The pools in St Ives are rarely short of space. What they have instead is distance. A fence might run the width of the block across a lawn, past a garden bed and around a big old tree before it gets back to the house. Length like that changes how the fence is built.
Long runs across lawn
Frameless spigots want a concrete slab or a solid footing to hold. Where the pool is surrounded by paved concrete, that’s easy. Where one side of the fence crosses open lawn, every spigot needs its own footing, and the cost adds up quickly over a long run.
Semi-frameless glass is often the better answer for those stretches. The slim aluminium posts are concreted into the ground, the glass sits between them, and the lawn can be mown right up to the line. A fence can use frameless glass near the house, where the view matters most, and semi-frameless down the garden side. The panels are the same height, so it reads as one fence.
Trees and the 900 mm zone
A big tree near a pool fence can fail an inspection on its own. The rule is that nothing climbable can sit within the 900 mm arc outside the top of the fence. A trunk close to the glass, a low fork, or a branch hanging over the top all count.
The fix depends on the tree. Sometimes we can move the fence line in a little and leave the tree outside the zone. Sometimes the branches have to be cut back. Trees grow, so a fence that passes today can fail in a few years without anyone touching it. It’s worth looking up every spring.
Garden features catch people out the same way. A raised bed, a low wall, a tap, a play set or a pool pump housing near the glass gives a child a step. Plan where those go along with the fence.
Decks and stairs above the garden
If the house steps down to the garden over a deck or a run of stairs, those need a barrier too wherever someone could fall 1 m or more. A glass balustrade can match the pool fence. On a deck it has to be at least 1 m high. On stairs it’s measured from the nosings and can drop to 865 mm. Fixing, glass spec and whether it needs a handrail depend on the engineered system, so we quote the balustrade separately even when it’s the same glass.
Bushland edges
Some blocks back onto bushland. If yours is mapped as bushfire prone land, mention it when you ask for a quote.
Council
Ku-ring-gai Council runs a pool barrier inspection program, and it will inspect and issue a certificate of compliance when you apply. A new or replaced barrier has to meet AS 1926.1-2012.
NSW pool barrier
- Minimum height
- 1200 mm from finished ground level
- Gap under the barrier
- 100 mm or less
- Gaps between uprights
- 100 mm or less
- Non-climbable zone
- 900 mm arc outside, plus 300 mm inside
- Boundary fence as barrier
- 1800 mm high
- Gate
- Self-closing, self-latching, opens away from the pool
- Standard
- AS 1926.1-2012 for pools built after 1 May 2013 and any modified barrier
Source · NSW Government, Pool owner obligations
The full NSW pool rules, including gates and the standards for older pools, are on our glass pool fencing page.
