Eclectic enclosures: today's pool enclosures offer more options and features than ever before - Close Up Enclosures

Pool & Spa News, June 6, 2003 by Lisa Lieberman

Long gone are the days when the only options for pool enclosures were expensive wooden structures that deteriorated with age. Now consumers have far more choices in terms of style, color, shape and safety features that better suit their lifestyles and blend in seamlessly with their homes and pools.

"A lot of people spend so much time when they buy a pool and spa combination, but not many of them look at the long-term issue of having a pool enclosure," says Mick Coughlin owner of Rustic Pools in Orangevale, Calif.

Consumers need to take into consideration a number of factors when choosing a pool enclosure: Will it match the color and architectural design of the house? Does the shape of the enclosure help enhance or detract from the shape and style of the pool and backyard?

Chances are, manufacturers produce an answer for each question.

"There are a lot more options now than there used to be," says Deane Nault, owner of Hydro-Tek in Federal Way, Wash. "We can paint an enclosure to match the color of the house, or put in little French provincial bars to match your patio doors."

Mixing and matching

Installers also can add more pizazz to enclosures' doors and walls by mixing and matching the structures' framing materials.

Installers can cover structure frames in the same way for a more natural wood look. In addition, wood frames can be covered with cement fiberboards, to which tile or brick can be adhered, for a stone look. The same technique can be applied outside the structure.

Another thing builders can do is craft an enclosure with three glass walls, and make a fourth wall out of a different material.

The other way to create an interesting effect with standard materials is to take a concrete wall and break it up with glass blocks.

Removable enclosures

Not everyone has the money or the square footage to build the pool enclosure of their dreams. But for those pool owners who still want to extend the swam season without having to build a permanent pool enclosure, portable enclosures are an increasingly popular alternative.

Coughlin, who sells portable domes, says he's been selling more of these temporary enclosures every year. "These enclosures are so easy to set up that most homeowners can install them themselves. They put them up in the winter and take them down in the summer," he says.

Besides being less expensive and easier to install than permanent structures, the domes mean homeowners don't have to worry about obtaining building permits or paying more for their property taxes, Coughlin notes.

These vinyl domes are held up by air produced by an electric blower, which uses about as much energy as a 100-wattlight bulb. "During the winter, just like the roof of your house, this will shelter you from the elements and cut your heating costs by half," Coughlin says.

Easy storage

In the past, many domes and temporary pool enclosures used to be weighed down by water tubes around the sides of the pool. The problem with the water tubes was that they shifted during high winds and were difficult to fold up and store in the summer.

Today, installers drill holes approximately every 2 feet into the concrete deck around a pool, where they anchor metal eyebolts that are fastened directly to the dome.

John Schaedler says domes come in a variety of colors and let in enough light to grow plants. "People can blend the color of the dome to go with their house and their decor," says the vice president of operations at Aqua Quip in Seattle, a Pool & Spa News 100 company.

Some fabrics, such as the relatively inexpensive Tevlar-coated varieties, will let as much light into the structures as glass, says Jake Kelley, owner of Fabric Structures in Seattle.

Trackless enclosures

For homeowners who want to remove all traces of their pool enclosures during the summer, Danny DuBose suggests trackless enclosures.

The salesman at Renaissance Pools in Las Vegas says he's been selling trackless enclosures, which have been on the market for the past three years. These enclosures are made of heavy-duty, extruded aluminum frames with acrylic sides and a roof made out of a single piece of Lexan, which helps minimize leaks, DuBose says.

The acrylic can withstand up to 90mph winds and 40-pound snowloads according to DuBose. The enclosures cost about one-third the price of glass enclosures, and homeowners can use them to surround outdoor ping-pong tables or to hold backyard parties or special events.

UV-ray protection

Another advantage of using acrylic or vinyl enclosures is that they can be coated with a special protectant that blocks out the sun's ultraviolet rays.

"These are the same materials that used to go on old convertibles to keep the fabric from becoming brittle and brown," Kelly says. "The same coating protects people inside the enclosures from the dangerous UV rays that cause cancer."

The UV coating also helps reduce the depletion of chemicals in the pool, DuBose says. "Both the vinyl and the Lexan we use [on our roofs] keep out UV rays and help reduce evaporation, which means you don't have as much of a problem with chlorine dissipating into the air," he says. "You can save 50 percent a month on chemicals with these enclosures."