safety cover really stretching

[edarling]

I bought a safety cover last fall. We just loved the sight of the leaves blowing off in the fall. The heavy, wet snow we had over the weekend has made the cover sagging into the water. Will it stretch back? It cost an awful lot to be doing this, but maybe I'm a newbie and have high expectations.

- betty

[JohnT]

Yep, snow will drop it to the water. That's why the manufacturer specificies that the water level must be maintained within 15 or 18 inches (can't remember exactly) below the cover.

[doggie]

Yes, they are made to stretch and handle the snow loads.

And as John said, that's why they recommend you maintain a certain water level in your pool so the cover doesn't sag so far it gets damaged.

Don't worry :)

[edarling]

Thanks - The water is more than a foot, but less than 2 feet below the cover, so I should be OK. I also noticed some of the straps came up off of the bolts, so some of the sagging is from loose straps. The last storm was very heavy, so it must have pulled right from the edge and moved enough around to release some tiedowns. It was not doing that when the snow was 80% gone before the last storm.

Lots of melting expected this weekend, so I'll be reseting those straps. I dug into the snow to find a few that were pulled up, so I'm not sure how many there are to fix this weekend.

- betty

[waste]

Betty, late now - but if you need more info, just ask here. My computer is acting up (again :) ) I am more than willing to help you with this, I have not seen a post on properly adjusting the straps and springs, though lots of people tend to talk about that - if you need a little detail - please respond to this post, and I will tell you what I know (and I know others will add their $.02) :)

[edarling]

Well after some more melting, we realized some straps let go b/c the tie downs actually pulled out of the decking! We have a wood pool surround, and the pieces with the posts have 4 screws into the wood. One is completely out, and two cracked the boards and is turned enough to let the strap off. I hope the nice weather tomorrow melts all the damn snow to remove any more strain.

I also think I drained it too much. I checked and it is closer to 20-24 inches than 15-18. I hope I didn't ruin a very big investment! Come on Spring - I may be shovelling off the pool cover tomorrow.

- betty