Price of an Abri and other info ?

[Eslier]

I am considering adding an abri to my swimming pool. My preference would be for a full height, or possibly medium one that will comfortably enable swimming with it in place without feeling claustrophbic. It would need to be approximately 12m x 6.5m

Does anyone have any idea what I would expect to pay ?

Are there likely to be any good offers on at this, or any other, time of year ?

Is permission required for an abri ?

Are they easy to keep clean ?

Any recommendations of supplier / manufacturer ?

[Poolguy]

Eslier

The Abri are an enthusiasts pool accessory to be sure.

They offer many advantages and few disadvantages the most conspicuous of which is price.

First the types and advantages.

An abri can consist of a structure which covers the pool either fixed or retractable, raised or elevated.

The cheapest of these are the light weight leaves which can the raised to allow swimming but they do not give a good feeling of space. Sometimes they offer 1 meter clearance or less or a little more. On a 10x5 pool this might cost around 10k euro a bit less or more depending on the fixing and quality you need.

The retractables are more expensive as there is a mechanism, and dissimilar panels to build and fit together, gives better access to the sky but, you have to replace them when your finished swimming and they are quite heavy - not childs work. Think in the 10-12k bracket.

Fixed 'greenhouse' type of thing with 2-3 meter clearance, is very popular as there is no work to do just go in an out. Pool is protected and there is little cleaning to be done therefore. 14-18K depends on quality.

Elevated is another option, 4 posts on the corners and a fixed panel is raised like a mechanics hoist. 10x5 is about the maximum and the cost are in around the 8-10K mark.

Common to all is the advantage that its ANFOR compliant, keeps the dirt out and the heat in, so you can swim for 7-10 months per year depending on where you are.On the down side is that your pool is a perfect breeding ground for algae and fungus - so multiply the sanitation problems by 10. Its a must to have automatic sanitation, if you choose salt system then you will cut the life of the abri nearly in half. Cleaning therefore is a job that must be added to the weekly chores and its difficult with the lower ones. The higher ones are no different to cleaning a lot of windows.

Basically that are a great thing and really get the most out of your pool, but there is a cost and it not only the euros up the front end.

If you need more specific information then PM me.

Andrew

[Eslier]

Thank you Andrew, much of what you have said is as I expected.

The retractable option is what I had in mind. We already have suitable fence security around the 11m x 5m pool so it wouldn't need to be pulled back on every time after swimming. The surface it would mount on is very good - those special non-porous block slabs that are used around pools.

We have a chlorinated pool and a diatemous earth filter which does a really good job. It isn't automated - it relies upon me checking it on a daily basis. I use Everblue Everlong-600 chlorine blocks and add "Algitop" once per week. I try to keep the water at around 27-28 degrees so in very hot weather I would just leave the cover off to prevent it reaching the deadly 30 degrees too quickly.

My aim would be to extend the swimming season to include April and October in the hope that we can attract more early and late guests to our gites. Winter swimming would be out of the question as we heat the pool using electricty on the TEMPO tarif - I couldn't afford to run the filter pump and heat pump on red days !!

The reason for thinking about this now - just as I am putting the pool to bed for winter is that I will need to replace the summer cover next year if I don't go for an Abri. At €10k it would certainly be worth considering, at €12k it's starting to make me think more carefully but not out of the question.

Thanks

[Poolguy]

All good points

With the earth filter you are getting very good filtration - down to 5 micron but your having to work for it. Might I suggest that you change to zeolite instead. It will give you down to 1 micron with no more work than regular sand filter- big saving in time and money. With this sort of filtration you are extracting ammonias as well as some of the larger TDS's which will decrease the chlorine requirement and therefore the input of cyanuric acid. Therefore I strongly recommend automatic chlorination. You have to be precise in your ORP/ppm of chlorine and with many guests in the pool the manual method will not cut it.

All that should eliminate the need for algaecide which is not helping you keep a healthy pool for your guests. By that I mean that the algaecide almost certainly contains copper which will play havoc with bottle blonde hair do's amongst other side effects.

For the abri. Its going to be a great addition to your swimming experience. But get the tallest one you can afford. If its too low then, pool volley ball becomes no fun.

I can also suggest some biofriendly mold and alga cleaners for the liner and tile surrounds which will be important, once the abri is in place. THE DDASS will certainly test your water in the coming months/year and will especially focus that that type of thing.

If you want me to prepare a full discussion on this project then PM me the details and I would be only too happy.

Andrew