Plexiglass pool cover

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ast

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Jun 30, 2010
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Hello Folks,

Discovered this forum while searching for DIY information and have spent 3 days straight learning everything about pools. What a site!

We are going to renovate our pool at the end of the season - new coping, fix beam damage, new tile, new plaster, new skimmer, new automatic pool cover. I've learnt a lot on all the different options and these have helped me make some good decisions. Will post picture of before/after once we begin work.

Now, I am very much interested in a new idea. For the 6 months or so where the pool is not in use, it would be incredible if one could use a plexiglass structure to build a Walk-on-water type of cover on the pool. This way, the entire back-yard now has more usable space for the kids and we can host our parties with the pool below!! Before I go into all of the challenges (there are many...), has anyone done this or do you know of anyone who has done it?

There are a few companies that do this now and it is very hard to get a hold of them. One of them got back to me and said the cost would be 150K, so their product is clearly not an option.

Thanks for any feedback on this.

AT
 
I have seen Plexiglass walkways 2-3in thick, you would need an aluminum frame leaving openings around 18in square.
Most of the companies that do that are for weddings or parties, not really the king of thing you can just put on and take of easily.
My biggest concern would be if a panel broke while one of your kids was standing on it It would be like falling through the ice.
 
I think you're going to find that the costs for any solution are very high. The materials and engineering necessary to do this safely, even at a smaller home pool scale, is substantial. You may also find that your local code enforcement agency might have something to say about it, as might your insurance agent. There is a big difference between a safety pool cover that can hold a pet or person for a brief moment until they can get off it, versus a structural cover that is meant to be walked on and played on by multiple people continuously.

I'd love to hear if you can find a cost-effective and safe solution, just out of curiosity.
 
Would love to do this too, and the Wutpool cover is wood and way too expensive.

For a potential 20x40 rectangle pool, I was thinking of using 20 excessively thick (2"+, bulletproof grade) panels (each one about 2' x 20'), made of acrylic plexiglass (or polycarbonate?), and mounting each panel on a garage-door like rail track. Need to calculate the strength of such a long run - will it need support?

Don't know how the panels would fold away yet - maybe have them go straight into the ground, into a 20' deep x 6" wide box, buried at both ends of the pool?

I've only called one plastic company, and the lady mentioned it would be about $90(!)/sq ft. Wow! She suggested I use polycarbonate.

To minimize scratching such expensive plastic, I'd put a thin sheet or two over the actual plastic, and then swap that out if it gets worn.

Thoughts?
 
I think the pool shown on the Wutpool site is maybe 15' wide. A 20 foot span supported on either side would require very significant trusses to hold the live weight of a bunch of people, esp. if they are jumping and dancing on it. The Wutpool cover looks nice, but I'm really curious about how many people they would allow on it if it were a 20 x 40 pool cover.

An alternative approach would be to build a floating panel in a modular fasion. Aluminum I beams with 8-10" closed cell foam between and some surface on top like acrylic. Built in 2" sections, 20 of these would be required to cover a 20 x 40 pool, so storage would be the major issue. In the Wutpool system, it looks like the sections roll up behind the pool, again requiring storage (though in theory, this could be done underground at one end of the pool if the pool structure was stiffened there.

Seems like a cool idea, but highly impractical unless you have $$$ to burn. In that case, buy a house with more land!
 
There are many companies that sell acrylic sheet for pool walls. I would think that they could advise you about the structural strength of the panels. It might be feasible to put an inner ledge in the pool to accept several sheets of acrylic. It would be best to have a professional engineer design the system to ensure that it is safe, and easy to install/uninstall.

OFTB-Transparent-Swimming-Pool-500x339.jpg


20081031_1.jpg


http://www.pinellasaquariums.com/aquatic-exhibits.html

Here is a similar project.
swimming%20pool%20platform_Untitled_Page1.jpg


This unique one of a kind structure was used as a temporary dance floor elevated over the existing swimming pool at the Kenwood Country Club. The dance floor is made of clear acrylic supported on a structural steel grid spanning the existing pool. http://www.agengineers.com/miscstruct.htm
Click to expand...

N-Target%20pool%20before%205.JPG

Acrylic pool cover by Event Rental

http://plexiglaspoolcovers.tumblr.com/

199.jpg

http://www.premierpartyrentalsinc.com/199.html

http://www.allsafepool.com/platform-poo ... mages.html

http://www.wowpoolcovers.com/

http://www.wowpoolcovers.com/plexiglass.htm

Perhaps you could use circular acrylic pillars to support the acrylic panels so that you don't have to use metal braces. What are the details of your pool? Size, shape, depth, material etc.?
 
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