There are many misconceptions people have regarding pool gate safety laws. I did a blog post a while back dealing with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pool & Spa Safety Act, which resulted from architects asking whether we had a latch that satisfied both codes ( read the article for more information ). This post is going to deal with where the latch has to be installed, on the inside or the outside of the gate.
This usually comes up when someone calls on the phone inquiring about the Magna Latch. They usually begin the conversation with, “Can the Magna Latch be installed on the inside of the fence?” My first question is, “Why do you want to install the latch on the inside?” They inevitably will say that the building inspector or their contractor told them that it was code. It is true that there is a section of the code that allows for a latch on the inside of the fence, but it is not ideal. The Consumer Product Safety Commision ( CPSC ) has published a booklet entitled “Safety Barrier Guidelines for Home Pools“. On page 4 it talks about installing a latch on the inside of the gate but when you do this the latch has to be 3 inches down from the top of the gate, on the pool side of the gate ( the gate still has to swing out away from the pool ) and there can not be an opening greater than 1/2 of an inch within 18 inches from the latch. This is not easy to do when a fence is new, forget about 3-4 years down the road. Not only that but the latch you normally end up using tends to “bounce” when the gate closes and therefore does not latch reliably. It is also my professional opinion that these latches are not safe because the striker bar is installed on the post and is a stationary object that protrudes out into the gate opening. Every time you go in or out of your pool area that bar is going to get caught on your clothing or even worse possibly poke a child in the eye.
You can avoid all of these potential problems by using a latch that is specifically designed to meet the pool code. If we look closely again at page 4 of the CPSC’s booklet it says, “When the release mechanism of the self-latching device is less than 54 inches …”. So if we keep the release mechanism above the 54 inch mark the latch can go on the outside of the gate. This makes the Magna Latch Top Pull or Vertical Pull the ideal solution .
*Note – Installing a latch on the inside of the fence also makes it easier for children inside the fence to let other children inside the pool area.
