Winter cover advice needed...

[ManiacalMama]

We have now had our pool for 2 years. In the summer we use a solar cover, which keeps it nice and toasty warm. We are currently in the process of having a small/minor reno done with a DiamondBrite replaster.

This winter I would like to get a winter cover to keep out as much debris as possible. We have trees on 3 sides that drop a lot of leaves and some pine needles. We are in Central California so no danger of freezing or snow, but we can get a bit of rain (sometimes!). Anyway...I've been thinking I would really like to get a mesh cover or maybe a solid cover with a mesh strip or something to allow rain water to go into the pool without having to pump off the cover.

Does anyone have any positive experience with these that are NOT safety covers. At this time with as much as we are paying for the reno, I just can't spring for the safety cover right now.

Anyone have a favorite cover that works well that is held down by the water bags? Can the cover be secured to the iron fence?
Also our pool is not a rectangle (see attached picture)

Thanks!

 

[blakeusa]

I used a mesh leaf cover in New England for several seasons. Draped it into pool. Removed late fall cleaned leaves' then reinstalled during winterizing.
No other cover. Left on all winter during freeze and then opened in spring. No problems worked well. In No cal would keep leaves and most larger stuff out.

 

[ManiacalMama]

Thanks Blake...any particular brand you especially like? Reviews on all the covers I'm finding are all over the place.

 

[CincyDools]

I know you are not interested in a safety cover right now. I just ordered a new safety cover for our pool. I got quotes frm multiple vendors and ended up buying from Mighty Covers. They were very helpful and answered all of my questions. Two other vendors that I found were very helpful are Covers Direct and In The Swim. Not sure if any f them have what you are looking for but all three vendors were very much willing to answer all of my questions. Hope this helps.

 

[ManiacalMama]

Hi Bryan, we are about to lay out $10k+ for our replaster (+cabo shelf and fixing a leak) and I just can't justify the expense of the safety cover right now. I've looked at some of the covers on In the Swim website and really wasn't all that impressed, the mesh covers don't look like much more than tarps from the pictures, that's why I was hoping for real world experiences. Then again, I didn't really plan on leaving the cover on all winter, just to catch the influx of leaves at the beginning and end, UNLESS I found an awesome cover that can handle it for several seasons.

I have an iron safety fence all the way around the perimeter of my pool and keep thinking I could pull a leaf cover tight across the pool and secure it to the fence, but just don't know if that would work in reality.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look at Covers direct too.

 

[CincyDools]

Hi Bryan, we are about to lay out $10k+ for our replaster (+cabo shelf and fixing a leak) and I just can't justify the expense of the safety cover right now. I've looked at some of the covers on In the Swim website and really wasn't all that impressed, the mesh covers don't look like much more than tarps from the pictures, that's why I was hoping for real world experiences. Then again, I didn't really plan on leaving the cover on all winter, just to catch the influx of leaves at the beginning and end, UNLESS I found an awesome cover that can handle it for several seasons.

I have an iron safety fence all the way around the perimeter of my pool and keep thinking I could pull a leaf cover tight across the pool and secure it to the fence, but just don't know if that would work in reality.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look at Covers direct too.

Ouch! And I was unhappy about having to spend $2k for a cover this year. ;-) Good luck with your replaster and finding the cover you are looking for.

 

[jmhjgh]

I use 2x6 lumber around the perimeter of our pool and screw a regular heavy duty tarp to the framework. No snow or rain water enters the pool, and I use a cover pump in the spring to remove water. All the leaves stay on the tarp. It takes a few people to remove the tarp in the spring, but it works.

 

[ManiacalMama]

Ouch! And I was unhappy about having to spend $2k for a cover this year. ;-) Good luck with your replaster and finding the cover you are looking for.

Haha, yeah, but this was a planned thing, we've known we would need a replaster since we moved in, we actually got almost 3 swimming seasons out of it before pulling the trigger.

 

[Fish in a bag]

We use a mesh safety cover we got online with free shipping for about $525 and installed ourselves last year. It was pretty easy and only took two hours to install the 30 anchors with a hammer drill....the water was pretty clean when we removed it in April.

 

[ManiacalMama]

We use a mesh safety cover we got online with free shipping for about $525 and installed ourselves last year. It was pretty easy and only took two hours to install the 30 anchors with a hammer drill....the water was pretty clean when we removed it in April.

My problem with that is that I don't have a uniform shape like round/rectangle/oval. It would have to be a custom made cover. I wish I could buy a ready made safety cover that would fit our pool.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

We use a Katchakid mesh cover that was custom tailored to our freeform pool. It wasn’t cheap, but it sounds like what you’re looking for feature-wise even if the price isn’t what you want. It’s not a safety cover. We bought it above and beyond our safety net which was our first priority. With all our leaves, though, it has been a great addition. If a tree fell on it and destroyed it, I’d replace it as soon as I could before fall.

 

[Roady]

I use 2x6 lumber around the perimeter of our pool and screw a regular heavy duty tarp to the framework. No snow or rain water enters the pool, and I use a cover pump in the spring to remove water. All the leaves stay on the tarp. It takes a few people to remove the tarp in the spring, but it works.

Would love to see a picture of this setup as I might give it a go!

 

[mguzzy]

Howdy neighbor...we are just down Greenback from you...
I tend to leave my solar cover on the pool over winter... It really doesn't seem to make much difference in the longevity of cover.. it degrades one way or another. In the past I have used other budget options, tarps from Harbor Freight and good ole plastic sheeting. I used to get crazy about cutting the tarp to fit the contours of the pool... now I just let it overlap on the deck. I'm surrounded by gigantic redwoods on one side and oaks on the other.. I guarantee I get more stuff in my pool when the winter winds kick in that just about anybody... the tarps help.

 

[jmhjgh]

Here are a few photos that are not very good. but should convey the idea. We have an autocover, but do not use it in the winter.
Apparently, we do not take many photos of the depressing winterized pool

 

[ManiacalMama]

Howdy neighbor...we are just down Greenback from you...
I tend to leave my solar cover on the pool over winter... It really doesn't seem to make much difference in the longevity of cover.. it degrades one way or another. In the past I have used other budget options, tarps from Harbor Freight and good ole plastic sheeting. I used to get crazy about cutting the tarp to fit the contours of the pool... now I just let it overlap on the deck. I'm surrounded by gigantic redwoods on one side and oaks on the other.. I guarantee I get more stuff in my pool when the winter winds kick in that just about anybody... the tarps help.

mguzzy,
OV=Orangevale? We were looking at houses over there before we bought this one. Hubby likes to disc golf and there is a great disc golf park there (Shady Oaks).

Anyway, I WAS thinking about trying out the solar cover, or maybe using the solar cover to help float a leaf net over the top of it. I would definitely have to weigh it down in some way though because just a little bit of wind sets that thing flying. Also, because we have it cut in 4 pieces it doesn't keep much out of the pool (because I can't figure out how to remove it without dumping the contents on top into the water). I'm actually surprised how long this cover has lasted, we've gotten 3 seasons out of it so far and it is only just now starting to shed a little bit.

 

[mguzzy]

Yup.. OrangeVale... That's a great course btw... I done a bit Disc Golfing around NorCal and the OV park course is still my favorite. you should have seen it 15 years ago before it got "discovered" by the masses.... but that is a subject of another forum

My solar cover sticks pretty well to the surface of the water.. I've never had it blow off. Nor have I ever even considered worrying about keeping it down. So I'll be no help to you there. I get one that is just larger than my pool and covers the whole thing and then some. When I take it off with leaves on top.. I'll either slide it off with the leaves still on it or "peel" it and the leaves stay inside the fold... from there its gets hauled to the sport court for hosing, brushing and cleaning. Yeah.. I usually drop some in the pool.. I figure its the price one pays.

 

[kdavi172]

Would love to see a picture of this setup as I might give it a go!

I'd like to see it also

 

[ManiacalMama]

Yup.. OrangeVale... That's a great course btw... I done a bit Disc Golfing around NorCal and the OV park course is still my favorite. you should have seen it 15 years ago before it got "discovered" by the masses.... but that is a subject of another forum

My solar cover sticks pretty well to the surface of the water.. I've never had it blow off. Nor have I ever even considered worrying about keeping it down. So I'll be no help to you there. I get one that is just larger than my pool and covers the whole thing and then some. When I take it off with leaves on top.. I'll either slide it off with the leaves still on it or "peel" it and the leaves stay inside the fold... from there its gets hauled to the sport court for hosing, brushing and cleaning. Yeah.. I usually drop some in the pool.. I figure its the price one pays.

I think the first time we went there probably WAS 15 years ago or so, when he first started playing. We haven't been back to it much in the last few years though. Last time it was looking pretty trampled and we couldn't walk through without getting a contact high from everyone elses' "recreation".

Anyway, when we first got the cover we had one of those stick roll up reel things, it was fine, but cumbersome for me to remove it by myself, so we took it off, and cut it into 4 manageable pieces. I have a wrought iron fence around the pool and deck space is at a premium so it's hard to just pull it off the side of the pool. This year I started using my LC empties filled with pool water to weigh them down, it's working pretty well, just ugly.