First year owning a pool, what cover for the winter??? please help

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C

crocop

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May 5, 2016
161
Toronto
Hey,
I am located in Toronto and this is my first year owning a pool.

I took over this house, got the pool up and running (looks great), but will need a winter cover.

Should I get a winter cover or a safety cover?


This is the one I'm thinking..

Covers :: Safety Covers :: Rectangle Stock Safety Covers :: 16 x 36 ft Rectangle Stock Safety Covers :: Solid Safety Covers :: 16 x 36 ft Rectangle Safety Cover Lite Solid

Any cons to getting this?

Should I consider something else. Ideally, my budget is under $1000.

Thanks,
 
crocop said:
Hey,
I am located in Toronto and this is my first year owning a pool.

I took over this house, got the pool up and running (looks great), but will need a winter cover.

Should I get a winter cover or a safety cover?


This is the one I'm thinking..

Covers :: Safety Covers :: Rectangle Stock Safety Covers :: 16 x 36 ft Rectangle Stock Safety Covers :: Solid Safety Covers :: 16 x 36 ft Rectangle Safety Cover Lite Solid

Any cons to getting this?

Should I consider something else. Ideally, my budget is under $1000.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

What do you want out of your cover? Do you have kids? When do you expect to reopen your pool? It all depends on what you want.

I have a safety mesh cover. I love it. Critters aren't going to cause it to collapse, and my kids aren't going to fall in. They know not to walk on it, but of course, kids are kids, so they have managed to get on it before. They did not fall in and it was almost like a trampoline (although I got them off within seconds). The cover served it purpose.

A safety cover has fine holes in it for water to drip through. Because of this, some sunlight will get in. If you are not concerned with anything getting into your pool, a winter cover/tarp with water bags is advocated by some because it does not permit any light in. When the water gets above 60 degrees, if you have light, algae will develop. I opened to a dark green pool in May (see photo), but it only took 2 days of SLAM to clear up.

We received so much rain last winter, it refilled my pool completely. I could not imagine having a cover that did not permit the water to seep through. It would have sunk.
 

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Yes, the springs are included but you need to drill holes into your pool deck that has a screw that comes up that it attaches too. I'm not an expert on the installation but I wouldn't do it on my own. But that's just me.
 
Thanks guys.

Is drilling the holes a DIY job? I assume it is..The safety cover I posted says it protects 100% of sunlight, is that not true?

If I get a winter cover with the water bags, I assume I have to pump of the water and debris every few weeks if it fills no? What if it snows on it?

Also, will the winter cover with the water bags give me a better chance to open up to a clean pool?

- - - Updated - - -

GeorgiaPoolOwner said:
What do you want out of your cover? Do you have kids? When do you expect to reopen your pool? It all depends on what you want.

I have a safety mesh cover. I love it. Critters aren't going to cause it to collapse, and my kids aren't going to fall in. They know not to walk on it, but of course, kids are kids, so they have managed to get on it before. They did not fall in and it was almost like a trampoline (although I got them off within seconds). The cover served it purpose.

A safety cover has fine holes in it for water to drip through. Because of this, some sunlight will get in. If you are not concerned with anything getting into your pool, a winter cover/tarp with water bags is advocated by some because it does not permit any light in. When the water gets above 60 degrees, if you have light, algae will develop. I opened to a dark green pool in May (see photo), but it only took 2 days of SLAM to clear up.

We received so much rain last winter, it refilled my pool completely. I could not imagine having a cover that did not permit the water to seep through. It would have sunk.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Ideally I want to close as late as possible and open as early as possible. I have a gas heater so can make use of it too.

This is great info though.

Is a mesh safety cover like I posted more, less of the same work as going the winter cover with bags route?
 
If you have a hammer drill or know where to rent one, I'd go for it as a DIY job if you are at all handy. That's assuming you have a concrete deck. If it's wood, then heck yes do it yourself. Drill the holes as straight as you can and you should be fine. I just installed a pool fence from diypoolfence.com, and that was pretty easy, but if you get the holes in the wrong spot or angle it causes all kinds of problems. With this safety cover,you won't have that issue, you just have to get it in the general area of the strap. Once all the holes are drilled, you can adjust the strap to take out slack.
 
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