Change square Hayward skimmer lid to round and setting to deck height

[Auburn02]

Edit: scope of the thread has changed a bit, originally was planning to try and orientate the square lid but have changed plans to swap to a round lid.

Maybe next week is finally when we get our paver coping and decking installed. Which gives me a few days still to figure out if my skimmer lid can be rotated. I have a Hayward skimmer with a square lid, but its position on the wall of my freeform pool is not square to the house an the existing patio and thus will not be square to the paver decking. Aside from the difficulty of cutting the pavers to conform around it, the OCD in me will not be happy if the lines of the skimmer lid are not parallel/perpendicular with my paver seams.

With that said the skimmer lid is keyed so it can only slide on one way and cannot be spun to whatever random angle. Any issue with me grinding off that keyway to allow the lid to be rotated into whatever final position we want? And on that note, when the final position is decided should the skimmer throat be glued in place I presume?

 

[kimkats]

You could also have them "make" a lid out of the pavers. They put two holes in the top for your fingers. That way you will not even see it!

 

[Auburn02]

You could also have them "make" a lid out of the pavers. They put two holes in the top for your fingers. That way you will not even see it!

Interesting.

I've seen the pour-a-lid setups and briefly considered that if I could guarantee a good match to the pavers, but I've never seen using the pavers themselves as the lid. My pavers are smaller than the opening of the skimmer though so I'm not sure how well that would work. Also, my 7 year old has declared emptying the skimmer to be her job so I certainly don't want to have to worry about her hurting herself (or worse, dropping a paver in the pool)!

 

[kimkats]

Yeah with the little being in charge of the skimmer the paver lid might not be the best idea for you. Will keep thinking in it. Take a pic so I can see what you are working it please.

 

[Auburn02]

Yeah with the little being in charge of the skimmer the paver lid might not be the best idea for you. Will keep thinking in it. Take a pic so I can see what you are working it please.

Here’s some pics showing the orientation now, what I think the orientation should be, and the keyed slot that limits the throat from only going on one way. My thinking is I can just trim off that lip to allow me to rotate the throat any which way I want, just want to ensure I’m not missing an easier (or more proper) approach.

It’s not obvious in these pics but the paver seams for the deck will run left to right, top to bottom. Parallel and perpendicular to the edge of the sun shelf on the far side of the pool.

What it is now:


What I think would be better:


The reason I can't spin it any which way I want:
.

 

[Auburn02]

Perhaps another possibility I had not considered is seeing if there is a circular throat and lid that would fit, that way there is no need to worry about squaring anything up. Might look more at home with the freeform pool shape too. Any reason to not take that approach?

I expect I would need these components:

Collar: https://www.amazon.com/Hayward-SP1084P1-Adjustable-Extension-Replacement/dp/B0036UR6EO
Lid: https://www.amazon.com/Hayward-Round-Skimmer-Plate-Model/dp/B003WWETL4

 

[kimkats]

I would try for the round ones!

 

[Auburn02]

I would try for the round ones!

Well this is the approach I'm taking, I think it will work out better. At the very minimum I'll have the parts on hand for both setups and can change at the last minute if I need to.

I had the hardest time figuring out the difference between Hayward's part SP1084P1 (Round Adjustable Extension Collar Replacement for Hayward Automatic Skimmers) and part SPX1084P (Round Extension Collar Replacement for Hayward Automatic Skimmers), best I can tell they are identical except the second one has the threaded inserts for the skimmer lid. Not that I can envision a time I will EVER actually use those screws, but I ordered that one anyway. I actually already have one of the extension collars without the threaded inserts, but I think I will need to stack them to set the height correctly. Still unsure if they should be PVC glued in place when the height is finalized or just sort of locked in by the surrounding compacted fill.

 

[jimmythegreek]

You can swap lids to round one, just need to use extension ring with pavers.
Personally I like the first pic square to that section of pool amd skimmer, the 2nd square to house looks totally off to me

 

[Auburn02]

Thanks again Jimmy and Kim, still trying to visualize it with the pavers installed since it won't be square to them if that makes any sense. I'll have both options on hand and available and we can make a final decision when things start getting laid out soon enough.

 

[jimmythegreek]

Beleive it or not lids and anything else cut into pavers looks better not following lines unless its a geometric build design. On freeform pools we kick the pavers 45degrees so nothing is on plane or square to anything. Adds a little cost amd labor but looks great