Aluminum fence cost

An ornamental aluminum fence costs $25 to $55 per linear foot installed, typically around $40. It is the fence most pool owners end up with, because it can meet a pool barrier code, never needs painting, and does not hide the water from the kitchen window.

The one thing that moves the price is the grade of the panel. Pool-rated panels with closely spaced pickets and heavy posts sit at the top of the range; a 4 foot decorative run across a front yard sits at the bottom.

What it costs

Gates are usually quoted per gate on top of the per-foot price, and a pool gate with self-closing hinges and a pool-rated latch costs more than a plain walk gate. Ornamental steel, the heavier look-alike, is generally quoted above aluminum in most markets.

What a pool barrier asks of a fence

Most US jurisdictions base their pool barrier rules on the same model code language, but they adopt it with local changes, and the inspector enforces the local version. Treat what follows as the usual shape of the rules and check your local code before ordering a single panel.

Height. Typically at least 48 inches, measured on the side away from the pool. Many owners buy 54 inch or 5 foot panels so the fence still measures 48 where the grade rises against it.

Openings. Typically nothing a 4 inch sphere can pass through, which governs the gap between pickets and between the fence and the house or any wall it meets.

Rails as ladders. Where the horizontal rails are closer together than about 45 inches, most codes treat them as footholds. They then want the rails on the pool side and the picket spacing tightened to about 1 3/4 inches. Pool-rated aluminum panels are designed around this, which is a large part of why they cost more.

The bottom gap. Commonly no more than 2 inches between the bottom rail and the ground where the ground is soil or grass. That rule is the one slopes break, as below.

Nothing to climb. Planters, pool equipment and a stacked firewood pile against the outside of the fence can turn a compliant barrier into a ladder. Keep them clear.

The house wall often forms one side of the enclosure. Where it does, doors and windows that open onto the pool area usually need alarms, self-closing hardware or both, and that work is priced separately from the fence.

The gate is what the inspector tests

An inspector checking a pool fence will open the gate, let go, and watch.

Self-closing. Spring or hydraulic hinges should swing the gate shut from any open position, without a push.

Self-latching. The latch should catch on its own every time it closes, including gently. Magnetic latches built for pool gates are the common answer.

Swinging out. Pedestrian pool gates typically must open outward, away from the pool, so a child pushing on a gate from outside closes it rather than opens it.

Latch height. Typically the release sits at least 54 inches above the ground, or, if lower, on the pool side, down from the top of the gate, with no opening near it that a small hand could reach through. Pool-rated latches are sold to suit.

Aluminum gates are light, which helps a closer work reliably for years. Hinges still wear. Expect to adjust or replace closers over the life of the fence, and test the gate at the start of every season.

Residential, pool and commercial grades

Aluminum fence is sold in grades that look alike from the street.

Residential panels have lighter pickets and smaller rails. They suit front yards, bed edges and anywhere a fence marks rather than resists.

Pool panels add the tighter picket spacing or rail layout a barrier code wants, and often a flush bottom rail with no picket points sticking below it. Many lines also offer a short extra picket between the lower pickets, sold for small dogs, which does the same job.

Commercial panels have heavier pickets, thicker walls and larger posts. On a fence that will be leaned on, hit by mowers or used by a large dog, they are worth the step up.

Ask the quote to state picket size, rail size, post size and how the posts are set. Two aluminum quotes at the same price per foot can be very different fences.

Aluminum on a slope

Ornamental aluminum handles grades better than most fences. Many panels are made to rack, so the rails and pickets lean with the ground while each picket stays plumb. The amount of rack varies by product; past it, panels have to step.

On a pool fence, stepping is where trouble starts. Each stepped panel leaves a triangle under its downhill end, and the bottom-gap rule applies to the whole length of the fence. The fix is a racking panel within its limit, extended pickets that reach the ground, soil brought up under each step, or a low wall that turns a slope into level runs.

Where the fence meets a retaining wall, posts can be core-drilled into the wall cap or set behind the wall on their own footings. How the 48 inch height is measured when a fence sits on top of a wall varies by jurisdiction, so ask the inspector before building. The retaining wall guide covers walls, priced at $20 to $55 per square foot of face for segmental block.

On a concrete pool deck, posts can be surface-mounted on base plates or core-drilled into the slab. Core-drilled posts are stiffer, which matters on a gate post.

Aluminum against steel and vinyl

Against ornamental steel. Steel is stronger and heavier and resists a car bumper or a falling limb better. It also rusts wherever the coating is chipped or scratched, and near a pool or the coast that becomes a maintenance job. Aluminum does not rust, which is why it dominates pool work.

Against vinyl. A vinyl privacy fence at $35 to $65 a foot hides the pool from the neighbors, and also from you. Some codes accept a solid barrier and many parents do not want one, because the point of a pool fence is that an adult can see the water. Vinyl also catches the wind.

Against chain link. Cheaper, and it can meet a pool code with small enough mesh, but it is easy for a child to climb with standard diamonds and few owners want it around a finished pool deck.

A worked example: enclosing an inground pool on a sloping lot

A back yard with a new inground pool needs 160 linear feet of 54 inch pool-rated aluminum, tying into the house wall at both ends. Along one side the yard drops away, and a low block wall about 15 feet long and 2 feet high levels the line so the panels do not step.

• Fence: 160 linear feet × $25 to $55 per foot = $4,000 to $8,800
• Wall to level the downhill side: 30 sq ft × $20 to $55 per sq ft = $600 to $1,650
• Total: $4,600 to $10,450

Pool-rated panels push the fence line toward its upper figure of $8,800. Two pool gates with self-closing hinges and pool latches are quoted per gate on top, as are the door alarms on the house wall if the inspector requires them. The wall line is the cheapest of the slope options here, and it gives the inspector a level fence to measure.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best fence to put around a pool?

For most pools, ornamental aluminum in a pool-rated grade: it meets the usual barrier rules, does not rust, and keeps the water in view. Check your local code first, because some jurisdictions add requirements for gates, alarms or height.

How far apart can pool fence pickets be?

Typically no wider than a 4 inch sphere can pass, and tighter, around 1 3/4 inches, when the horizontal rails are closer together than about 45 inches. Codes vary by jurisdiction, so check your local code before buying panels.

Does aluminum fence hold up next to a saltwater pool?

Aluminum does not rust the way steel does, and a good powder coat protects it from splash. Rinse it occasionally where pool water or sea spray dries on it, and touch up any chips at the post bases, where trimmers do the damage.

Is aluminum fencing cheaper than wrought iron?

In most markets, yes, often by a wide margin, and it needs none of the rust treatment. True wrought iron is rare now; most new iron-look fencing is welded steel, which is still quoted above aluminum at $25 to $55 a foot.

Related guides

• Fence installation cost — every material per linear foot, and the survey and permit steps
• Inground pool cost — the pool the fence usually encloses, and its running costs
• Above ground pool cost — when the pool wall can count as part of the barrier
• Retaining wall cost — leveling a slope a fence has to cross