Is it possible to cover this pool?

[RickyEarl]

I have a new house which came with a pool. My neighbors have two gigantic Live Oak trees. For a month, the leaves from the tree filled my pool (and yard), clogged my filter, and generally gave me something to do for 15-20 hours a week. Then, when the leaves were done, 10 solid days of the "Oak Worm" pollen has fallen. It actually clogged my pump impeller - even though my wife and I were emptying the skimmers every 3-4 hours. The pollen also "ate" all my chlorine and deposited about an inch of Crud on the bottom of my pool - more than the Polaris could handle.

So I want a cover. But I don't know if it's possible. Here's an admittedly terrible pic of the pool:

As you can see, the back wall of the pool is vertical - rising up in the middle to about 4-5 feet above the water, and there's a flower bed behind that extends about 8 feet to the back fence (there's even a tree there). On one side there's a brick pergola that almost touches my pool edge. The two tiled spots on the back wall are waterfalls and are inset about 1.5 feet with a seat below the waterline so you can sit under the falls.

Every cover I've ever seen has been on a pool that you could walk all the way around - where all sides are in the ground.

Is there a way to cover something like this?

Thanks

 

[PSW]

Hey Ricky, you can certainly cover that pool! You could use a rectangular solar cover and cut it to fit. It is not uncommon to cut them, just make sure you measure twice and cut once!

As far as the oak trees, if they extend over your fence-line, you could ask your neighbor if you could cut them back a bit. Not sure if that would help, but might be worth a try!

 

[RickyEarl]

Thanks, blakej.

How do I anchor the solar cover on the wall side? What makes it stay in place?

 

[PSW]

A solar cover would just float on the water. It would not exactly anchor down, but it would certainly keep leaves and pollen out (better than no cover). You would still want to remove debris from the top of the cover as often as you can, but it's a better scenario than clogging your pump and filter!

 

[zea3]

You could also use a standard rectangular pool cover sized for the widest by longest dimensions of the pool. These are not safety covers that attach with anchors, but they use water bags to hold them in place. You could weigh it down on 3 sides. It may not keep all the debris out of the pool, but it will cut down the amount that ends up in there significantly. You would need to use a leaf blower and some additional manpower to keep the cover in place while blowing off the leaves and pollen while removing it. The big draw back with this cover or a solar cover is you run the risk of accidentally dropping all the debris from the cover into the pool while trying to remove it.

There are also custom made safety covers for pools if you prefer the anchored type. I'm sure there are some custom safety cover dealers in the Dallas area that could give you an estimate for costs.

 

[RobbieH]

Use skimmer socks while those pollen worms are falling. I am in Dallas too.

 

[PSW]

Use skimmer socks while those pollen worms are falling. I am in Dallas too.

Ahh, yes! And I read in another recent post that nylons or stockings do a great job. Not sure if they are any cheaper...

 

[zea3]

Only trouble with skimmer socks is they will restrict flow if you allow them to become packed with debris. I have busted a couple of skimmer baskets this way myself. I have a live oak directly over my pool and they can dump A LOT of debris in a couple of hours this time of year. If you are not around to babysit the skimmer and keep it clean you can get yourself in trouble in a couple of hours. Between the live oak and the crepe myrtle next door I can't run my pool on a timer if I am not home.

Another possible solution is to add a poolskim to your pool. I have one and they work just like it shows on the website. They also hold a lot of debris.

 

[XsAllOverIt]

You can certainly install a safety/winter cover on your pool also. They have hooks that hold the cover on the wall, but not sure that would be a good solution for what you're looking for. A solar cover will certainly catch a lot of junk, but from my experience with a LOT of leaves and junk (which I have) I have to take the cover off every other day and clean. I've found keeping it completely open and tackling all the junk each night gives me an excuse to drink a couple of beers while I do it. I have finally convinced the wife to cut down the HUGE maple tree doing most of the damage. The only problem now is the $3K to get someone to do it. I can only get about 3 of the limbs down without doing damage.

 

[RickyEarl]

Thanks for the replies. XsAllOverIt, that's kind of my issue. I think that, particularly this last month, the volume is more than a solar cover would ever handle, and anything with hooks screwed into the wall seems to be unsightly enough to defeat the purpose.

What would be ideal is a fine mesh shrimping net. Put it in the pool to a depth of about a foot. Then periodically raise it to catch the leaves and other stuff. I just need someone to install the tackle arm.

 

[XsAllOverIt]

Well, you can buy leave nets. We have one of them. It won't catch fine stuff but it catches all the leaves. We have one of them for the fall and it works well. As far as hooks, the winter cover would have a cable along the entire length of your wall wrapped within the cover. The hooks would attach to the cable, so it wouldn't be unsightly. The cover manufacturers have a good handle on that stuff.