From 1er July 2023, all residential swimming pools, even those installed before November 2010, must be out of reach of young children. Many homeowners will be forced to install a fence to restrict access to their inground or semi-inground pool.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Amendments to the Regulation respecting the safety of residential swimming pools, which came into force on 1er July 2021, grant a two-year reprieve to comply with the requirements, which now apply everywhere, regardless of the date of installation of the pools.
For many, the headache is real, because the landscaping was not planned according to this new reality. It is necessary to take into account the doors giving access to the swimming pool, but also the windows to avoid any danger.
“For a new pool, it’s easy, because the fences are installed at the same time,” says Michel Dubé, owner of Clôture des Patriotes, on the South Shore, which specializes in the installation of fences and bodyguard. “It’s problematic with some pools that are already there, that have been installed, for example, 5 feet from the house, which is no longer allowed. We make proposals so that there are as few risks as possible, so as not to block the house or the swimming pool, and to be legal. The law is sometimes hard to apply. »
Pay attention to deadlines
Delays are getting longer, causing some owners to fear that they will not be ready in time, he notes. Many are angry. Landscape architects fly to the aid of former clients, to help them, and carry out a consultation. Many don’t take calls from strangers who just want to know how to secure their yard.
“If we go back to the 1980s and 1990s, the pools were almost all lagoon-shaped,” says Michel Martel, founder of Martel Paysagiste, on the South Shore. “It’s an even greater challenge to close a swimming pool from before 2010, which has already been fitted out. »
Installing a fence is always a thorny issue. “Every time I go to see a client who wants a pool, the longest part is deciding where to put the fence,” he says. It’s crazy ! My role is to give as many possibilities as possible. »
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTEL PAYSAGISTE
In recent years, most in-ground pools have been rectangular, which makes it easier to install fences, notes landscape architect Michel Martel. Barely 20% of its customers opt for glass fences because of their high cost, the maintenance required and the injuries caused to birds.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTEL PAYSAGISTE
In this courtyard landscaped by Martel Paysagiste, the swimming pool is out of reach of young children. The very simple fence is harmoniously integrated, whether at the edge of the raised terrace or at ground level.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTEL PAYSAGISTE
In this courtyard landscaped by Martel Paysagiste, the swimming pool is out of reach of young children.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARTEL PAYSAGISTE
In this courtyard, the very simple fence is harmoniously integrated, whether at the edge of the raised terrace or at ground level.
1/4
Provincial regulations and municipal regulations, which vary from city to city, have the same goal. “A child must not be able to get out of a door or a window to go into the swimming pool, sums up the landscape architect. A child usually won’t feel like jumping down from the second floor, but they might jump out of the living room window. »
Windows facing the yard should therefore not open more than 4 in., or 10 cm. An opening limiter can then be installed. If there is a window in the basement, it must be ensured that it is free, so that a child cannot climb on a bed, for example, to get out.
Michel Martel, founder of Martel Paysagiste
Where the land is fenced all around, a balcony bordered by a 1.2 m (4 ft) fence in front of the patio door is considered legal, if there is a spring-loaded door that opens to the steps and the swimming pool, with a latch on the outside. “But you have to be careful once again about other exits from the house, through a window,” warns Mr. Martel.
“It can be very complex,” adds landscape architect Marie-Andrée Fortier, founder of Art & Jardins, in Saint-Marcel-de-Richelieu. “There are all kinds of rules to follow and you really have to think about the whole. »
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ART & JARDINS
As there is little space around the swimming pool, dug before 2010 in Candiac, the landscape architect Marie-Andrée Fortier determined different ways to restrict access. These include the installation of a glass railing with a self-closing door on the balcony.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ART & JARDINS
To prevent small children from going out through the windows of the canopy to go swimming, Marie-Andrée Fortier, of Art & Jardins, recommends installing opening limiters, as stipulated by provincial regulations.
-
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ART & JARDINS
The garden gate should have an automatic lock to prevent anyone from entering, says Marie-Andrée Fortier, of Art & Jardins.
1/3
Solutions
Fortunately, there are solutions to avoid creating an enclosure. “You have to take the time to analyze each situation,” emphasizes Marie-Andrée Fortier. When we do a ground survey, we take into account all the windows, even those in the basement, below the gallery. »
She cites the example of landscaping that she had done with her team a few years ago around an existing swimming pool in Candiac, on which she looked again in order to comply with the new regulations. Since there is little space around the pool, she determined different ways to close the access to the pool. These include the installation of a glass railing with a self-closing door on the balcony, the addition of an opening limiter to the windows of the skylight and the installation of a trellis made from hand and locked under the glass roof, so that no one goes out through the basement windows.
-
IMAGE PROVIDED BY MARIE-ANDRÉE FORTIER, D’ART & JARDINS
Plan of the existing court
-
IMAGE PROVIDED BY MARIE-ANDRÉE FORTIER, D’ART & JARDINS
Plan of proposals to secure the yard
1/2
“The garden gate also has an automatic lock, to prevent anyone from entering,” she says. The safety of neighbors is thus ensured. Then, as there are three windows in the basement, a gate with an automatic lock, at the end of the glass roof, set back, is added. There must be no leakage from anywhere, that in no way anyone accesses the pool. »
Despite the many constraints, securing the surroundings of a swimming pool is not always a negative, she insists. “We can create a place that is interesting. »