Deck around pool and skimmer cover?

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Robl

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Jul 19, 2011
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I'm building a 4' deck around my AGP. I have the framing done except for around the skimmer and cover. I'm thinking of leaving that open with the decking coming close to it for easy access. The decking is 5/4 ipe that is going just under the top rail. I don't have enough height to cover it with a hatch.
Anyone do something similar? I'm trying to figure out the best way to frame this out.

I'm hoping to get the 10'x18' deck off the long side framed this week and then start the decking late this week and over the weekend.

I hope this makes sense. If not I'll take a picture tomorrow when it's light out and post it.
 
Elevated hatch that sits atop the skimmer and deck??

My concern would be people stepping on the skimmer, someone steps on it and that's gonna be bad news for the pool.
Perhaps you could make it several inches above the deck so it's quite noticeable and safe.
 
cramar said:
Elevated hatch that sits atop the skimmer and deck??

My concern would be people stepping on the skimmer, someone steps on it and that's gonna be bad news for the pool.
Perhaps you could make it several inches above the deck so it's quite noticeable and safe.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I ended up doing. Actually I just put a "lid" over the skimmer that I can raise up to clean the basket.
 
Robl said:
That is a good idea. I will see how I can frame it to elevate it while still giving it strength to stand on.
Click to expand...

I just framed mine as close as I could to the skimmer. It left about a 12 inch wide opening. I built the deck so that it comes up to the pool railing. I used deck boards to make a lid with hinges to access the skimmer. I can stand on it and it's just as strong as any other part of the deck. Is your deck as high as your skimmer?
 
We had to find a way to access our skimmer as well. Having a round pool & everything being octagonal shaped, we simple didn't screw the board down over the pool skimmer lid. It's only about 1 1/2-2 ft long and easy to manage. When the pool is being actively swimmed in and the decking gets wet frequently, the board fits snuggly but will come out with a tug. It is supported underneath just like all of the other boards, just w/o the screws into the framing underneath it. It helps too that it's on the far side of the pool where we don't get a lot of traffic, but I never fear for it to flip on someone because it does fit snuggly during the busy part of the swimming season. It has yet to bow, warp, or flex and we are starting our third season.
 
Here's a couple pics. I think it will be easy enough to do but not sure the best way to do it. Hopefully the pictures and comments will explain enough. I'm using 5/4x3 1/2" grooved ipe w/ hidden fasteners. I like the hatch idea which I don't mind screwing from the top. Hinged would be nice.
 

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I think you're OK on the right side of your skimmer with the joist you have in place. You'll need some more support to the left of the skimmer though. I would put another post on the left side of the skimmer. Run a joist from that post parallel to the joist on the skimmer's left. You can lay your decking across the back of the skimmer. Just leave a space open above the skimmer and make a trap door to cover the skimmer. I built mine on top of the decking but you could build it so that it fits into the decking if you plan ahead a little better than I did. I'll take some pictures of mine for you tomorrow.

How do you plan on laying the decking?
 

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I think I know what you mean. How much clearance should I have from the skimmer on all sides?

The decking was planned to fan out from the edge. The ends of the decking will be placed just under the top rail with about 1/4" clearance.

For the winter cover I'm going to get an in-ground cover unless there is a better option?
 

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I think you will be sorry down the lane if you do not build a box around the skimmer and put a hatch door in to access the entire skimmer. You need to be able to EASILY access the skimmer to clean it out or it will not get done as often as is should be.
 
Hey all, resurrecting this thread as I’m about to deck around my AGP. I know how I’m going to do it, but I’m curious if I’ll regret it years from now if I have to do any major maintenance on the filter. Replacing the media (using glass), plumbing maintenance. The filter will be accessible but it will be under a deck so it will be inconvenient to get under there and work on it. Will be like working in a crawl space.

Anyone ever regret framing a deck around their pool filter and pump?
 
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