A secure pool cover is the safest way to protect your children
Since 2003, French law compels owners to install a safety system on any newly-built swimming pool. Owners who had a pool installed before the bill was adopted are not obliged yet to install a cover but another bill regarding this point is coming soon. This law was passed because the French Prime Minister at the time, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, lost one of his nephews who drowned in a pool. Strongly influenced by his death, he decided to accelerate the process of passing a bill at the Assemblée Nationale. Now, all sunken or semi-sunken outdoor swimming pools are to be fitted with a safety system (i.e. an alarm, barrier, shelter or cover) that complies with applicable standards.
Moreover, should your property be situated in the countryside and your swimming pool close to trees, a cover is also useful to avoid the intrusion of leaves and other external elements which could make the water dirty.
There are two sorts of pool covers for your French property:
=> Standard covers:
It is the cheapest cover you can buy at a pool dealer. The French top dog is ‘Desjoyaux Piscines’. In these shops, you can find everything you need to do with pools such as ladders, filters, skimmers, showers, chlorine and pool covers.
A tarpaulin remains quite unresisting under the weight of a child though. In spite of all the efforts made to improve their quality and their resistance, these covers are still inadequate to ensure the safety of your children. However they are cheap and sufficient enough for a couple or a household where children are at least 10 years old. You can easily find a tarpaulin for £20 only! It is generally sold with a roller (motor-driven or not).
=> Shelters:
These are big Plexiglas enclosures above the pool that can be motorised or not. Europe’s leader, AbriSud, manufactures and sells a wide range of shelters: removable pool enclosures, semi retractable pool enclosures, telescopic enclosures and the wall-mounted standing-height pool enclosure. As pricey as classic automatic pool covers, these types of covers are often assimilated to a small veranda.
=> Automatic pool covers:
This type of cover is exclusively motor-driven by a roller and is made of solid strips, solid enough to withstand your children’s weight. Custom made, they are the best range of covers you can find on the market for the safety of your children. The cover works either thanks to a remote control or from a landmark where you turn a key to activate the machinery. Nowadays, all covers work with an electrical system, although covers working with solar panels exist! Their small panels follow the sun’s position thanks to an ultraviolet sensor. This system enables you to make savings on electricity bills.
There are two main automatic covers available:
– In-ground covers:
The engine is hidden under the ground by a duckboard, which is aesthetically pleasing. The strips are not fixed to the pool bank as they float on water thanks to the air inside the strips and the waterproof caps attached on each side of the strips. Depending on the quality of strips, these can be more solid and thus less flexible. Covers currently sold in France are tested with a 100kg bag. Solid strips let in only 10cm of water, which is amazingly far better than ‘low-cost’ automatic covers which let in up to 30cm of water above the strips. Furthermore, French law demands that a 7cm space be left between the cover and the pool bank.
– Above-ground covers:
This is still an automatic cover except its roller is laid down in a special box or in a bench to hide the machinery. Aesthetically it is less nice than an in-ground cover but it is as efficient. In fact, the quality of the strips does not depend on the location of the machinery (in-ground or above-ground). However, they are less expensive than in-ground covers!
If you want to have fun during your holidays in France, make sure your swimming pool is now equipped with a cover. Choose the one which suits you best!