What Does a Pool Screen Enclosure Need in Smyrna?

To satisfy the pool barrier code, if it's going to form the barrier — and that's the part almost nobody asks about first. In Rutherford County a residential pool needs a compliant barrier before it can be used at all, so a screen enclosure around one isn't just an insect solution. It's a safety structure with published requirements.

By Jeremy Bolton, Founder and Owner · Last updated September 11, 2026

What Is a Pool Screen Enclosure?

Worth defining, because it isn't a screen room with a pool in it.

A screen room typically encloses a patio or deck adjacent to the house — modest spans, framing that can sit on or near existing structure. A pool screen cage encloses a whole pool deck, which usually means clear spans of twenty-five feet or more with no intermediate posts to walk into, engineered aluminium framing, and a mansard or gable roof to shed water and debris across a large area.

That difference matters commercially as well as structurally. It's a product far more common on the Gulf Coast than in Middle Tennessee, so anyone looking for a pool screen cage builder Nashville area TN homeowners have used should ask specifically about pool enclosures rather than assuming a screen room builder does both. They're related trades, not identical ones.

What a pool screen enclosure Smyrna TN homeowners commission gets you: a usable pool area through mosquito season, dramatically less debris in the water, some shade, and — done correctly — a barrier that does a job the code already requires of you.

How Does the Pool Barrier Code Apply?

This is the substance, and Rutherford County publishes it plainly.

A screened pool enclosure Rutherford County TN owners build has to work with this. Residential pool barriers in the County follow the 2018 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. The requirements that bear directly on an enclosure:

Two more that catch people. Double gates need one leaf secured in place, with the other self-latching. And where a wall of the dwelling forms part of the barrier — which it does on almost any attached enclosure — the County requires either water hazard entrance alarms on doors and on operable windows with sills under 48 inches, or an ASTM F1346 listed safety cover on the pool.

Finally, the sequence: a Zoning Compliance Form from Planning and Engineering is needed before permit issuance, and the pool may not be used until final inspection. Confirm your own situation with Rutherford County Building Codes rather than relying on any contractor's summary, including this one.

What Screen Types and Mesh Options Exist?

Four mesh types cover almost every situation, and the choice is a genuine trade-off between airflow, visibility and what you're keeping out.

Standard 18x14 fibreglass is the default — good airflow, good visibility, stops mosquitoes and ordinary insects.

No-see-um mesh, typically 20x20, has a tighter weave that stops the tiny biting midges standard screen lets through. It costs more airflow, which is noticeable on a still evening.

Pet-resistant screen uses heavier vinyl-coated polyester strands, several times stronger than standard. Worth it at low level where a dog pushes against it; unnecessary above.

Solar or privacy screen blocks a share of solar heat and sightlines at the cost of visibility and airflow.

A practical point: you don't have to choose one for the whole enclosure. Pet screen on the lower panels and standard above is common, and so is heavier mesh only on the elevation that faces a neighbour.

What Sits Under an Existing Pool Deck?

Can you build over an existing pool and patio? Usually — and the question that decides it is what's underneath the perimeter.

An existing pool deck is typically a four-inch unreinforced slab poured to carry foot traffic and furniture — not the point loads under an enclosure's posts, and not the uplift a large screened roof generates in wind. So the honest answer is that the deck surface is usually fine to build over, while the posts generally need footings cut into it and poured to depth.

Which is exactly the issue we work through on screen rooms — our Brentwood screen rooms guide explains why the slab edge gets a test hole before quoting rather than after. In Rutherford County that also means limestone, which sits shallow in places and changes footing depth across a single lot. Our Smyrna deck guide covers the local footing conditions.

Two other constraints on an existing pool. The 20-inch rule above may limit where the enclosure wall can sit relative to the water. And existing equipment — pumps, filters, heaters — may need relocating to keep the 3-foot clear zone outside the barrier.

How Long Does an Enclosure Last, and What Does It Cost?

How long does a pool screen enclosure last splits into two answers, because the frame and the screen age differently.

The aluminium frame should outlast several screen replacements. It doesn't rot and can't rust, forming a self-limiting oxide layer instead, so the failures cluster at fasteners and connections rather than mid-span. Get the fastener metallurgy right and the frame is a long-term asset.

The screen itself is consumable. Expect to replace panels periodically — sooner on elevations taking sun and weather, sooner again where pets or branches contact it. That's routine maintenance rather than failure, and rescreening a panel is straightforward.

How much does a pool screen enclosure cost follows enclosed area, span between posts, roof geometry, mesh choice, door count, footing depth, and whether equipment has to move. Span drives cost faster than square footage, because clear-spanning a pool without intermediate posts is the expensive part of the engineering. Estimates are free and financing is available — check the APR after any promotional period and whether the arrangement places a lien on your property, as our financing guide sets out.

Where Do You Work, and What Should You Ask?

We build across Smyrna, Murfreesboro, La Vergne and Rutherford County, plus Nolensville, Franklin and the wider Nashville area. Related structures sit on our screen room, patio cover and pergola pages, the full city list on our locations page, and finished work in the gallery.

If you're weighing up the best pool screen enclosure builder near Smyrna TN, wondering who builds screened pool enclosures in the Nashville area, or asking which enclosure company near me screens in a pool area, put three questions to whoever you call. Will the enclosure form the pool barrier, and if so how are the doors detailed? What's the footing plan for the existing deck? And who confirms the Zoning Compliance Form and final inspection?

Anyone searching who builds pool screen enclosures near me should get straight answers to all three before a price.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does a pool screen enclosure cost in the Smyrna area?

Enclosed area, span between posts, roof geometry, mesh choice, the number of doors, footing depth, and whether pool equipment needs relocating to maintain the code's clear zone. Span is the biggest driver rather than square footage, because clear-spanning a pool deck without intermediate posts is where the engineering cost sits. Add footings cut into an existing slab, since a four-inch unreinforced pool deck generally won't carry post loads or screened-roof uplift on its own. Estimates are free.

2. Do you offer free pool enclosure estimates?

Yes, and for anything over a pool that means an on-site visit rather than a phone figure. Three things have to be measured rather than described: what's under the perimeter of the existing deck, where the enclosure wall can sit given the code requires the poolside of a barrier to be at least 20 inches from the water's edge, and whether existing pumps, filters or heaters sit inside the three-foot clear zone the barrier requires. None of those can be assessed remotely.

3. What screen types and mesh options do you offer?

Four types cover most situations. Standard 18x14 fibreglass gives the best balance of airflow and visibility and stops mosquitoes. No-see-um mesh, typically 20x20, has a tighter weave that stops biting midges at some cost to airflow. Pet-resistant screen uses heavier vinyl-coated polyester and is worth specifying at low level where a dog pushes against it. Solar or privacy screen cuts solar heat and sightlines. You don't need one mesh throughout — pet screen low with standard above is a common combination.

4. Do you build screened enclosures over existing pools and patios?

Usually, with one caveat that governs the quote. An existing pool deck is typically a four-inch unreinforced slab poured for foot traffic, not for the point loads under enclosure posts or the wind uplift a large screened roof generates. The deck surface is generally fine to build over, but posts normally need footings cut into it and poured to depth — and in Rutherford County shallow limestone changes that depth across a single lot, so we dig a test hole before quoting.

5. Do you offer financing for a pool enclosure?

Financing is available through third-party lenders. Three questions settle most of what matters before signing: what the rate becomes once any introductory period ends, whether the agreement attaches to your property, and whether the cash price differs from the financed price — because if the figure rises when you offer to pay outright, a commission has been built into the quote. On structure, expect a deposit at the front, possibly a staged payment on a larger build, and the balance on completion.

Contact JB's Enclosures

JB's Enclosures 1349 Marymont Dr. Murfreesboro, TN 37129 Phone: (615) 713-7902 Veteran-owned, serving Smyrna, Murfreesboro, La Vergne and Rutherford County, plus Nolensville, Franklin and the Nashville area.

Thinking about screening in a pool area? Request a free on-site estimate or call (615) 713-7902 — tell us about the pool and the deck, and we'll talk through whether the enclosure needs to serve as your barrier.