Custom or Standard winter/mesh cover?

[Rhuel]

This is our first winter with our gunite pool.

I'm trying to determine if we "need" a custom cover for our pool or if a larger rectangular cover would suffice. It seems the manufacturers will void the warranty if a std cover is used on a "custom" pool. However, the custom covers are about 1.5x the price of a std cover. Is the warranty really something that will be of value (12 year limited and 2 year full)?

See a rough sketch of the pool and dimensions. We have 6' of concrete on the "left" and "bottom" sides, and 3' on the "top" and "right" sides. What are the "cons" of going with an 18'x40' std cover instead of custom cover aside from the warranty being void? I'm sure others have thoughts I haven't yet considered.

Thanks!

 

[JVTrain]

If you can get a standard 18 x 40 with a center step, that should work fine but the center step sections are usually only 4 x 8 so it may not cover your 4.5 x 8.5 step entirely. I'm not sure about whether or not that would be considered using a standard cover on a non-standard pool. I have not had to concern myself with a warranty claim on a cover so I'm not sure on the hassle or actual value of not voiding a warranty.

 

[Rhuel]

If you can get a standard 18 x 40 with a center step, that should work fine but the center step sections are usually only 4 x 8 so it may not cover your 4.5 x 8.5 step entirely. I'm not sure about whether or not that would be considered using a standard cover on a non-standard pool. I have not had to concern myself with a warranty claim on a cover so I'm not sure on the hassle or actual value of not voiding a warranty.

18'x40' would cover the entire pool, not sure why a center step would be needed. Sorry for the attachment and the dimensions not being very readable. Total length including coping is about 39' and width with coping is 18'. I believe the covers come 2' larger on both sides, don't they? So an 18'x40' pool cover's actual size would be 20'x42', or are they exact? If so, I may need to go larger.

 

[JVTrain]

Not sure if you're going standard or safety cover, but have a look at this page. Standard cover sizes with the option to add a center step. Actual dimensions are listed. 18' x 40' Safety Pool Cover | Pool Cover Center That site also has standard covers as well. Will give you a good idea anyway.

EDIT: Looked at your dimensions again. An 18x40 rectangular would cover you pool but that would certainly void the warranty as your pool would have corners protruding underneath the cover causing additional wear on those inside corners. A 18x36 with a center step might work and not void the warranty if you were able to anchor in such a way that the step corner extra padding on the cover matched up with your interior corners. Having this extra padding area line up with interior corners is needed and the reason why non-standard shapes will void the warranty.

 

[Rhuel]

Not sure if you're going standard or safety cover, but have a look at this page. Standard cover sizes with the option to add a center step. Actual dimensions are listed. 18' x 40' Safety Pool Cover | Pool Cover Center That site also has standard covers as well. Will give you a good idea anyway.

EDIT: Looked at your dimensions again. An 18x40 rectangular would cover you pool but that would certainly void the warranty as your pool would have corners protruding underneath the cover causing additional wear on those inside corners. A 18x36 with a center step might work and not void the warranty if you were able to anchor in such a way that the step corners matched up with your interior corners.

Thanks for the link. So, looks like for an 18x40 pool, the actual cover dimensions are 20x42. That would cover the pool and still fit within my area of concrete around the pool.

I still don't understand why I'd need to add a center step if the cover would cover the entire pool. Am I missing something?

 

[JVTrain]

Yes. If you simply get a rectangular cover, those inside corners will VERY prematurely wear your cover in those spots. Whether it voids your warranty or not (it will), it will wear out that area very quickly, perhaps in the first season. All covers will sag some and you'll have lots of pressure, lots of friction in a very small area on those two corners. That's why I'm recommending a center step, that has reinforcement and padding underneath the mesh in those corners to allow the cover to last.

 

[Rhuel]

Yes. If you simply get a rectangular cover, those inside corners will VERY prematurely wear your cover in those spots. Whether it voids your warranty or not (it will), it will wear out that area very quickly, perhaps in the first season. All covers will sag some and you'll have lots of pressure, lots of friction in a very small area on those two corners. That's why I'm recommending a center step, that has reinforcement and padding underneath the mesh in those corners to allow the cover to last.

Gotcha. Makes sense now.

I certainly don't want to wear out my cover in a single season.

Thanks for the input. Greatly appreciated!

 

[JVTrain]

It's hard to see and know about these concerns until you've had a cover of your own. I just wouldn't want you to buy a rectangular cover w/o steps to cover the whole pool and have it damaged very shortly after installation. There are things you could do to limit the wear on these corners such as affixing rounded plastic bumpers to the corners or to the cover where they will rest on the corners but you're better off going with a cover that's made to handle the shape better. I'm not sure what type of coping you have or the sharpness of the decking at those corners but I would even consider putting some bumpers on those corners with a properly shaped and padded cover if they are sharp or angular.

 

[Rhuel]

It's hard to see and know about these concerns until you've had a cover of your own. I just wouldn't want you to buy a rectangular cover w/o steps to cover the whole pool and have it damaged very shortly after installation. There are things you could do to limit the wear on these corners such as affixing rounded plastic bumpers to the corners or to the cover where they will rest on the corners but you're better off going with a cover that's made to handle the shape better. I'm not sure what type of coping you have or the sharpness of the decking at those corners but I would even consider putting some bumpers on those corners with a properly shaped and padded cover if they are sharp or angular.

I just got off the phone with an online retailer's custom cover rep. I think I'll be ordering a new custom mesh cover in the next week or two.

Thanks for the input!