New to pools here, more research I do, more expense I add.
I bought the pool cheap and having it installed next year.
Which one is best?
I bought the pool cheap and having it installed next year.
Which one is best?
Should I buy floor pad, wall foam, cove moulding?
- Thread starter ddesousa323
- Start date
Skip the wall foam, unless there is a lot of roughness on the inside of the wall. I like the foam cove, but if you are having it installed, ask the installer what they would like. A floor pad is helpful to protect against rocks and roots, but isn't always needed. There are other floor options too, for exmaple I used extruded polystyrene insulation sheets on my floor instead.
y_not
0
I would say that the wall foam has another good use, insulating the pool from heat loss. Very helpful in areas where the temp dips down at night enough to cause thermal wicking through the walls, or if you're heating the pool with solar or a gas/electric form of heat.
Well, 2 things I suppose, the second being more of an added luxury. That is, making the wall softer and lessening the blow when someone, or some part of you invariably whacks into it! HAHA
What size pool, steel or resin wall and are you doing a partial bury, or no?
BTW, where do you live? All good things to put in your Sig and profile.
Well, 2 things I suppose, the second being more of an added luxury. That is, making the wall softer and lessening the blow when someone, or some part of you invariably whacks into it! HAHA
What size pool, steel or resin wall and are you doing a partial bury, or no?
BTW, where do you live? All good things to put in your Sig and profile.
I used the foam cove and glad I did. I didn't think the the wall foam was worth the money,so I didn't use it. It's very thin I didn't think there would be much of an insulating factor there. Most people opt out on that. As for the floor I have no pad and the floor is fine. If you have alot of rocks,roots,or nut grass,I would look at the gorilla pad. It is only used for liner protection,no comfort from it. Nut grass is nasty stuff and will grow thru a liner.
Don't forget one of our recommended test kits. It's a must have to manage your pool water. I use the TF100, its the best IMO. also spend some time reading in pool school.
Don't forget one of our recommended test kits. It's a must have to manage your pool water. I use the TF100, its the best IMO. also spend some time reading in pool school.
I have floor pad, a white closed cell foam, and it seems it make a little difference but I think it's more for liner protection. I also have foam coves and recommend them. I was reading another thread where they had washed out due to rain, foam can't wash out. Wall liner, I think it lines the sellers pockets. The amount of foam relative to the thermal mass of 10k + gallons of water and its surface area... Useless in my book.
There is not much heat loss through the sidewalls compared to the top, so the insulating aspect of wall foam is very minor (and wall foam is not thick to start with). Having foam on the wall could potentially cause more leaks since objects would be more likely to penetrate the vinyl with the "give" of foam behind it.y_not said:
great info thanks, resurrected this post while researching the same topic!
I was leaning towards the foam for whatever cushion it offers as you push off the wall but a store sales person used same analogy you make the liner more susceptible to damage.
I was leaning towards the foam for whatever cushion it offers as you push off the wall but a store sales person used same analogy you make the liner more susceptible to damage.
We used the wall foam and the foam cove. Wasn't sure on the wall foam - but glad we used it. It makes the wall just feel so much nicer when leaning against it drinking a beverage. I had no expectations of insulation value from it - and I am sure it doesn't provide any (even though the marketing says otherwise). But I am sure it does provide some level of wall/liner protection. It wasn't the easiest stuff to install while working alone (the adhesive tended to not hold it tightly and the roll had a tendency to slope toward the bottom (stretching??) but if you kept it even with the top of the wall it went okay.
Foam cove - it seems to work well - again, a bit of a pain to install - the adhesive tape didn't really stick well so we used the spray adhesive on that too. It doesn't give you as big of a cove as is typically recommended with the sand and doesn't allow any adjustment but it does give a 100% consistent size all around.
Our floor is 1" styrofoam (blueboard) and this is super nice - no footprints, completely flat (sloped to center intentionally). It was expensive but totally worth it. I can't say anything about the gorilla pads other than I have heard they are really thin.
Foam cove - it seems to work well - again, a bit of a pain to install - the adhesive tape didn't really stick well so we used the spray adhesive on that too. It doesn't give you as big of a cove as is typically recommended with the sand and doesn't allow any adjustment but it does give a 100% consistent size all around.
Our floor is 1" styrofoam (blueboard) and this is super nice - no footprints, completely flat (sloped to center intentionally). It was expensive but totally worth it. I can't say anything about the gorilla pads other than I have heard they are really thin.
