Enter your pool's size, the overlap and the narrowest stretch of deck around it. You get the safety cover's size, how far back its anchors go, whether your deck takes them, and what the pool code says a safety cover does and does not replace.
Your safety cover
A 34 × 18 ft cover for a 32 × 16 ft pool12″ overlap all round · anchors 32″ back from the pool's edge · your 48″ deck takes them
Quick answer: a safety cover is the pool plus its overlap on every side. With a 12″ overlap, a 16 × 32 ft pool takes an 18 × 34 ft cover, its anchors 32″ back from the pool’s edge. Meyco puts the anchors 20″ in from the cover’s edge and “typically … about 32” to 38” back from the pool edge”, a 12–18″ overlap. A manual safety cover does not replace a pool fence: the code accepts only a powered one.
How to use the pool safety cover size calculator
- Pick the pool: a rectangle, or free-form for any other shape.
- Enter its length and width, water edge to water edge.
- Pick the overlap: 12″, 15″ or 18″, the range Meyco’s anchor distances give.
- Enter the narrowest stretch of deck round the pool, and whether it is in-ground or a decked on-ground pool.
You get the cover’s size, the anchor line, whether your deck takes the anchors, and what the code lets a safety cover replace. The drawing shows the pool, the cover and the dashed anchor line on your deck.
The rules, and where they come from
Overlap. Meyco’s safety cover installation guide: “Be sure there is an equal overlap on both sides and ends. For the proper overlap, look at the cover page of this booklet or subtract the pool size from the cover size and divide by two.”
Anchors. “Anchors should be located 20” back from the cover’s edge. The correct anchor distance back from the pool edge is the core overlap plus this 20”. Typically, anchors are about 32” to 38” back from the pool edge.” So the overlap is 12″ to 18″, and the deck has to reach the anchor line.
Short decks. Meyco allows lawn stakes for no “more than 20% of the anchoring points”, never “at opposite ends of the same strap”, and extension straps of 4, 6 or 8 ft for no more than 20% of the straps. Loop-Loc’s on-ground covers need “a self-supporting deck at least 2 feet wide. Not for basic above-ground pools.”
The fence. The International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (2021, §305.1) drops the barrier rules only where “swimming pools are equipped with a powered safety cover that complies with ASTM F1346”, or spas and hot tubs with a lockable one. Meyco’s and Loop-Loc’s strap-down covers are manual safety covers. Where a house wall is part of the barrier, §305.4 accepts “A safety cover that is listed and labeled in accordance with ASTM F1346” instead of door alarms.
Safety cover sizes for common pools
| Pool | 12″ overlap | 18″ overlap |
|---|---|---|
| 12 × 24 ft | 26 × 14 ft | 27 × 15 ft |
| 16 × 32 ft | 34 × 18 ft | 35 × 19 ft |
| 18 × 36 ft | 38 × 20 ft | 39 × 21 ft |
| 20 × 40 ft | 42 × 22 ft | 43 × 23 ft |
| 22 × 44 ft | 46 × 24 ft | 47 × 25 ft |
| 24 × 48 ft | 50 × 26 ft | 51 × 27 ft |
The pool plus twice the overlap. A step, a spa or a rounded corner outside the rectangle makes the cover bigger: those covers are made to the dealer’s measurements.
Worked examples
A 34 × 18 ft cover for a 32 × 16 ft pool: a 12″ overlap, the anchors 32″ back, well inside a 4 ft deck.
A 42 × 22 ft cover for a 40 × 20 ft pool: with only 2 ft of deck on one side, the anchor line runs 8″ past it; lawn stakes or extension straps there, within Meyco’s 20%.
A 39 × 21 ft cover for a 36 × 18 ft pool: an 18″ overlap puts the anchors 38″ back, the far end of Meyco’s typical range.
A cover about 32 × 17 ft for a 30 × 15 ft free-form pool: the box it comes out of; the dealer’s A-B measurements give its shape.
Common mistakes
- Buying a bigger stock size to be safe. Loop-Loc: a cover too large leaves “way too much overlap on the deck”, which wears it and keeps it from being tensioned.
- Counting on the cover instead of the fence. Only a powered F1346 cover replaces a pool’s barrier under §305.1.
- Too little deck. The anchors go into the deck 32–38″ back. Check the narrowest stretch, often by a wall, planter or the equipment pad.
- Letting water pond on it. Loop-Loc: the ASTM specification says no cover can call itself a safety cover “if it does not provide for water removal”.
More on pools at Dreamy Home Style
Fencing the pool as well? The pool fence and gate requirements checker goes through every rule of §305. To plan the deck round the pool, draw it to scale in the free 2D floor planner.
Pool safety cover questions
What size safety cover do I need for my pool?
The pool plus the overlap on every side. A 16 × 32 ft pool takes an 18 × 34 ft cover with a 12″ overlap, 19 × 35 ft with 18″.
How much should a pool safety cover overlap the deck?
Meyco puts the anchors 20″ in from the cover’s edge and typically 32–38″ back from the pool, an overlap of 12–18″, equal on every side.
How do I measure my pool for a safety cover?
A rectangle: its length and width at the water’s edge. Any other shape: the A-B method, two points on the deck and every point round the pool measured from both, which the dealer sends to the maker.
Does a pool safety cover replace a pool fence?
Not a manual one. ISPSC 2021 §305.1 accepts a powered safety cover complying with ASTM F1346 in place of a pool’s barrier, and a lockable one for a spa or hot tub.
Can you put a safety cover on an above-ground pool?
Loop-Loc makes on-ground covers for a pool “surrounded by a self-supporting deck at least 2 feet wide. Not for basic above-ground pools.”
How far from the pool do safety cover anchors go?
The overlap plus 20″; Meyco says typically about 32–38″ back from the pool’s edge.