really call a 'safety' cover per say but rather a retractable (either manual or automatic... but manual is... nuff said) that can provide enough support to allow people to stand on it... It's like walking across the biggest waterbed in the world though! These types of covers can certainly be installed if you are redoing the deck and coping around the pool at the same time but remember that the cover runs on tracks that need to be straight so it can be a challenge on a freeform pool to make it look good. To me the biggest downside to these covers however is the cost. The price range can vary A LOT and you may be left wondering why. It comes does to quality of the product. We sold a low cost system (automatic) for a couple of years and learned the lesson the hard way. Today we only sell a top of the line system and won't even consider the lower end ones because of the number of issues our customers had. Now since I'm up in Canada, the price range and available systems are probably quite different but we've been dealing with CoverStar.com for some years now with great success and virtually no issues.