Fencing

My favourite feature of the house is the big front deck that thrusts out over the rock. The problem is that it's about 4-5 feet high, and if someone were to take a spill off the edge, it would be pretty serious. The risk is even higher for visiting children and dogs, too. (Especially squirrel-chasing corgis with surgically-repaired backs.)

I really want to keep the deck unobstructed but I also think it's prudent to have something that protects the edge when we have guests.

From my time living in Dallas, I saw many removable mesh pool fences, like the one pictured above. They are on poles which fit into the ground and are kept under tension to keep kids out of the pool. The big advantage is they can be easily pulled out and rolled up, so we can keep the deck clear between visitors and parties.

I'm talking to a couple of fence providers in the US and UK; my thought is to attach brackets at the edge of the deck and insert the poles there, so everything stays flush and out of the way when the fence is removed.