Lengths installers go to in auto cover installation

by arslan_ahmed | October 20, 2022 3:56 pm

By Mike Shadoan

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Depending on the terrain, some installers often risk their own personal safety when installing auto covers on pools.

Automatic pool covers are designed to make pools safe for pool owners. However, auto-cover installers are often risking their own personal safety (or sanity) while they attempt to install auto covers on pools. From installing on steep cliffs and working in the sweltering heat, climbing up staircases to get materials to the job, three auto-cover installers share their most challenging stories about the lengths they go to installing these products on their clients’ pools.

Cliffs, ladders, and ferries

Allan Horwood, owner of Pool Patrol in British Columbia, says he is often confronted with automatic cover installation challenges on pools in his area, which primarily come from the location of the job site.

“Since we are surrounded by so many hills and cliffs overlooking gorgeous oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water, many of the auto covers we install are on vanishing-edge pools—which can be very challenging,” says Horwood. “In many cases, we’re working on cliffs that have sharp drop offs below the catch basin. This means we’re having to install the track while standing on the lower basin ledge with a steep drop behind our backs.”

There are no good places to lay tools and installers do not want to forget something like a screwdriver once they have managed to get themselves out on that ledge to work, he says. As a result, his crews are continuously planning for all the extra time involved to figure out and work around the logistics of these physically challenging pool locations.

“Recently, we were trying to take measurements on a basin where there was a cliff with a 23 m (75 ft) drop off below us,” says Horwood. “It was so steep we really couldn’t work without having to build scaffolding to install the track. At some point you must refuse a job because it’s just not safe for your crew.”

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Recently, Horwood was working with a builder who installs smaller pools on elevated decks, again, on very sloped land overlooking the water.

“Unfortunately, the homeowners got tired of having tradespeople coming through their house to access the back elevated patio,” he says. “So, by the time we got there to install the auto cover, they wouldn’t let us through their house.

“Therefore, the only other way to access this suspended, elevated deck on stilts, was to have a tall ladder propped up against the deck so all the components could be carried up to the job site.” On this project, the team was lucky as the pool was not overly large, so the components were not too big to carry up the ladder.

“By the time I heard what my crew was doing, they were just about done,” says Horwood. “Otherwise, I would have told them to stop as it was unsafe. Losing your balance on a ladder while carrying auto-cover supplies could have resulted in someone getting hurt.”

There is also an area in British Columbia called the Sunshine Coast which can only be accessed by public ferries. There are always projects being built in this area, mostly vanishing-edge pools, and Pool Patrol is called regularly to install auto covers in this area.

“Unfortunately, you can’t make reservations to get on the ferry. You just have to wait in line,” says Horwood. “So, you can imagine the challenges involved just to get your crew over to the job site to measure the pool, and then back again with all the materials. In this case, you definitely don’t want to forget any parts when working on one of these projects.”

Horwood says his crews need to anticipate anything they might need for the job, or they will spend days going back and forth. Further, in some cases, these jobs are on exceptionally large properties where crews cannot drive their trucks up to the location of the pool. As a result, they may need to walk half-an-acre with all the supplies from their trucks to the site.

High rises, elevators, parking permits, and traffic

More than 4829 km (3000 mi) away from the Sunshine Coast, another cover installer works around other challenges in and around one of the biggest cities in North America. Eric Kietsock is the regional technical manager of Cover Care and has been installing automatic pool covers on pools in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and southern Connecticut for more than 20 years. Due to the density of these cities, Keitsock must seek out additional permits and certifications, not to mention parking permits, just to install automatic pool covers. Additionally, he has had to develop specific systems to navigate tight hallways, elevators, parking structures, and traffic to install covers on penthouse pools, mansions in the Hamptons, and indoor commercial pools in basement high-rises.

“I work long days during the height of the season in our area, but the time isn’t all spent poolside,” says Keitsock. “In fact, much of our time is spent planning and preparing… doing things like arriving at the job site prior to the installation to measure the size of an elevator, hallway, or staircase. We always need to do a walkthrough before bringing in our materials.”

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.”

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Completing automatic cover installations on vanishing-edge pools has become an everyday job for Moss and his team. To eliminate any problems, they make sure the design is well-planned.

“We know how important it is to hide the auto-cover track because seeing it really affects the esthetics of a vanishing-edge pool,” says Moss. “We can walk builders through the importance of angling the wall in or out of the pool, along with the offset beyond the vanishing edge, to keep the cover system functional and completely hidden.”

According to Moss, the key is planning the automatic cover design before starting construction on the pool.

“We work closely with builders to explain how a few minor changes will ensure the installation goes smoothly so the customer gets the most esthetically pleasing cover installation,” says Moss. “It’s very important to be able to take into consideration everything from the coping to the slope of the walls.”

The collaborative planning between the auto-cover installer and the builder is key to ensuring the successful installation of the pool cover. Not only for esthetics, but also for functionality and to make the pool safe.

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Another big requirement from pool owners in Moss’ market is they want the cover to completely disappear when the auto cover is open.

“This custom feature has become commonplace in our region,” he says. “So not only will the cover need to be completely hidden in the vault, but the lead-edge bar (i.e. the bar at the front of the automatic cover that draws it out of the vault where the mechanism is housed) also must be hidden.

To do this, there are several specific considerations and adjustments swimming pool builders need to make to be able to achieve this type of installation.

“For example, on pools more than 4.6 m (15 ft) wide, you need 127 mm (5 in.) of space from the cover to the waterline for the leading edge to travel under the walk-on lid of the cover housing.

“Further, pools less than 4.6 m wide need to have 76 mm (3 in.) of space between the coping and the waterline. This means the builder will need to lower the placement of the skimmers, benches, and the spa height,” says Moss.

Unlike typical automatic cover installations, in which the vault for the cover and mechanism are placed under a standard aluminum lid, pools in the area where Moss works rarely use an aluminum lid, but always have custom, walk-on lids that match the deck. This has a lot to do with the pool construction type—as this region does not install many vinyl-liner or fibreglass pools. Instead, they are primarily gunite pools which often use new, trendy finishing materials, too.

“In our market, we are also constantly working around delicate tile and even the use of porcelain as coping,” says Moss. “If a pool uses these materials, we can’t screw the track into the coping, so we need to come up with other systems during the installation of the cover.”

Therefore, Moss says it is important for them to educate their builder partners on all the different options they need to offer their customer when it comes to an automatic pool cover.

“Our builder partners have become much more confident about bringing up all the options for auto covers and taking the necessary steps to meet customer expectations,” says Moss. “Since the auto cover is the final addition on the pool, it needs to meet or exceed customer expectations. We want our builder partners to finish the job, with the automatic cover, so they can always get the referral from their client for the next job.”

The ultimate challenge with all this customization is to install an automatic pool cover that is functional, reliable, and safe. These installation experts love the challenge and go to extremes to make automatic covers integrate beautifully to give pool owners the convenience and safety, without detracting from the gorgeous pool esthetic.

Author

Mike Shadoan has more than 25 years of experience working as a service tech in the field. In 2013, he worked his way into the position of vice-president of sales for Automatic Pool Covers in Westfield, Ind. Shadoan has been an integral part of the company’s rapid growth. He can be reached via email at mshadoan@apc-mfg.com.

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/challenging-auto-cover-projects/

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