The positioning of your pool in your backyard is an important consideration for any homeowner adding an above ground pool to their backyard. There are plenty of reasons why you want to get your pool as close as possible to your home which I’ll cover in this article. But, How close can an above ground pool be to a house?
There are federal regulations that state that a pool must be set back at least 10 feet away from your home and some state and county regulations that could require a pool to be set even further back from your home. You’ll need to look up the code requirements for your local government to be sure you follow the laws of your area before setting up your pool. Do not depend on pool installation experts to handle this for you. Do your own due diligence to find out what the law is for your area to save yourself from possible problems with incorrect location installation.
Let’s take a look further in this article about how close an above ground pool be to a house because of regulations and also personal preference anecdotes from fellow pool owners.
Why is there Regulation for How Close Your Above Ground Pool Can Be to Your House?
Two words: Water and Electricity. The reason your pool has a required distance away from your home is the mix of water and electricity could cause huge problems so there is legislation in place on a federal level that requires a minimum distance. Many people believe it would be because of the weight of the pool and how that would affect the foundations of your home but that really isn’t the issue.
There are actually permit requirements in most areas of the country because of the necessity to run electricity to your above ground pool so this is something the local governments do take seriously. If you want to read more about permits for above grounds pools check out that article.
Are There Additional Rules to Consider When Placing Your Above Ground Pool Close to Your Home?
Yes, there are. The federal government regulation on a minimum of 10′ away from your home is really just the tip of the iceberg. If you place your pool close to your home without the proper planning in my place you will be walking into a storm of headaches if your local government requires permits and certain requirements that you are not meeting. This could lead to you being denied future permits for other projects you plan on building at your residence until the issues are fixed and fines paid.
Most of these rules are about safety and protecting children so I’m not completely against the regulations. I think that there are a lot of irresponsible people out there so government regulation to protect innocent children doesn’t bother me too much. So an example of what you might face if your above-ground pool is close to your home would be alarms and locks required on the windows that face the pool. These would be legal requirements you have to put into place to have the pool close to your home if there is access to the pool from that area of your house.
The other point to consider is going to be the childproof barrier or fencing around your above ground pool. How will that be put into place with your pool so close to your home? The solution is decking around the pool that connects to the back door but the decking would also have barriers to the pool entrance to stop children from gaining unsupervised access. This is best planned out with a pool professional and your deck builder.
If you are in a pinch though, I highly recommend this temporary mesh fencing. It’s a great product with a ton of excellent reviews and cheaper than a traditional fence or deck if that isn’t part of your budget or plan at the moment.
Why Should I Build My Above Ground Pool Closer to My Home?
It’s important to do proper planning before getting too committed to the location of your pool in all honesty. You may not get the placement that you want because of local government requirements so you’ll want to find out actually where you are allowed to place your pool to start with. But, if you get the clearance from safety requirements, utilities, easements, and within regulation from the distance of your home then as close as you can to your home is a good placement for your pool for many reasons.
One of the advantages is being able to monitor the pool from your house although if there are kids in a pool then an adult should be right next to the pool at all times. But, for your older kids like teens, being within earshot is probably what you’ll want.
Another advantage is being able to set up a path to eliminate grass and debris getting tracked into the pool. Cleaning a pool is already a constantly ongoing process without any additional help making our lives harder as pool owners. With a pool close to the home, you can easily build a deck that would keep you from stepping on the grass and dirt at all or some nice big pavers for everyone to step on.
Conclusion: How Close can an above ground pool be to a house
10 feet away is going to be the closest you can build your above-ground pool legally by federal government regulations. But your local government might require a further distance away from the house. Everyone prospective pool owner should reach out to their local government to find the specific regulations along with asking if permits are needed.
Most pool owners do suggest building your pool as close to your house as possible to help make many activities easier along with helping keep debris from the pool by building additional decking along the pool.