Pool Safety Net
How a Katchakid Pool Safety Net Is Installed
Shaped on site, anchored to the deck and handed over in a single visit of about 4 to 7 hours. Here is what happens from arrival to handover.
Every Katchakid pool safety net is measured, anchored, tensioned, shaped and finished for the individual pool. A typical installation is completed in one visit and usually takes 4–7 hours on an average-sized pool. Before leaving, the technician demonstrates removal and replacement until you are comfortable with the routine.
One Pool, Start to Finish
A complete Katchakid installation, time-lapsed from arrival to the finished net. In real time this is a single visit — usually 4–7 hours on an average-sized pool — measured, anchored, tensioned and shaped to the pool’s edge by a certified Katchakid installer.
Who Installs Your Net
Your installer is a Katchakid technician, trained and certified in-house through our three-tier technician program. The technician who measures and anchors your net is the same one who tensions it, checks it and hands it over at the end of the visit.
Before Installation Day
Most customers do not need to prepare the pool itself. Where the assessment identifies prep work — repairing loose deck, stones or tiles, trimming bushes, moving furniture back — it will be noted in the proposal or installation notes; please have it done before the day so the crew has clear access. Beyond that, the following helps the crew work safely and efficiently. Tell us in advance if the property has unusual surfaces, limited access or no power or water.
Access
Arrange how the crew will reach the pool area — gate codes, side access, locked yards — and plan for an adult to be home for the demonstration at the end of the visit.
Working Space
Before the day, move portable furniture, toys, planters and other obstructions back from the pool edge — roughly 24 inches of clear working space where practical. That is crew working space for the day, not a product or code dimension.
Coping and Deck
Have loose coping, hollow or damaged areas and loose tiles or stones secured before the day, or discuss them with us beforehand so we can confirm whether we can go ahead. Tell us about sand-set pavers, composite decking or recent repairs too.
Rock and Special Features
Tell us in advance about waterfalls, grottos, raised spas, narrow edges or other unusual surfaces so the approach is planned before the crew arrives.
Power and Water
Have a working outlet within about 200 feet and access to running water ready for the day. If either is unavailable, tell us beforehand so the crew arrives prepared.
Children and Pets
Plan for children and pets to be away from the working area for the day — the crew is using power tools and a hot soldering iron. Let us know in advance about any access restrictions or timing needs.
New or recently resurfaced pool? Installation timing depends on the work completed and the required curing period. We generally allow at least five days, but your pool builder’s or material manufacturer’s instructions may require longer — your Katchakid installer confirms the timing before scheduling.
The pool can stay full. There is usually no need to drain, empty or otherwise prepare the pool itself.
Installation Steps
Phase 1 — Plan the System
Planning the Layout
Before drilling begins, the installer walks the pool and plans the roller position (usually a corner with clear deck around it to operate), the operating side of the Central Tension System and the starting point used for removal and replacement — the start tag marks the anchor you clip first every time the net goes back on.
Anchor Placement
Deck anchors are set into the coping or deck at close, even intervals around the pool, using a water-fed Hilti diamond core drill that keeps dust down. Anchors are countersunk and fitted flush or close to flush with the surrounding surface, depending on the surface and anchor type. Rock, pavers and other surfaces are checked beforehand for the best anchor placement.
Phase 2 — Fit and Finish the Net
Positioning and Tensioning the Net
The net is spread over the pool with the Central Tension System positioned for the pool’s layout and facing the intended operating area. It is then pulled out evenly in both directions, one mesh line at a time, so the squares run straight and the tension is even before it is clipped into the anchors.
Trimming to Shape
Once the mesh is aligned and at its working tension, the excess netting is trimmed to follow the pool’s actual perimeter — curves, spas and changes in level included. A heated cutting tool cuts and seals the edge.
Binding the Edges
The edge is bound twice. The first binding helps establish the final perimeter tension. The second reinforces and closes the finished edge.
Closing the Fasteners
Once the edge is bound, each fastener is secured in its corresponding anchor. The completed perimeter follows the installed anchor line; around rockwork, raised spas and steps, it follows the change in elevation.
Finishing the Edges
Loose ends from the binding are sealed and tidied so the finished edge looks clean.
Phase 3 — Set Up Daily Operation
Setting the Central Tension System
The Central Tension System is set to its own anchors on the working side of the deck. It allows an adult to release the net for removal and close the system again so the net returns to its fitted tension.
Fitting the Roller and Start Tag
The roller is anchored at its planned corner to help keep it in place while the net is being wound on or off. The start tag is tied to the opposite corner; it is the last point onto the roller when you remove the net and the first point you clip when you put it back. That first anchor is marked with two small drilled dots, so you can find your starting point even when the net is off.
Phase 4 — Qualify and Hand Over
ASTM Labels
Where the installation meets the requirements of ASTM F1346-23, the required labels are applied at the finish.
Why the Net Is Shaped Onsite
A Katchakid net is not cut to a standard outline and clipped over the pool. The technician first lays the net out and tensions it as a regular mesh grid across the whole pool. Only once the alignment and tension are established is the perimeter trimmed and bound to follow the actual edge.
That sequence is what lets the net, its edge and the anchors be fitted together for the individual pool. The Central Tension System is then set as the release an adult uses to take the net off and put it back; the fitted tension itself comes from the installation.
How We Check a Finished Net
A completed net is checked as a system rather than accepted by appearance alone. Before leaving, the technician goes around the pool checking that each anchor is seated and each fastener engages correctly, that the mesh runs straight and evenly across the pool, and that the perimeter binding and any specialty anchoring are as they should be.
The Central Tension System is operated, the roller and start tag are checked in position, and qualification and label requirements are reviewed as part of the completed-system check.
Before the Technician Leaves
The installation is not finished until you know how to use the net. Before leaving, the technician shows you:
- Where to start and the sequence for removing the net.
- How to release and close the Central Tension System.
- How to roll and store the net without tangling it.
- How to replace each fastener in its anchor and re-tension the net.
- What wear, damage or changes to the deck should prompt a service request.
On an average-sized pool, removal typically takes 3–5 minutes and replacement 5–8 minutes, depending on the pool and how familiar you are with the system.
The net must be completely removed before anyone enters the pool and fully replaced, tensioned and secured after swimming. No barrier is childproof, and none replaces close, constant adult supervision.
Operations review: Brad Esson, Katchakid · Last reviewed: September 2026
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Katchakid invented the pool safety net in 1972 and brought it to America through Texas. More than 50 years on, every net is still custom-fitted to the individual pool.
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