Covering for the winter - a cheap idea

[devis45]

I'm considering my closing options this winter. The previous years I've done the tarp/waterbag combo but it's pretty ugly and with the rain water and my neighbor's shedding tree leaves, i have a pond on top of the pool every year. Don't want a safety cover. Too expensive. So I got to thinking about other options.

My idea:

Anchors on the apron then a few ropes on a grid tied to the anchors. tarp on top of the ropes, tied with either clips or ball bungees to the anchors. Doesn't need to be absolutely tight, but tight enough to support the dogs should they be wondering on top of it. I was also thinking about 3-4 air pillows between the tarp and the ropes to keep rain water from pooling.

I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this but wanted to run this by the experts before i dove into it.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello devis45. Well, you wouldn't be the first person to try a DIY-type cover for their pool, that's for sure. Always good to save a buck or two. I do have a couple questions/concerns for you to consider:
- What type of pool do you have? (In-ground, above-ground, vinyl, plaster, etc)
- When you say anchors, are you referring to hook or eye-type anchors that would be bolted/screwed into the decking?
- Safety must be priority #1, to include your furry family member. All too-often we've heard horror stories about a pet that wondered onto an unstable cover, only to get trapped underneath and drown. So that should be a concern of yours as well.
- Certainly air pillow-type products help to elevate the cover and promote water run-off to help prevent cover cave-in
- I'm assuming you're in Northern Cal? I lived near Sacramento for a few years so I know it gets down-right chilly there. But many CA owners will simply leave their pool open and operational since they don't normally get those consistent hard freezes like up north. What about just a mesh netting to capture leaves and stuff in the fall? Just a thought.

In any case, maybe with some more feedback your fellow TFP members can chime-in with more advice. We'll try to help as best as we can. Have a great day!

 

[devis45]

To answer your questions:

- Inground, 13x28, 10k gallon plaster pool.
- That's the anchors i'm referring to. the same ones they use for standard safety covers.
- Safety is very important, that's why I wanted to lay down a grid of ropes, tight, under the tarp so that if anything falls in, the tarp would be held up by the ropes. Normally my dogs dont even like water, they throw a fit even when I bathe them, but there was one incident not too long ago when the small one nearly drowned because he decided to chase a bee and jumped onto the solar cover. thankfully my gf was there to rescue him but that got us thinking to do something.
- Yes, the air pillows would be a great idea to give it some elevation so the water doesn't pool.
- I am in Norcal. Where I am it gets pretty cold in the winter but not freezing. Though, 2 winters ago we had quite the frost for 2-3 weeks, but that's very rare. I live in Concord, which is a pretty much a 3 sided bowl. Mountains and then the inner bay so the weather is mostly OK.
- I could do the mesh but my neighbor's tree is massive and sheds leaves like crazy. Every day after work i come home and clean leaves. Not a whole lot, but that's because I clean them daily, otherwise it would be a real issue. During the fall its much much worse. I don't want to drain/refill, which is what I've had to do because it was very bad.

Another idea I had was to make a large air pillow that essentially covers the entire pool, with a skirt on the sides to prevent leaves from falling in. Or just make the pillow and cover it with a nice tarp and anchor it to the apron. Of course, there's nothing available to the size I'd want... so this would have to be a DYI or a custom job. But with something like that, there's no risk whatsoever of anything, anyone or anyfurryone falling in.