Pool Covers in Centurion and Pretoria, Measured and Fitted

Why cover a pool in Gauteng

The Highveld is dry and sunny, and an uncovered pool loses water to evaporation every day, most of all on hot, windy afternoons. Every litre topped up from the mains is a litre of fresh water that needs chlorine and pH correction. A cover sharply reduces that loss while it is on.

Sun also burns chlorine off an open pool. Covered, the chlorine lasts longer, which means fewer chemicals and more stable water. And when the trees across Pretoria and Centurion drop their leaves, a cover keeps most of that out of the weir basket and off the pool floor.

If you heat your pool, a cover is close to essential. Most heat is lost from the surface overnight. A heat pump or solar heating system working against an uncovered pool is working much harder than it needs to.

The types of cover we supply

We supply five kinds of cover and fittings, from simple floating blankets to fully automated systems. The right one depends on what you want the cover to do and how often it will realistically go on and off.

• Solar blankets: floating bubble covers that hold heat in and cut evaporation — the most affordable and most common choice
• Safety covers: tensioned covers anchored around the pool, designed to keep small children and pets out of the water
• Automated covers: motorised covers that open and close at the press of a button
• Hidden or in-deck covers: automated covers housed in a recess or box so nothing shows when the pool is open
• Rollers: reels that make a solar blanket quick to roll off and on, and store it neatly

Choosing the right cover

If your main aim is to save water and chemicals and keep some heat in, a solar blanket on a roller is the practical choice. It is the lightest to handle and the least expensive per metre. Without a roller, most people stop using a blanket within a season, because wrestling a wet 8-metre cover off the pool is a chore.

If you have young children or pets, look at a safety cover. It is anchored at the edges and tensioned so it does not sink into the pool if something walks onto it. A safety cover is a strong layer of protection, but no cover replaces a fence, a gate that self-latches and an adult watching when children are near water.

If you want the benefits without the effort, an automated or hidden cover is the answer. They cost more and need planning at the edges and for the motor housing, which is why we measure and look at the site before quoting.

Why every cover is measured

Pools are rarely the exact size on the plan, and many are not rectangles. A cover that is too small leaves gaps for leaves and heat to escape; one that is too big bunches up, wears and can be a hazard. Safety and automated covers also need anchor points and clearance that depend on your coping and paving.

So we come out, measure the pool and the surrounds, and give you a written quote per metre for the cover you have chosen, plus fitting. That is why covers show pictures but no price in our shop — any price we put up without measuring would be a guess.

Fitting and care

Fitting is R500 in labour. For a solar blanket that means trimming it to the pool shape and setting up the roller; for safety and automated covers it includes the anchors, rails or housing as specified on your quote.

A few habits make any cover last longer. Keep the water chemistry balanced — very high chlorine or low pH shortens the life of a blanket. Do not leave a solar blanket on during a heavy shock dose. Roll it off in the shade rather than leaving it baking on the paving, and keep it covered or rolled when it is off the pool. Brush leaves off the cover before rolling it so they do not end up in the water.

Before we come to measure

A measuring visit goes quicker, and the quote is more useful, if you have thought about a few things first. Decide what the cover is mainly for — saving water and heat, keeping leaves out, or keeping children and pets out — because that decides the type. Think about where a roller or motor housing could stand without blocking a path, a gate or the view from the house.

Clear loose pot plants and furniture from the coping so we can measure the full outline, and let us know about steps, benches, rock features or a spillover spa, because each changes how the cover is cut and anchored. If you are planning paving or coping work, tell us: anchors for a safety cover or rails for an automated cover are easier to install when the paving is being done anyway, rather than drilled in afterwards.

Covers and winter

Over the Gauteng winter, when the pool is hardly used, a cover keeps debris out and reduces how often the pool needs attention. It does not replace filtration: the pump still needs to run each day and the water still needs its chemistry checked. A covered pool that is left alone for three months can still turn green underneath.

How it works

1. 1

   Choose a type

   Browse the Pool Covers department online, or WhatsApp 081 577 5051 and tell us what you want the cover to do.

2. 2

   We measure

   We come out and measure the pool and the surrounds, including anchor points and roller space.

3. 3

   Written quote

   The cover per metre plus fitting, in writing, before anything is ordered.

4. 4

   Fit

   The cover is made to your pool, then fitted and shown to you in use.

Frequently asked questions