I thought I’d share a picture of a solution to a climbable surface which balanced compliance, aesthetics and cost. Australian Standard AS1926.1-1993 outlines the non-climbable zones applicable to a pool barrier and in this case it applied to two clauses of the Standard. Any projections and indentations within the pool barrier’s 1,200mm non-climbable zone (arc) cannot form a horizontal surface with a depth of greater than 10mm unless spaced by at least 900mm apart, and secondly, there cannot be any horizontal surfaces that could be used as holds for climbing located within 300mm of the inside of the fencing and where the spacing between vertical members is greater than 10mm. While undertaking this Pool Barrier Compliance inspection, the feature wall had brickwork with 10mm horizontal surfaces and the vertical space between the bricks and the glass pool barrier was greater than 10mm. While it was possible to relocated the glass barrier so it was less than 10mm from the wall, this would not have met the requirements of the first clause.
To resolve both issues, the homeowner secured Perspex on the face of the wall. It expended at least 1,200mm from the glass pool barrier on the approach side, and to the end of the brick wall on the inside. By securing the Perspex to the wall, all the horizontal surfaces that initially presented as climbable were subsequently considered non-climbable and as such because all other clauses were compliant, we were able to issue the homeowner with their Certificate of Pool Barrier Compliance (Form 23).
