Pool fencing and pool safety gates in Gaborone, in steel or glass

Why fence a pool

Young children can get into water quickly and quietly. A pool fence doesn’t replace adult supervision, but it adds a barrier between the house and the water, so a child who wanders out of the back door can’t reach the pool on their own. It also helps keep pets out and gives visitors a clear boundary.

This page gives practical guidance, not legal advice. If your estate, body corporate, landlord or insurer has rules about pool barriers, follow those rules. Tell us about them when you ask for a quote and we will build to them.

Child-safety features we build in

• Self-closing, self-latching gate. The gate should swing shut and latch on its own, every time, without anyone pushing it. We fit gate closers or spring hinges and a latch that catches automatically.
• Latch out of a child’s reach. The release is mounted high, or on the pool side of the gate, so a small child can’t open it.
• Gate opens away from the pool. A gate that swings outwards, away from the water, is harder for a child to push open.
• No footholds. Vertical bars or small-aperture mesh, without horizontal rails a child can use as a ladder. Our horizontal slat designs look good on boundary walls, but we don’t recommend them for pool fencing.
• Narrow gaps. Small gaps between bars, and between the bottom of the fence and the paving, so a child can’t squeeze through or under.
• Nothing to climb nearby. Keep pot plants, chairs and braai stands away from the outside of the fence. We help plan where the fence runs so there is a clear zone.
• Lockable. A padlock or key lock option for when the pool is not in use.

Steel pool fencing

Steel vertical-bar fencing is strong, low-maintenance and difficult to climb. We can also use welded mesh panels, or match the style of your gate and balustrades. Close to water, splash and pool chemicals attack paint faster than on a boundary wall, so we recommend galvanising followed by paint, or at least a good primer and two coats, with extra care at post bases and welds.

Glass pool fencing

Glass keeps the view of the pool open, so you can watch children from the patio, and suits modern homes. Two common styles are:

• Frameless glass held by stainless steel spigots or a base channel, with the glass panels doing most of the work.
• Semi-framed glass with slim aluminium or steel posts and clamps between panels, which costs less and is simpler on uneven paving.

Pool fencing glass must be toughened safety glass. We confirm the glass type, thickness, fittings and gate hardware on your quote. Glass gates use special self-closing hinges and a magnetic or gravity latch so they close reliably.

Pool partitions

Not every pool needs a fence all the way round. Often the job is a partition: one run of fencing with a gate that separates the pool and its paving from the house, the lawn or the play area, using existing walls for the other sides. A partition can also keep dogs away from the water. See dog enclosures and partitions if that is part of the plan.

Why custom fabrication

• It fits the pool you have. Pool surrounds are rarely square or level. Panels, posts and gates are made to the measured lengths and steps, not cut down from standard kits.
• The gate is the most important part. We hang it so it closes and latches properly on your paving, and adjust it at handover.
• It matches the house. Colours and bar spacing to match your gates, burglar bars and balustrades.
• Local service. If a closer needs adjusting after a season, our workshop is in Gabane.

How the job works

1. Send the basics on WhatsApp. Send photos of the pool and surround, the approximate length of fence needed, how many gates, and whether you prefer steel or glass. Mention any estate or body-corporate rules.
2. Free site measure in Greater Gaborone. We measure the run, levels and paving, check where posts can be fixed, and agree the gate position and swing direction. The visit is free across Gaborone and Phakalane, Gabane, Mogoditshane, Tlokweng and Mmopane. Further afield in Botswana we quote from photos and measurements first.
3. Written, itemised quote within 4 business hours of having the measurements. Every line is listed (material, sizes, finish, installation), so you can compare quotes properly.
4. Fabrication in our Gabane workshop. Everything steel is cut, welded, ground, primed and painted at our workshop in Rasoko Ward, Gabane.
5. Installation by our own team, then a walk-through at handover so you know how locks, latches and fixings work.