Often, Keitsock is not able to simply pull up to a backyard to install an auto cover. In New York City, his team needs to get a parking permit to even position their truck next to the building where the installation will take place just to deliver the materials.
“In most cases, we pull the truck up into a permitted parking space, unload all the materials, get them to the job site (often on a rooftop penthouse) then we have a second SUV which gets parked in the building’s lot so we can get our crew home after the job is complete.”
It is common to need to crane the materials in, which, of course, requires crane permits and more.
“On one particular job, the only access we had was a staircase, and I had to walk all the materials and components up and down for an entire day.”
There are also additional levels of security and compliance, especially in buildings in New York City.
“We have a lot of unions in this area, so we need to get special maintenance permits that are sponsored by a union to access the pool and automatic cover,” says Keitsock. “Of course, there are also the required building safety meetings, especially on new construction projects, as the original plans in these buildings often have changes made which affect, for example, how and from where we draw and access power.”
All of this is in addition to having higher level Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) courses and working with security guards for some of the private residences where taking photos is never allowed.
Traffic is terrible for many throughout the country and New York City is no exception.
“Since traffic is horrendous in the tri-state area, we always load our trucks the night before so we can get on the road by 5 a.m. If we leave a half hour later it could mean and extra hour or more in traffic driving to the Hamptons, for example.”
Although Keitsock installs custom auto covers on some amazing pool installations, he does not get as many photos of the finished project as he would like because of all the regulations and privacy concerns of these pool owners.
“Between the long hours, the hassles around completing the installations, and the number of covers we need to get installed each season, we just don’t have time to take photos,” he says. “However, we always get referrals, and we continue to service these auto covers, so maybe eventually I’ll make a point of trying to get more photos.”
Perimeter overflow, vanishing edges, and hidden covers
John Moss, the San Diego area manager for Poolsafe in San Marcos, says one of his biggest challenges is saying “no” to installing automatic pool covers on incredibly complex, custom pool projects.
“In Southern California, pools are all about customization,” says Moss. “There is never a standard pool and builders in our area are always looking to install unique pools which means the automatic cover needs to somehow function within these intricate designs.”
Like Horwood in British Columbia, Moss says his company also installs automatic covers on vanishing-edge pools year-round.
“Vanishing-edge pools are commonplace for us, so we have become experts in the installation of auto covers on these types of projects,” says Moss. “And now we’re becoming experts on perimeter overflow pools which are also becoming a common, custom pool installation.”
