AG Pool closure in Chicago - 1st time owner

Hi all,

This is my first post but my umpteenth visit to the forum boards. Thanks for all the advice you've unknowingly given me. We had a splendid summer because of it.

Now on to my real issue. I just closed my pool for the summer and am not so sure I put the cover on correctly and would hate to find out the hard way via a collapsed pool. I have a 16' x 32' x 48" oval shaped Illusion AG pool. I purchased the deck and fencing that The Great Escape sold with it. My problem, how do I run the cable for the grommet type pool cover? I tried running it under the pool ledge but because of the vertical fence posts the cable actually slips upwards and is caught at the point of connection for the fence posts. Living in Chicago I get some pretty nasty winds and am afraid that either the wind will rip my fence off or worse it will pull at the side posts and my pool will collapse. I am going to buy the clips so I can pull the skirt tighter as right now there are some gaps where "nature" can leak into the pool. But, is there anything I can do to weigh down the cover besides a couple inches of water and some water filled jugs laid equadistant around the pool? What are the chances this ballooning effect will collapse my pool?

Thank you all in advance for your direly needed and much appreciated advice.

1st time owner :o

Overwhelmed, welcome to the forum!! Sorry you chose that 'handle' 'cause by the end of next year, if you stick with the forum, you'll be doing everything right as 'second nature' :) With an AG with a deck, I usually use the 'watertubes' that IG owners use for a 'tarp' cover. They shouldn't be hard to find. The cable is for 'freestanding' AGs, the water tubes should enable you to secure the cover well enough to stand up to almost anything that the 'Windy City's' weather can throw at you. As a further precaution you can use some rope to tie the grommits to the fense every few feet. Hope I understood the question correctly and have given you some useful advice. Again, welcome to the forum - Waste

Thanks Waste :o)

Do you mean lay the water tubes around the perimeter ledge or literally on top of the cover? Hmmm.....I guess if I omit the cable then you are most probably referring to laying them around the 2' ledge area. Should I take the cable off altogether? The store said to run it the way I did (or at least that was my interpretation). They said to use water bags on the deck area to hold down the cover (which I've done) and to run the cable under the deck to bypass that portion. The deck area is just fine but its the cable connections that the wind is getting under and giving me grief with. I like your idea though so I guess I'll invest in a bunch of water tubes..........but please make sure my above understanding is correct before I go shopping ;) Thanks again .............

OW, I thought that the decking went all around the pool - watertubes are good for where there is 1'+ of deck that can trap the cover under the tube. If you only have 1 area where there is decking, use the tubes there and the cable for the rest. If you're still getting some 'lifting' on the cabled part, you can secure the cover (by ropes through the grommits) to something on the ground (water tubes - which tend to need fairly frequent replacing - or cinder blocks, or 3/4 filled bleach bottles, et al. If you still need advice, don't hesitate to post! :)

Waste....I wanted to update you since you helped me. After putting on the clips and positioning a few more water bottles the cover is intact. It still gets some wind but that is to be expected. I'm just happy it's not ballooning like it was. And, Chicago (or at least the suburb in which I live) just went through a very windy funnel cloud system the other day. Thanks again for your help :D