Installing above ground pool
- Thread starter lupi
- Start date
Did you get a decent one or one of those shitty "few hundred dollar" ones from Shitmart?
If you spent few thousand than YES you do need to have a really good foundation underneath. Think of it as an investment to protect your pool.
If you have a shitty one, don't even worry about it. Chances are it won't last more than a season anyways (if that)
If you spent few thousand than YES you do need to have a really good foundation underneath. Think of it as an investment to protect your pool.
If you have a shitty one, don't even worry about it. Chances are it won't last more than a season anyways (if that)
I'm assuming its an intex or one of the other cheap ones as he said its a 10' pool. The only decent 10' above ground pool I know of is called a jacuzzi.
PingSpike
Lifer
- Feb 25, 2004
- 21,758
- 603
- 126
I think the best investment one could make while buying a pool is to go above ground. Then shortly after buying the pool equipment just load it back into your truck and take it straight to the dump. That way you can get off with have only having paid for the pool itself and disposal fees and you will have saved hours of aggravation cleaning the pool and tons of money on chemicals only to have ended up bringing it to the dump in 3-5 years anyway. Might as well just get it all done quickly IMO.
xj0hnx
Diamond Member
- Dec 18, 2007
- 9,262
- 3
- 76
We had one of the cheap, inflatable 4x10' pools last three seasons. Just take care of it, and clean it before putting it away for the winter.
SphinxnihpS
Diamond Member
- Feb 17, 2005
- 8,368
- 25
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They look much nicer if you have 3-5 derelict cars in the front lawn. Loose rooster is a nice touch as well.
I have a 24' x 5' 14,000 gallon Bermuda King Aluminium Deck pool. It cost around 4K new and was professional installed.
That Intek plastic pool is simply a used condom that is held up with plastic PVC piping. Just find some level area. It needs to be as level as possible but not extreme.
What you should have done is try to buy an above ground pool used from craigslist. People practically give those things away. They want it out from their yard. You get get a 52' pool for a 1K or so, with the pump, pool wall, and filter. If you search hard enough you can get it for free. Try to find one with a bad liner. That will make it free. Then buy the liner from ebay for like 200 bucks and put it in yourself.
That Intek plastic pool is simply a used condom that is held up with plastic PVC piping. Just find some level area. It needs to be as level as possible but not extreme.
What you should have done is try to buy an above ground pool used from craigslist. People practically give those things away. They want it out from their yard. You get get a 52' pool for a 1K or so, with the pump, pool wall, and filter. If you search hard enough you can get it for free. Try to find one with a bad liner. That will make it free. Then buy the liner from ebay for like 200 bucks and put it in yourself.
A standard above ground pool usually develops small pinhole leaks in the pool wall and liner. It takes time. usually when the liner goes bad you replace the pool wall or liner. Or when you remove the liner you weld on the wall any of the pinholes.
I imagine the intek will be a spectacular flood when it fails.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
OP: since you said you're putting it on the soil, I'm assuming you're going to remove the sod underneath it. That's smart move #1.
Sand will make the job SOOOOooo much easier, and if you're going to resod the area in a couple years, just turn it all over/mix it into the soil with a pitchfork or rototiller.
You apparently think that the only way to get sand is in those 50 pound bags at Home Depot for $6 each, or whatever they charge. At least in my area, the amount of sand you'd need to go 1-2" deep of sand will cost you less than $50, including the delivery. A full dump truck load is a hell of a lot cheaper than you think. (Those $6 tubes of sand are a rip-off.)
A few trips back and forth with a wheelbarrow (if you're not lucky enough to put the pool where a dump truck could directly dump the sand) will save you a ton of trouble in trying to level the pool and get a smooth bottom. And, it'll likely result in a greater lifespan for the pool. A smooth bottom makes cleaning the bottom a lot easier too - so it saves you work down the road. Of all the decisions to make (first, the decision to get a pool), the decision to put sand down should be really easy.
Other tips: lay out the area where the pool is going to be - stake and 6 feet of string works for a 10 foot pool. Mark it out, then use roundup or something else to kill all the grass in that area. Get some pressure cut lumber, and build a raised bed along the house for flowers or something - with the grass all dead, you can just put all the stuff you dig up into the planter & not have to worry about it regrowing. (It helps to know what you're going to do with all the sod and dirt you dig out.) Digging out close to 100 square feet of ground, it's a lot easier when you don't have to be anal about getting that perfectly level, since you can screed the sand incredibly easily.
Sand will make the job SOOOOooo much easier, and if you're going to resod the area in a couple years, just turn it all over/mix it into the soil with a pitchfork or rototiller.
You apparently think that the only way to get sand is in those 50 pound bags at Home Depot for $6 each, or whatever they charge. At least in my area, the amount of sand you'd need to go 1-2" deep of sand will cost you less than $50, including the delivery. A full dump truck load is a hell of a lot cheaper than you think. (Those $6 tubes of sand are a rip-off.)
A few trips back and forth with a wheelbarrow (if you're not lucky enough to put the pool where a dump truck could directly dump the sand) will save you a ton of trouble in trying to level the pool and get a smooth bottom. And, it'll likely result in a greater lifespan for the pool. A smooth bottom makes cleaning the bottom a lot easier too - so it saves you work down the road. Of all the decisions to make (first, the decision to get a pool), the decision to put sand down should be really easy.
Other tips: lay out the area where the pool is going to be - stake and 6 feet of string works for a 10 foot pool. Mark it out, then use roundup or something else to kill all the grass in that area. Get some pressure cut lumber, and build a raised bed along the house for flowers or something - with the grass all dead, you can just put all the stuff you dig up into the planter & not have to worry about it regrowing. (It helps to know what you're going to do with all the sod and dirt you dig out.) Digging out close to 100 square feet of ground, it's a lot easier when you don't have to be anal about getting that perfectly level, since you can screed the sand incredibly easily.
Fritzo
Lifer
- Jan 3, 2001
- 41,920
- 2,161
- 126
My wife made me get one of those pools 3 years ago. I still have it up and the kids use it exactly 3.7 times per year.
I still hate her for it :|
Fritzo
Lifer
- Jan 3, 2001
- 41,920
- 2,161
- 126
Those Intek pools aren't that bad now, especially the ones with the tube frame. I haven't had a single leak in mine, and it seems like the liner is a lot thicker than that of a regular pool.
Also, the salt filtering system: GET IT. It is worth every penny. It'll pay for itself in a year, and it keeps the pool super-clean. http://www.amazon.com/Intex-Saltwate.../dp/B001P2NYOG
Texashiker
Lifer
- Dec 18, 2010
- 18,811
- 198
- 106
All you need is a garden hose, couple of fittings and some clear tubing.
For less than $10 you can build your own water level.
Yeah the metal frame Intex pools are good. I've had a 16' round one for 3 years now but always take it down during winter.
I put sand down, was a lot of work to level it as best I could and still this springs rain has run some of the sand down into the grass so I guess I didn't get it level enough..
Fritzo
Lifer
- Jan 3, 2001
- 41,920
- 2,161
- 126
How do you get the pins out of the frame? Do you just break them and get new ones every year?
- Apr 8, 2001
- 32,539
- 260
- 126
I know how to do the extensive dig and level, dropped a 400sqft paver patio in last year and have the 4+ torn tendons to prove it.
A "kiddie" pool doesn't do much good when one of them is quickly closing on 4 feet tall.
While I don't have personal experience of how reliable they are, I know I can see that one of my neighbors has had a ~20 footer up for the last half decade or so. Also I don't know how long I'll be at this location so the less semi-permanent things I do to it that I would then have to repair the better. And I would most likely tear it down for the winter.
A "kiddie" pool doesn't do much good when one of them is quickly closing on 4 feet tall.
While I don't have personal experience of how reliable they are, I know I can see that one of my neighbors has had a ~20 footer up for the last half decade or so. Also I don't know how long I'll be at this location so the less semi-permanent things I do to it that I would then have to repair the better. And I would most likely tear it down for the winter.
Not sure what you are referring too. There are plastic bits that hold the frame together but you just push them back in with your thumb and slide it apart. They don't fall out/break or anything. Must be different designs
Fritzo
Lifer
- Jan 3, 2001
- 41,920
- 2,161
- 126
The ones mine came with have locking pins, You would have to break the end off to get the pin out.
Charlie98
Diamond Member
- Nov 6, 2011
- 6,298
- 64
- 91
Not. Salt water is a marketing joke (at least to us in the industry; ) in fact, at least here in Dallas where the source (tap) water already has a high pH, some builders quit putting them in because they were having scaling problems with the plaster after startup with salt water systems. In some instances it's OK... oddly enough with vinyl-liner pools they work good because the high pH generated by the salt system knocks down the acidity from the vinyl liner.
Now, you want a good filter system for a portable pool? I think Intex sells a small sand filter... that's what to spend your money on instead of fooling with those crappy little cartridge filters.
You want the pad the pool sets on as level as you can possibly get it... please trust me on that.
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