J & N REALTY, INC.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH  

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 

Bureau of Environmental Protection 

Recreational Health Program 

Pool owners/operators are reminded that whenever existing public pools or spas are emptied for any reason, (acid washing, plastering, painting, fiberglass-coating, patching, or other renovations), plans must be submitted to the Swimming Pool Program to verify that the pool is in compliance with current pool code standards. There is a plan check fee.  

The following items will need to be brought up to code if not already present:  

1. A handrail must be provided over all stairs extending from the deck to the bottom step tread of the stair. The upper railing surface shall not be less than 28 inches nor more than 36 inches above the deck and each step tread. The clearance between any handrail anchored in the water and the adjacent step riser(s) and pool wall must be a minimum of 3 inches. In most cases, a modern 3-bend handrail must be installed to meet these dimension requirements. For spa pools, double handrails installed a minimum of 24" apart are required. A single 3-bend handrail is acceptable when no step-riser exceeds 9" and the spa bench is on the same level as one of the steps.  

2. Depth marker tiles must be provided on both sides of a swimming pool at the shallowest and deepest depths, at all breaks in slope, and on both ends of the pool. Pools exceeding 20 feet wide in any area will require non-slip depth marker tiles on the deck as well. Spas must have a minimum of two depth marker tiles. Water depth is measured from the floor of the pool to the middle of the skimmer opening. Markers must indicate depth to the nearest 6 inches. Existing depth markers should be checked for accuracy, and if necessary replaced to indicate the correct depth.  

3. In all swimming pools greater than 4 ½ feet in depth, a ladder must be provided in the deep end of the pool.   

4. In all swimming pools greater than 5 feet in depth, a 4 to 6 inch straight line of slip-resistant contrasting tile must be placed along the floor of the pool where the water depth is 4½ feet.  

5. Indoor-outdoor carpeting or similar products are not approved for swimming or spa pool decks and must be removed. If any material other than concrete is to be used, a sample must be submitted to this Department for approval.  

6. Swimming pool shells must be white in color. Spa pools may be light pastel in color with a light reflectance value of 55% or greater. If a spa pool is to be any color other than white, a sample must be submitted to this Department for approval. Any pool shell material other than white plaster must be approved by this Department.  

7. All parts of the recirculation system and pool equipment including pumps, filters, influent and effluent pressure gauges, flow-meters, chlorinators and pool lights must be in good repair or replaced if missing.  Replaced equipment must be on this Departments approved equipment list.  

8. All pools with existing single drains are required to be retrofitted to split drains or unblockable drains.  

9. All suction outlet covers/grates must be replaced with covers/grates conforming to ASME/ANSIA112.19.8-2007 (or later) standards. Suction outlet covers must be installed per manufacturer’s instructions. A plan check is required for changing covers.  

Any time a pool has a broken, loose or missing suction drain cover/grate the pool must be closed immediately until repairs are made.  

Plans are also required when there is any installation or replacement of pool plumbing, replacement of any equipment including but is not limited to; filters, chlorinators, pumps and skimmers, whether or not the equipment is an “equivalent” replacement.  

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