Autocover owners - Should we be concerned about the lid pavers moving / falling?

[jkleintech]

We're at that point where the PB and landscapers are trying to figure out how the autocover guys were expecting the lid to be constructed. Not a ton of guidance and the PB keeps holding up the landscapers so here I am solving another problem. Looks like the brackets are 12" OC and the coping isn't the right size so the PB is recommending 24x24 pavers. I'm concerned about how to get them up for maintenance yet also very concerned about these pavers just sitting on top of these brackets.

I did read this post and this post already and they seem to indicate the pavers just sit on top of the brackets?

What is your experience?
Are they sturdy enough for people to jump off of?
Should we be worried about these pavers falling in (and hurting the plaster or crushing a kid)?
Am I going to be able to move a 24x24" paver off of these?
How often should I expect to be inside there?

 

[ajw22]

While you wait for replies here are a few prior threads to review.

@bmoreswim may have thoughts.

https://www.troublefreepool.com/google-search/?q=autocover+lid+pavers

Autocover lid - can I see pics of yours please

Hi there. We have an auto cover and are trying to figure out the masonry aspect of covering the box and the motor mechanism. What did you use ? How was it installed ? If you had brackets to support stone, how far apart were the brackets ? How easy is it to remove pieces to get to the motor for...

www.troublefreepool.com

Automatic Pool Cover Lid for Pavers - Ideas for cover to hold pavers

I've just had a fiberglass 28'x14' pool installed with an automatic pool cover brand (AutoGuard Under Track System | Automatic Pool Covers) auto cover. The pool builder also installed a fiberglass container to hold the pool cover and mechanisms, however they provide no support beyond that. We...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[jkleintech]

Thanks. These are the two posts I already linked above.

 

[bmoreswim]

Yeah, I can give some real world input. I'll also include a few pictures of mine so you can compare. My stones are 12" x 24", and my stones don't cover out as far as yours do. They only cover the back edge of the pit wall. The height that my cover rolls back at wouldn't support it going under the stones anyway. Mine are also mounted to the concrete deck whereas yours are mounted to the gunite pit and extend above to where the deck will come. It could be that you are having a paver deck so they had to mount them down lower and raise the bracket up. It also looks like the size of your stones will not need to be a full 24" x 24", but rather 24" wide and 16-20" wide.

My stones are bluestone (very dense) and 2" thick. They are rather heavy, though I would say that somewhat larger would also be manageable. However, getting up to a full 24" x 24" would officially be a bear to move with any regularity. With that said, hardly ever move mine now that my cadence has been established with my pool and some startup issues were resolved. I haven't taken mine up in over five years. I'm sure there are some leaves down there, but it has a 4" drain line. I probably should pull a couple next year and peak in.

My stones are natural on the bottom so not perfectly smooth, and the brackets are also not all perfectly in line. What they used to level the stones was small pieces of asphalt roofing shingles, like 2" x 2" pieces. And afterwards, I went through and glued them into place with construction adhesive. Then either number your stones or don't move them out of order. I never move them of order.

As for strength? Mine feel strong, though the stones do overhang the brackets maybe 2". So if you were to stand on edge and dive into the pool from them, it's possible they could lift up a little in the back (maybe not though). With your stones being deeper, and therefore heavier, I'm sure you'd have no lifting up/tilting issues. Hopefully their bracket installation was done very secure. If so, then they should support the weight just fine. Though if you have any 300 lb friends, I'd rather them not stand on the cover. Why tempt fate. I always told my kids and their friends not to walk on the cover stones so they generally did. No need to have extra traffic on them. Diving was only allowed from our diving board.

Hope this is helpful.

2013-06-24 22.15.52.jpg

• bmoreswim
• Oct 14, 2021

0F95D984-C7E1-4B33-BEEE-F6895EA3DEE9.jpeg

• bmoreswim
• Jun 13, 2020

IMG_7767 - TFP.jpg

• bmoreswim
• Sep 19, 2013

 

[an1vrsy]

I/we have an autocover. The brackets are 24" on center on my installation. We used 24 x 24 inch pavers.

What is your experience?
Are they sturdy enough for people to jump off of?
Should we be worried about these pavers falling in (and hurting the plaster or crushing a kid)?
Am I going to be able to move a 24x24" paver off of these?
How often should I expect to be inside there?

1) That is subjective. However, we wouldn't build a pool without an autocover.
2) Yes and no. Sturdy yes. Jump off? My wife would dive although we say no diving and when she did, because she took off from the extreme edge of the paver, the paver bounced for a lack of a better word. It did not get displaced but I could hear it. Jump off of it, I don't think it would really matter. The paver is not a diving board where it flexes.
3) I have never worried about the pavers falling into the pool.
4) The 24 x 24 pavers we use are heavy. Probably 40 to 50 lbs each.
5) In our Las Vegas environment, we do the yearly maintenance which is the only time the pavers are removed.

Here is a image of our brackets, 24" on center. The back side pavers are 12 x 12, so you have a reference. Also off to the side you can see the 24 x 24 pavers stacked ready to put in place after the fill is completed.

Firehose_e-g.jpg

• an1vrsy
• Mar 27, 2021

 

[jkleintech]

Thanks so much you guys! These 24x24 Techo Bloc pavers appear to weigh like 100lbs each so I think I should be more worried about being able to remove them at this point

Might have to get me one of these vacuum picker-upper doodads: Grabo FXAH-120-Duo Set

 

[flynwill]

We have a similar setup, we used 24" deep pre-cast coping parts to match the coping around the rest of the pool.

CoverSupports.JPG

• flynwill
• Jun 25, 2022

pavers4.jpg

• flynwill
• Jun 25, 2022

No issue what-so-ever with the stones shifting, they weigh ~50 lb each. The issue is the amount of work require to lift them to access the vault, which is needed a couple of times a year to clear out the accumulated debris.

 

[djf1127]

Yeah, I can give some real world input. I'll also include a few pictures of mine so you can compare. My stones are 12" x 24", and my stones don't cover out as far as yours do. They only cover the back edge of the pit wall. The height that my cover rolls back at wouldn't support it going under the stones anyway. Mine are also mounted to the concrete deck whereas yours are mounted to the gunite pit and extend above to where the deck will come. It could be that you are having a paver deck so they had to mount them down lower and raise the bracket up. It also looks like the size of your stones will not need to be a full 24" x 24", but rather 24" wide and 16-20" wide.

My stones are bluestone (very dense) and 2" thick. They are rather heavy, though I would say that somewhat larger would also be manageable. However, getting up to a full 24" x 24" would officially be a bear to move with any regularity. With that said, hardly ever move mine now that my cadence has been established with my pool and some startup issues were resolved. I haven't taken mine up in over five years. I'm sure there are some leaves down there, but it has a 4" drain line. I probably should pull a couple next year and peak in.

My stones are natural on the bottom so not perfectly smooth, and the brackets are also not all perfectly in line. What they used to level the stones was small pieces of asphalt roofing shingles, like 2" x 2" pieces. And afterwards, I went through and glued them into place with construction adhesive. Then either number your stones or don't move them out of order. I never move them of order.

As for strength? Mine feel strong, though the stones do overhang the brackets maybe 2". So if you were to stand on edge and dive into the pool from them, it's possible they could lift up a little in the back (maybe not though). With your stones being deeper, and therefore heavier, I'm sure you'd have no lifting up/tilting issues. Hopefully their bracket installation was done very secure. If so, then they should support the weight just fine. Though if you have any 300 lb friends, I'd rather them not stand on the cover. Why tempt fate. I always told my kids and their friends not to walk on the cover stones so they generally did. No need to have extra traffic on them. Diving was only allowed from our diving board.

Hope this is helpful.

2013-06-24 22.15.52.jpg

• bmoreswim
• Oct 14, 2021

0F95D984-C7E1-4B33-BEEE-F6895EA3DEE9.jpeg

• bmoreswim
• Jun 13, 2020

IMG_7767 - TFP.jpg

• bmoreswim
• Sep 19, 2013

Thank you for the information. This place is a great resource. I was nervous about the lids and their stability. It made the decision for an auto cover much easier. I am getting bluestone coping and lids as well. Do you know what the name of the tile you used is called? It matches the bluestone perfectly. I have been going crazy trying to find a tile that matches the deck.

 

[bradgray]

You can also run/affix parallel aluminum strips across the brackets so that there is no potential for shifting of a tile that would then drop and contact the cover.

We've done this for many VR homes that get rough foot traffic on them. Depending on how tight the pieces are installed, some movement may be possible.

 

[bmoreswim]

Thank you for the information. This place is a great resource. I was nervous about the lids and their stability. It made the decision for an auto cover much easier. I am getting bluestone coping and lids as well. Do you know what the name of the tile you used is called? It matches the bluestone perfectly. I have been going crazy trying to find a tile that matches the deck.

I personally never liked our tile. It has a greenish/pinkish note to it, though it generally matches the deck. However, due to a bond beam issue on part of our pool, we replaced that section of tile during the repair, but did not want to do the whole pool. So now our tile is mismatched, though it blends fairly well.

The original multi-color tile is no longer made or available. The multi-hued gray tile is the new tile and I greatly prefer it.

https://www.nptpool.com/tile/rushmore/#rus-crystal

 

[bmoreswim]

Thanks so much you guys! These 24x24 Techo Bloc pavers appear to weigh like 100lbs each so I think I should be more worried about being able to remove them at this point

Might have to get me one of these vacuum picker-upper doodads: Grabo FXAH-120-Duo Set

Did they get things installed and finished up?

 

[jkleintech]

Still waiting

This PB has been a bit of a disaster to say the least.