Looking for pool cover recommendation in Austin, TX area

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jsoltren

0
Jul 20, 2015
8
Cedar Park, TX
Hello! My pool lives under an oak tree. The tree provides shade during the summer which is excellent. It also provides leaves in the fall which leads to a high workload during the off season.

I would love to get a cover. But, we have a free form pool and there is not concrete all the way around the pool. What are my cover options in this situation? I've looked into this some. I would prefer a safety cover. The real goal is to keep light and leaves out of the pool during the off season. An automated cover would be ideal but I don't see how this would be an option for me.

Suggestions, please!
 

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A Loop-Loc safety cover would be the ideal solution, though I'm not sure you have enough coping distance to install the anchors on the right side of that picture. Standard specification is anchors installed 20 inches from the edge of the cover, with the cover usually being 2-4 wider than the pool all the way around. So you would need at least 2 feet of concrete from the edge of the pool to install the anchors. 30 inches would be better. Extending the concrete apron all the way around the pool in that area to give you at least that much concrete to anchor too would be a solution.

Otherwise you could look into a water bag type cover but those are harder to blow leaves off of due to the cover resting on the water surface, rather than being suspended above it.
 
Another option might be katchakid. I got the pool safety net+leaf cover combo, but I know they sell just a leaf cover that is form fitted to your pool. It will work fine with your current design - my pool has no decking on almost half of it. It is not a safety cover like the Loop-Loc. If you go that route, I can certainly vouch for the local installer - Austin/San Antonio market.

I am not sure if the Loop-Loc is a big seller in Texas. When I contacted Loop-Loc, they gave me the information to the local distributor and when I called, you would have thought I was talking in a foreign language. Someone was supposed to call me back the next day, but no one ever did.

http://www.katchakid.info/
 
Thanks JVtrain!

JVTrain said:
A Loop-Loc safety cover would be the ideal solution [...]
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I concur. My local installer was never able to give me a straight answer as to whether or not it would be possible to use some securing stakes in the short term. Concrete work isn't that expensive and now is the right time of year to seriously consider it.

looploc.com requires some basic contact info in order to find local dealers. This is what it found for me near Texas ZIP code 78613. Maybe this saves someone some trouble:

TRAVIS POOL COVER CO.
AUSTIN
78758
512-837-9700
Austin TX Safety Swimming Pool Automatic Covers Houston

They are the only installer in the Austin area and they have one 1-star review on Yelp.

They also offer a sliding cover on tracks, something like this:

10.JPG

Of course that would require even more concrete work in my situation.
 
Had not heard of Katchakid before. Looks like an interesting product as a combo. I wouldn't want just a leaf net that wasn't a safety cover, but that might be fine if there were never any chance of children around. 5 year warranty on the product as well.
 
Thanks jagger2005!

jagger2005 said:
Another option might be katchakid [...]
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Perhaps this is the other one I checked. My wife is somewhat worried about deer jumping into the cover. We do have moderate deer activity in the area. I have seen them in the yard but never on the pool deck. The pool area already has a fence around the perimeter.

Anyway, I've used the request form on their Web site to get a quote. I'll share my findings here.
 
Sliding covers are VERY nice but they are also VERY expensive. I think my neighbor's sliding cover that was installed with the pool was $12K and that was with a new rectangular installation with it integrated into the rails/coping. In your case, you'd need quite a bit more concrete and installing rails and the motor system. I'm jealous of theirs every time I think about putting on my winter safety cover and my roll-up solar cover but it's not in my budget!
 
JVTrain said:
Had not heard of Katchakid before. Looks like an interesting product as a combo. I wouldn't want just a leaf net that wasn't a safety cover, but that might be fine if there were never any chance of children around. 5 year warranty on the product as well.
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Yes, I have 3 yr old son that has a mind of his own. We were going to install a pool fence, but I would probably need a deer fence to keep him out. He can be pretty creative. In addition, I would take the fence down at some point because it would be to obtrusive - I have enough fences around my property to keep out the strangers.

The katchakid net works pretty good, but like anything else it still has its pros and cons. An adult who falls on it face first unconscious is probably going to have their face in the water.
 

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jsoltren said:
I'm considering putting a section of my fence on rollers and allowing it to slide. That would open a connection between the pool and the backyard. Added bonus - I could get my riding mower to the grass just behind the pool.
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LOL. In my yard, I would never even consider a riding mower near the pool - it would blow so much junk in the pool. I live on LOTS of sand and is a PITA. Cannot wait to get started on some landscaping to move the dust bowl a little farther from the pool. Looking at your picture, is that your house in the left background? And the right background is a neighbor? If so, I like the idea of the rolling fence on the portion next to that patch of lush green grass. I guess you currently have to drag a push mower or weed wacker back there?
 
jagger2005 said:
Looking at your picture, is that your house in the left background? And the right background is a neighbor? [...] I guess you currently have to drag a push mower or weed wacker back there?
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Yes, that is the house in the left background.

No, we do not have neighbors to the right, not for several hundred more feet anyway.

Yes, either the weed wacker or the small corded electric pushmower work behind the pool.


I promised an update. We had the Katchakid representative over to the house today. Nice guy, young fellow, apparently the company started out of South Africa. For our size pool - something like 30x40 feet, I don't recall the exact number at the moment? - the quote was $2207 plus tax installed, for either the Katch-A-Kid or Katch-A-Leaf. Pricing is based on the smallest bounding rectangle of the pool.

Hopefully I'll get a competing quote from Loop Loc folks.
 
jsoltren said:
I promised an update. We had the Katchakid representative over to the house today. Nice guy, young fellow, apparently the company started out of South Africa. For our size pool - something like 30x40 feet, I don't recall the exact number at the moment? - the quote was $2207 plus tax installed, for either the Katch-A-Kid or Katch-A-Leaf. Pricing is based on the smallest bounding rectangle of the pool.
Click to expand...

I never met Tony - he would have had a recognizable accent. I thought Aussie, but South African works. His wife is the contact in the office - Lynn. And my guess is that she is somehow related to the guy who started the company and holds the patent on the pulley system because she has the same last name - Esson. The guy who did my install was a young "surfer" type. Very professional install. Price sounds about right. I paid 2200 out the door and I have a smaller pool.

I have a friend a work who was looking at installing a hard cover over their new fiberglass pool. I will try and find out what the product is called. I heard 4-5k for a 15x30 pool
 
Regarding Katch-A-Kid: The young fellow - Tim - was born in Rhodesia. His uncle started the company in South Africa. It's all a family business.

I'll post more information about a Loop-Loc quote or what route we decided to take, when there is something to share.
 
i have a katchakid and love it. i have absolutely no fear of my doors/gates being opened and kids around during bbq's or any other time. i am very good about putting it back on as soon as everyone is out of the pool, and it gives me a lot of peace.
 
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