Flawed By Design – Skimmer Lids, Drain Covers, & Fittings

With the ready availability of colored pool fittings, there is no excuse for using mismatched skimmers, drain covers, wall fittings or plastic lids. Concealing these “architectural uglies” is easy – things most pools require, but no one wants to see.

SKIMMER LIDS (and deck lids)

There is absolutely no excuse for using plastic skimmer lids. Besides being a visual distraction, they only last a few short years. For concrete, stone or pavers there are the round or square pourable lids. Their non-metallic design eliminates the requirement for bonding, electrical safety that metallic lid trays simply disregard and ignore. They are even available for most popular laminar fountains. If the deck is overlaid with a thick & dense stone, simply manufacture a lid out of stone.

DECK DRAINS

Covering the deck with multiple plastic or brass drains, or worse yet linear plastic drain channels creates visual clutter. Again, there are pourable deck drain covers – available in a combo 3 & 4 inch size, 6-inch size and linear slot drains.

POOL DRAINS

Why distract from the beauty of the pool with white plastic drain covers that distract from the exotic finish, pebbles or mosaic tiles? There are even drain covers available that accept troweled or tile finishes – floor returns, drain covers, channel drains and even for in-floor cleaning heads.

WALL FITTINGS

As with floor drains, why distract from the surface finishes with fittings that do not match or protrude from the wall? There are a myriad of flush mounted and colored fittings to match almost any color finish. For those finishes that do not come close to matching the standard colors, there are clear fittings that blend with any finish color. With a little bit of effort these items can be concealed with minimal expense.

Resources:
www.poolfittings.com
www.pouralid.com
https://abtdrains.com/…/precast-trench-drain/vector-drain (We use these and tile over the rims, leaving just an ungrouted joint – super clean look) http://www.acodrain.us

Swimming Pool Expert Witness