Should I shell out for an expensive cover?

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J

Jolifer

Member
May 30, 2020
7
Baltimore
Hello all!

I'm a new pool owner and I'm wondering how much to spend on a pool cover.

I've built the pool this spring and still have deck and water management issues to spend money on. Then the landscaping... So when I saw that Home Depot and other big stores sell pool covers for under $100 I thought, "Do I really need to buy an expensive cover like my pool company is trying to sell me?" They've quoted $5,000.

I'm in the suburbs of Baltimore and our winters are not typically very harsh. And for what it's worth, we built a 40' by 20' in-ground pool.

Your thoughts are appreciated! I'm very glad to have found this forum.
Jolifer
 
The cheap covers are solar covers. They are kind of like industrial bubble wrap, and float on the pool surface. They’re not suitable for winterizing. If someone fell on it, your weight would push down the cover and you’d probably get tangled in it and could drown

The expensive ones are safety covers. Typically there are screw-down anchors that you screw up to expose a brass “head” like a screw head, and they have springs and loops that hold the cover tight over the pool. If someone fell on that they could get back off the pool.

Both have their uses. Solar covers are good for keeping heat in the pool during colder nights without evaporation. Safety covers are good for the winter, snow loads, and keeping you safe if someone takes a wrong step.

Safety cover (go to 3:05):

 
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Honestly the expensive covers are only needed if you plan to close the pool over winter. How low do temps get in your area?
 
I really don’t know - here in Wisconsin everyone closes pools for the winter so our house came with a cover and anchors already installed. What is your deck surface around the pool?
 
Hey Jolifer !! So here's the deal. You can get a cheap 'pool cover' that equates to a tarp. You close the pool and it gets the sun off the water for the winter and keeps most of the debris out. But wild animals, pets and small children think its a shortcut. If you have concerns of any of those 3, you need a safety cover. Those of us with vinyl worry about an animal trying to claw its way out before drowning. Oooh, and that lady that found the deer. Yeah. SLAM aint gonna help that one.

So if you have absolutely no visiters to your yard whatsoever, either leave the pool open, or get a tarp. (Unless you want the aesthetics of a safety cover). If you have visitors, get a safety cover.

For reference my name brand 20x40 safety cover was $2700 + tax and included installation and came with a free closing by the pool company.
 

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Newdude said:
Oooh, and that lady that found the deer. Yeah.
Click to expand...

For many many years my dad did the tarp (he built the pool himself in the 60s). Every spring it had sunk to the bottom under the weight of debris. Always some kind of trick to remove it with the backhoe. It was not uncommon for a deer to be part of the debris. Two years ago I talked him into a safety cover. Now with health challenges he cannot use the pool. So it remains covered but free of wildlife.
 
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Our pool was installed in 10/19. We purchased the loop loc safety cover as part of the pool package. Our safety cover was customer made to fit our free form style pool of 32x14. . Cost was $2600 and that included the anchors, springs, etc...

Our PB came out to close the pool and install the safety cover. He Drilled holes into the concrete decking to install the brass anchors. The safety cover allows winter snow water to filter through into the pool. The safety aspect is that you cannot fall into pool and become submerged with the cover. Protects everyone when the pool is closed.

My neighbor had the same PB install a pool a month after ours. He didn’t want to spend the money ($3000 for 37 x 15) or drill into the concrete. He bought a tarp. Placed across the pool and had cinder blocks spaced out along with buckets of rocks to hold the cover the down. Water settles on the tarp. He would go out and place a pump on the cover to pump off the accumulated water during the winter multiple times.

Sunlight will shine through the safety cover so it is recommended to open early before the water temp rises to allow for algae growth. The tarp does not sunlight to shine through. I had our pool opened in early April. My neighbor opened his late May. Both were opened to clear water. Ultimately you decide how much safety is needed in regard to the access to the pool during closure. How much maintenance do you want during the pool closure and cost difference between the choices. Good luck!
 
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