A great blog about automatic pool covers and different options

15 Mar A great blog about automatic pool covers and different options

Install an Automatic Pool Cover

Expert Insight by Tom Dankel, Aquamatic Pool Covers via Luxury Pools Blog

A luxury swimming pool is far from ordinary: it is technically and artistically complex, composed of custom design amenities, intricate forms, and opulent materials—from rock grottos and waterfalls to vanishing edges and raised spas to shimmering Italian glass tiles.

Just as a luxury pool requires exceptional details, it also demands exceptional care. Frequent attention and regular maintenance is essential to maintaining your luxury pool’s aesthetic beauty and structural vitality as well as ensuring a safe, healthy swimming environment.

Automatic Pool Covers

A pool cover helps sustain the pool’s cleanliness by shielding the structure from the elements. It also provides a safety barrier and limits the evaporation of heat, chemicals, and water which results in both energy and fiscal savings.

Many homeowners opt for automatic pool cover systems because of their convenient operation and aesthetic appeal. Affixed to recessed tracks that run alongside the pool, automatic pool covers operate at the push of a button or turn of a key and retract into a hidden cover-box when open, concealing the cover and its mechanism so they do not inhibit the design of the poolscape.

Additionally, a wide selection of colors makes it easy to coordinate the cover with any backyard setting, thus further helping to maintain the integrity of the swimming pool environment when the cover is closed.

Covering Unique Shapes

Since automatic pool covers operate on linear tracks, they can only be rectangular in shape. This poses certain engineering and construction challenges when dealing with the artistic layouts and decorative features of high-end custom pool designs. When installing an automatic cover on freeform pools, for instance, pool builders or contracted installers must construct an outer, slightly raised rectangular deck that borders the entire width and length of the pool (this is a construction technique known as deck-on-deck). The cover tracks are installed under the coping of the raised deck, providing the automatic cover its rectangular shape so that it can open and close over the freeform pool and lower deck.

Most luxury pool owners, however, won’t tolerate the slightest evidence of a pool cover or having their beautiful curvilinear pool concealed by a basic rectangle when the cover is on. To accommodate these concerns, experienced installers employ a construction detail known as an extended cantilever in which a second deck is constructed to the same contours of the pool and cantilevered over the structure. The straight tracks for the automatic cover are installed on the first deck along the widest part of the pool and hidden beneath the cantilever deck. When the cover opens and closes, it appears to seemingly conform to the shape of the pool. The execution of a cantilevered deck requires meticulous craftsmanship and attention to critical dimensions throughout the construction process. Everything has to be precise because the track is encapsulated in concrete during construction; if any measurements are wrong the cover will not operate correctly and you’ll have a serious challenge in amending any issues.

Artistic design features such as raised walls, vanishing edges, waterfalls, and rockwork also require special attention when installing an automatic cover. Fortunately, many automatic pool cover manufacturers have developed a variety of tracking systems and customized accessories that enable automatic covers to be configured for such intricate designs. They also offer a variety of automatic controls to coordinate the operation of water features, lighting, and alarms in conjunction with the opening and closing of the cover.