Hi I am looking for instructions to make a wooden pool pump cover. Can you help?
Community manager's note: Check out How to build a pool pump cover for expert advice.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @lbell. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your question.
Did you have some photos or dimensions of the pool pump in question? Were you looking to create something similar to the below image? You could certainly use the SpecRite 1800 x 600 x 33mm Merbau Garden Fence Panel or SpecRite 1800 x 902mm Merbau Slat Screen Panel to save you from building it from scratch. You would simply need to build a frame around the pump with Treated Pine Outdoor Timber Framing 90 x 45mm and then clad it with the Merbau panels.
Let me mention a few of our expert woodworkers @woodenwookie, @r23on and @woodalwaysworks to see if they could advise some construction methods.
You might also be interested in reading these discussions-
Please let me know if you need further assistance or had questions.
Mitchell
I’m really interested in creating something similar.. what do you think would be best to construct a roof out of.. looking to protect the pump from the weather.. I love the idea of the timber panels as walls .. what could I use for a roof .
cheers
TroyB
Thanks for joining in the discussion @TroyB and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's great to have you with us.
I'm sure @MitchellMc will be more than happy to assist with your pump cover project. Unfortunately he's taking a well-earned break at the moment and will be back at the end of the week to help you. Let me know if you need a response urgently and I can tag other helpful community members who might like to share their thoughts on how to approach this project.
Thanks again,
Jason
Hi @TroyB,
You could use marine-grade plywood either by itself or as cladding on the inside of one of the timber panels. An alternative might be corrugated iron or polycarbonate sheeting.
I look forward to following along with your project; please keep us updated on your progress.
This is exactly what I need to build but anyone come across any plans for the framing section?
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Paiger. It's fantastic to have you join the community. I'm sure you will find it very useful for all your projects as we have so many clever and creative members sharing advice and inspiration on the site.
I will ask the ever-helpful @MitchellMc to assist you with some designs when he is back on the site on Friday. In the meantime, could you please give us the dimensions of the cover that you want to build?
Let me also tag @ProjectPete as he might be able to assist with links to plans he might have seen when he was building his fantastic hidden pool pump and filter.
Please let me know if you ever need assistance getting the most from Bunnings Workshop, or ever have any feedback about how we can make the site even more useful to you.
Thank you for your reply. i may have found a new obsession and a lot more work for my husband!!!
The slab around the pool is 800 x 2400. Thanks in advance!!
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Paiger.
I've put together a rendering that should better illustrate how to construct the pool cover above. I'd suggest you use some solid uprights shown in red. These can be concreted into the ground outside your slab. A suitable material would be 90 x 90mm 2.4m F7 KD H4 RH Treated Pine Premium Wrapped.
For the frame shown in green, I'd recommend Treated Pine Outdoor Timber Framing 90 x 45mm.
This SpecRite Pre-Oiled Merbau FJ Screening 42mm x 18mm x 2.7m would be perfect for the slatting. You'll notice the sides of the lid are not shown in the image. I'd suggest this is because they found it difficult to add slats to the side. This could be done, although you might find it easier to clad the sides of the lid with Marine plywood.
Treated Pine timber screws can be used to join the frame and timber slats.
I look forward to following along with your project and providing any assistance you need. Please let me know if you need help or had any questions.
This is perfect and something I was ringing around trying to find someone to do it for me but looks like I could give it a crack!
Just to add to the last post, I would like to be able to open the pool cover for which I'm thinking it would be best if I use Marine Ply as was recommended earlier. What could I use to attach it to the frame. Hinges and some kind of a hydraulic arm?
Also, I dont have any cutting tools at home, does Bunnings cut the timber slats or garden fence panel to size?
Finally, I had already requested my pool company to build a timber frame using sleepers around the pool pumps. Can I just screw the frame to the sleepers or would you still recommending putting up the 90x90 timber pine concreted to the ground? The existing frame is just on the ground to corden off the area. I can attach some pictures later today/tomorrow.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @pdugar. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for your questions.
Some Pinnacle 300mm Galvanised Scotch Tee Hinges would be perfect for attaching your marine-grade plywood to the frame. A couple of Goliath 535mm 200N Black Gas Struts would assist in lifting the lid and are suitable for exterior use.
We can cut Merbau decking to length so you can clad your frame. Panels products are not able to be cut down on our saw. With some effort, it would be achievable to cut them down yourself with a handsaw. Or, this might be a good opportunity to invest in a circular saw. Personally, I use a Ryobi One+ 18V 165mm Circular Saw and find it fantastic for a multitude of jobs around the home. Alternatively, a corded circular saw like the Ozito 185mm 1300W Corded Circular Saw can be purchased at a reasonable cost.
As long as the sleepers are relatively solid, I see no reason why you couldn't screw the frame directly into them, especially if you used some angled brackets.
Please let me know if you need further assistance or have questions.
Thanks Mitchell. Here are some of the pictures of the pool pump and the sleepers box. It’s dimensions are 1250 x 1450 wide and the highest height at the back would be 1250. I would like the cover to be angled similar to the picture you had earlier in the discussions. Is this feasible?
also, seeing the pump backs onto a color bond fence (there is about 400mm gap to the fence), should I put a timber post at the back to attach the panel to and the cover or simply screw it onto the fence?
Hi @pdugar,
I see no reason why you couldn't construct a cover on an angle, and your rear posts will need to be higher than your front to achieve this. I'd suggest that you'll need to create posts at the back as screwing into the Colorbond sheeting will penetrate the other side of the fence. I'm sure your neighbours won't appreciate sharp screw heads poking through.
If you were to use Merbau panels, then you could screw them directly into the treated pine slabs and each other. That might do away with the need for posts altogether.
Hi Mitchell, using the materials you've suggested above. How much would it cost to create a box like this? Thanks in advance.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Corine. It's fabulous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question on pool pump cover costs.
The cost would vary depending on the size of your pool pump and whether you can find screening timber that can be used without significant offcut wastage. As an estimate, I would suggest around $400-$500 for materials.
If you can post some pictures of your pool pump and let me know the width, depth, and height, I can see if there are any products you could easily use.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hi I'd like to build one like this but need for following dimensions.
1.7hx 2.3l x 0.7w are you able to assist.
Thanks
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @dave8. It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your question about building pool pump covers.
I'm sure our helpful community members would be more than happy to assist with your project. What exactly did you need assistance with? We're not working from any particular set of plans here, though I'm sure you could find some online. However, we'd be happy to answer any questions you had.
In your case, since the unit is so high, I'd suggest you'd be better off just screening the area instead of building an enclosure. Four SpecRite 1800 x 902mm Pre-Oiled Merbau Alternating Slat Fence Panels should be enough. If you concrete in a few H4 posts at the fence and then one in the corner at the bottom right of your image, you could use 90 x 35mm H3 MGP 10 Treated Pine Outdoor Timber Framing fixed between them. You can then attach your three fence panels to the horizontal framing timber. At the end, you could put the fourth panel on hinges to create a door into the area.
Let me know what you think and feel free to ask any questions.Mitchell
Thanks was hoping to go from back fence 1.75h then with a roof for protection and doors on front for access and slats in sheeting for heater to breath. Would this be OK sorry I should've said in first note
Hi @dave8
Do you wish to mount the pump cover on the fence itself? Based on @MitchellMc's fantastic render. The probable reason a post was used is that the Colorbond fence is not able to take a large amount of weight. You'll need to build a frame to transfer the door opening to the front of the assembly. Using the current plan that was suggested, a roof can easily be placed on top with some timber framing. I suggest cutting down the SpecRite 1800 x 902mm Pre-Oiled Merbau Alternating Slat Fence Panels by 150mm so that there will be a gap at the top to allow ambient heat to escape.
If you had something else in mind, I suggest sketching on paper the configuration you're after. You can then share your idea with our members and we'll then be able to offer ideas on how to build it. There are several options for roofing, but I suggest using galvanized steel to prevent the roof from warping due to the heat from your units. The Specrite Alternating slat Fence Panels is perfect for your project. Not only can you use it as a fence but as a door as well and it has excellent ventilation properties.
I've made some sample sketches, please have a look and tell me what you think.
If you need further assistance, please let me know.
Eric
Hi,
I like how you built the pool equipment box with Merbau strips. Did you use 42 x 18mm 2.7m FJ Pre Oiled Merbau Screening?
Did you use the same screening strips vertically on the corners hiding the screws to the frame?
How did you build the lid?
I want to build something similar but with doors on the front.
Any suggestions or hints would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Steve5. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about constructing a pool pump cover.
Are you referring to the image I posted early in the discussion? I can't see any other referenced projects made from timber strips.
Here's another rendering that might give you a better idea of how you could construct something similar. 42 x 18mmscreening can be used to clad the frame. The lid is of very simple construction. It's just screening held together with some battens. This makes it very lightweight and easy to lift.
Hi Mitchell,
Thanks for the quick response.
Yes, that's the one i'm interested in. Latest drawing helps a lot!
Keep us updated on your build @Steve5, and please reach out again if you have questions or get stuck.
I’ve completed the frame which is 1.4m high in the back and 1.0m high in the front.
The depth of the box is 1.2m and the width of the front is 1.5m resulting in the following panels:
Gas struts will be used to keep the roof open when backwashing, etc.
I’ll need to access the pump skimmer and chlorine doser on the right side on a regular basis so a hinged door will be convenient. I’ve built gates with hinges on the outside, but not sure how to attach hidden hinges. Thought about clamping panel to the frame, attaching hinge to the outside and then drilling holes through the panel into the frame then moving hinge to the inside using drill holes for alignment. Any suggestions on the type of hinge/latch and installation would be much appreciated.
A heat pump will be installed in the left side of the box which doesn’t need regular access so a removable panel might be easier than a hinged door. Maybe 4 pins the panel fits onto and then clips to hold it in place? Can you suggest anything?
I’d like to use merbau fence panels for all sides instead of the 42 x 18mm screening, but I’ll need to use more than one panel per side. Can the 42 x 18mm screening be used to build frames for the fence panel doors? Is there an easy way to connect 2 merbau panels together and use them for a door and/or roof?
https://www.bunnings.com.au/specrite-1800-x-902mm-84-44mm-fence-panel-merbau-slats_p8500281
https://www.bunnings.com.au/specrite-600-x-33mm-1-8m-fence-panel-merbau-pre-oiled_p8500298
https://www.bunnings.com.au/42-x-18mm-2-7m-fj-pre-oiled-merbau-screening_p0177440
https://www.bunnings.com.au/goliath-535mm-200n-black-gas-strut_p4230060
Hi @Steve5,
Butt hinges can be recessed slightly into your frame and fixed in place. You can then screw the other side of the hinge to your doors. This will leave the door only minimally spaced away from the frame. There will be no gap if you also recess the hinge into the door. What type of latch were you looking for? A simple magnetic catch would hold the doors closed.
Having a removable panel sounds like a great idea. Instead of the pins that could get jammed through the timber swelling, I recommend using an Everhang 13.5kg Magnetic Pull Latch Set. A couple of these and they would hold your panel in place perfectly.
The 42 x 18mm screening can be used to build frames for your panels. The easiest way to join two of the panels is likely running some lengths 42 x 18mm across their width and screwing them into the panels.
Please let me know if you have further questions. I can't wait to see your project finished.
Thanks for for you note.
I finally made it to Bunnings to check out the Merbau fence panels and they are very heavy.
How many magnetic pull latch sets would I need to hold up a 1.2m x 1m Merbau fence panel?
Is the latch set 1 magnet and a metal plate or 2 magnets?
The kit comes with north and south-facing magnets that latch together @Steve5. If the weight of the panel is sitting on the frame, you'd only need a set of magnets in the top two corners to hold it in position. If you want the magnets to hold the panel's weight entirely, you could use one set in each corner of the four corners, but they are exceptionally strong. I installed one set on a door, and it's pretty hard to pull it open. If you used four sets, I'd be concerned whether you could get the panel off again.
Good idea to rest the fence panel on the structure frame. I can attach a frame on back of panels that will fit into the structural frame opening to support the weight.
What would you recommend to use to line the box if we wanted to dampen the noise?
Cheers
Great question @theoekiwi.
Let me tag one of our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. experts in @EricL to share his thoughts on what he would use. @Jewelleryrescue and @ProjectPete might also like to join in the conversation.
And have you seen @MitchellMc's step-by-step guide How to build a pool pump cover?
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us and we look forward to seeing your project come together.
Hello @theoekiwi
Thanks for sharing that question about what to line your pool pump cover inside to reduce the noise. I suggest looking at the Bastion 1200 x 600 x 30mm XPS Multi-Use Insulation Foam Board. This insulation can be used for a variety of purposes and is water resistant. The theory of reducing the ambient noise of the pump is to create a space where sound will have little to no way of escaping. When placing the insulation board think of it like building an esky. The board's edges must meet each other so that sound is trapped inside.
One way to hold the panel in place is to use Foilboard Insulation Blank Plates - 250 Pack or similar. But instead of using nails, I suggest using screws to mount the plates onto the timber surface. I also suggest using it on the floor of the pool pump area so that sound does not escape through the bottom of the pool pump cover.
Let me call on our experienced members @TedBear and @JoeAzza for their recommendations.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
