Fence or deck costs in Visalia

If you have a pool in Visalia, your fence is a safety device first. The city's code says anyone who owns land with a pool 18 inches or more deep at any point must keep a barrier that makes the water inaccessible to small children. And the code's idea of a pool is broad: it lists spas, fountains, and fish ponds or tanks along with swimming pools.

The barrier, gates included, has to stand at least five feet above any ground within five feet of it, and it can't be climbable. Vertical members can be no more than four inches apart. Horizontal pieces that give a foothold must be at least four feet apart vertically, unless they're on the pool side. Every gate through the barrier has to close and latch on its own, and the latch can't be workable below four and a half feet.

That foothold rule changes how a wood privacy fence goes up. If its rails face the yard instead of the water, a child has a ladder. Turn the rails toward the pool, or pick a design without them.

For the rest of the yard, Visalia gives you room. In single-family zones, fences and walls up to seven feet are allowed. In a required front yard the limit is three feet, or four if the extra foot is at least half open.