Pool covers are ugly

[needsajet]

I'm no fashionista and I need some help!

I really want to get the least ugly pool cover. So far, I agree that "buy cheap and replace" makes sense, but I would spend more if it would look better. What would you recommend for our pool? There's a picture below to give a sense of our colours.

It will only be used in spring for a month or so to keep the heat in so we can start swimming earlier, and maybe a couple of weeks in the autumn. Everyone seemed to lose interest in swimming around the same time the pool cooled off.

Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions

 

[pooldv]

Look at all those rugrats! Nice! And nice pool!

They are pretty ugly. I just got the clear one this spring, not pretty, but boy does it work! The blue one is bound to be better looking.

 

[Albenda]

Hey Needsajet! What size is this pool? Looks about what I need!

 

[needsajet]

Thanks! Pretty plain compared to the styles I'm seeing here, but we and the grandies love it.

That's funny, cause I was leaning towards clear so as not to introduce a new shade of blue. Or even grey or silver. But seriously, I am NOT the colour guy!!! I'm hoping the pool build style gang will weigh in! Or anyone that's seen one that looks nice.

We love just looking at the rippling waters, but for spring, we'll need it. Not worried about the technical side, I'm accepting that it's 90/95% about evaporation, so anything will be acceptable - even a thermal cover if they look better.

 

[CJadamec]

Have you looked into liquid covers? No experience with them but there was some talk of them a while back.

 

[needsajet]

The pool is 3.75 by 8 metres - about 12' x 24'

It was meant to be 4 wide, but dang pool builder showed up on the day of the dig to tell us the certifier had found a storm drain on the other side of the fence in our neighbour's yard at the last minute, and we needed a bit wider setback (Arghh, because if I had known, I could have set back some hard landscaping on the side nearer the house and kept it to 4, and also worked out better use of the limestone paver size, etc. etc.) To his credit, he was willing to change if I could work that all out in 2 or 3 hours, but the figuring included stairs and the gate landing, so a revamp just didn't fit on the day. Oh well, we're still happy The 3.75 worked out very well, and yeh, 4 would be that much nicer.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Have you looked into liquid covers? No experience with them but there was some talk of them a while back.

They don't hold in any heat and only partially reduce evaporation. Any wind, even a very slight breeze can cause surface rippled which completely defeats the liquid layer.

Needsajet,

Blue or clear would look good enough. Sometimes you can get them silvered/aluminized on one side which is helpful. Doesn't really matter though as they collect dirt and look ugly no matter what. But I do agree with Danny - wow do they really improve water consumption and lower FC and pH demand. I had to take mine off because I left it on too long and sent my water temp up to 94F. It was like swimming in a bathtub that day.

Oh, and if you do get one, definitely use Mark's (mas985) DIY Solar Cover Reel project. It works great and makes taking the cover on and off a lot easier.

 

[pooldv]

Have you looked into liquid covers? No experience with them but there was some talk of them a while back.

Yeah, +1 to the liquid stuff being not very helpful. I tried some the first year and got pretty much nothing out of it.

 

[MarianParoo]

I don't know if you can get a cover in brown, but I have a brown auto-cover and it looks great. With your colors, especially with the fencing, might work beautifully.

 

[needsajet]

Auto cover would be deluxe! Yeh, brown might be an option. Maybe hide the dust a bit too?

 

[MarianParoo]

Well, for dust, you want dark tan. Mine is DARK brown and does show dust, but for me, that's not much of an issue.

I chose the brown because...

If it can't look like water, why fake it? The cover needs to blend into the surroundings. My first cover was green. Looked great during growing season; after that? Not so much. Brown goes with my decking and becomes almost invisible. The eye is not drawn to it.

 

[needsajet]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.

Does anyone know if a thermal cover lays flatter and you can't see the wrinkles and bubbles?

I'll go take a look at the DIY solar cover reel project. Thanks

 

[needsajet]

Thanks again for the ideas so far

I re-read Mas985's solar cover reel invention again and I want to try that. I've called around to find foam core ABS and like so many things, it's a bit different here. The smallest I can get is 6" diameter, so... I'm thinking regular 1.5" PVC pipe, with 3/4" inserted (capped) inside it as a flotation device. Do you think I could trim off the tips of the panel fasteners before I push them home? Gotta be a way, hmmm

 

[pooldv]

I've seen some folks use stainless steel screws instead. Just use screws short enough not to hit. Self tapping screws I suppose.