concrete patio, need to keep 1 year old out of pool


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Old 04-05-07, 01:23 PM
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concrete patio, need to keep 1 year old out of pool

I need to put up some type of railing in the backyard to keep my daughter from wandering off the patio and towards the pool. At first I was going to put up a fence around the patio but then I thought maybe I should make a deck with railings.


We have a kidney shaped inground pool in the back yard. When you come out of the back door we have a 16x12ft concrete patio that is raised off the ground about 6-8 inches, but its about 6-8 inches below the level of the sliding door to the backyard.


I was hoping someone could give me some advice for my problem.
 
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Old 04-05-07, 01:42 PM
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concrete patio, need to keep 1 year old out of pool

If you put up a fence, the spacing of the verticals should be no more than 4" clear spacing for it to be safe and work for a couple of years. This is the same as the requirements to railings in a house. I am not aware if this is a code or not, but it makes sense. Your local municpality may have other requirements that are more strict or perscriptive.

This will last until the child is another year or two older and can open the gate.

You could also leave a good cover on it when you are not supervising. More of a nuisance is not foolproof.

I am sure some will suggest a collar and a hidden wire like they use for dogs, but I don't think you would like the training sequence.

Dick
 
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Old 04-05-07, 02:14 PM
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Is there anyway I can put up the "railing" part of the deck and mount the balusters straight to the concrete (or maybe a stud that is fixed to the concrete)?
 
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Old 04-05-07, 02:20 PM
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If there was a sufficient amount of concrete exposed it would be possible to mount directly to it by bolting directly or wrapping a 'U' shaped bracket bolted on either side. The problem with this approach is that with only 6 - 8 inches of mounting space it would be difficult to get two mounting locations on each post. This would result in the railing having very little lateral support. A better approach would be to excavate at least 18" down, inserting the post and filling the hole with concrete. Then bolt it to the concrete patio. I'm not a big fan of putting wood into the ground or concrete, but I get the impression that this railing is only needed for a few years and then would be removed.
 
 

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