Above ground pools?

Ron-P

Anyone here have one? If so what size, brand and other info would be great.

I am looking into either a 12'x30" or 15'x48". Metal framed. Problem is, where it would sit. It would be half on concrete and half on grass. The concrete patio is sloped away from the house and the grass slopes into the concrete patio, basically creating a "V" to which would be the middle of the pool.

I can build a wood deck which would be perfectly level, or do I even need to? Any help or comments?

tonyb

I would not put a pool on a wood deck, the weight will crush it. What needs to happen is either put the pool in an all dirt area and level it out,dig down, or make a concrete pad for it. Chances are your patio too isn't up to the task of holding the weight either, the concrete may be too thin.
Think about going salt water for the pool. More cost efficient in the long run. Prices on pools vary greatly due to the quality of the pool itself,and how much excavation needs to happen. I know one company that makes a steel reinforced pool for inground applications,just like a foot or so sticks up. I'll try and dig up a link.
I've had above ground pools,an inground concrete pool,and the inground was much easier to keep clean. Costs can be high, so the the more you can do,the better.

cnh

tonyb is absolutely right! We had an in ground 18 x 36 x 8 pool and that housed over 25,000 gallons of water! Do you have any idea what that much water weighs? Certainly more than enough to obliterate any wood deck.

We dispensed with the pool before we left for Beijing in 2009, best thing we ever did. A real albatross for some one who lives under Canada. People who have pools this North on the East Coast are just in DENIAL. It's a real waste of money unless you have the 'weather'...warm weather most of the year. Which it looks like you would have.

Ca. pools are abundant! But the costs are high--between maintenance, and opening and closing and pumps and electricity, and, and, and the fact that it was mostly too cold to swim here more than a dozen times a year? I figured that I was spending over 150 dollars every time I took a swim when the public pool is a few blocks away at a couple dollars a visit? But you're in pool country so I'd go for it.

I do agree with tonyb that in ground is preferable. And I've heard of salt water pools and that's sounds like a plan--will save you in the long run in deadly chemicals and such!

cnh

Ron-P

This is something inexpensive for summer that can be taken down. NO WAY do I want an in ground pool, too expensive and it would ruin my backyard that I love too much.

My greatest concern is not having a perfectly level surface.

mrbiron

Temp inflatable....done and done.

tonyb

You thinking something like an Intek metal frame pool ?

Regardless, a pool should be on level ground,concrete. Keep in mind if you put the pool on the grass, you won't have any left when you take the pool down. So an eyesore will be visible. In my area, those intek pools sell like hotcakes, then get re sold the year after for the exact reasons. If your not going to have a permanent pool,above ground or below, I would suggest you forget about it and buy a pool pass to the community pool. Not being a smart **** Ron, but knowing how you feel about your yard, a temporary pool will only ruin it, not enhance it.

dorokusai

Take down? You really think that your pool will follow you or be a fall event for you more than one year after its installed? My neighbors went above ground and it ruined their backyard. You're not saving anything and will end up regretting it. Don't do it. Go in-ground or get a membership.

Ron-P

While it would kill my grass, that can easily grow back so I'm not too worried about it. It would not damage any other part of my yard.

I did find a 10'x30" Intex that's only $125 (complete kit) and will fit 100% on my lawn which is nearly level now. Their pools seem very easy to set-up and take-down and it would be fun to just float in during the summer days and at nights. At $125 it's not much of a risk at all.

My in-laws just moved into a town home only 3 miles from here and it has a pool so if we want bigger we can go there. I'd just like something for me to float in, in my back yard.

dorokusai

Good luck.

Ron-P

My neighbors had one for several years and my brother-in-law has one as well. While theirs are much bigger other then killing the grass it sits on I don't see the harm, or damage one of these can cause.

stuwee

As a desert dweller, I have to ask what the hell do you do with all that water just before you take it down for the season? I'm very shocked you would even consider an option like that, shame, shame! Why not just keep it up all year? Sorry if I sound mad, but this is silly pool talk :rolleyes:

Ron-P

$124.95, free shipping for the 12'x30" and it will fit in the yard without any damage, other than to the grass, which I can grow back. I'll pick up a few bags of sand at HD to create a level pad for it and I should be good to go.

Ron-P

Here's the one I bought...
http://www.amazon.com/Intex-12-Foot---30-Inch-Family-Round/dp/B000BVKO0E/ref=sr_1_10?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1309889864&sr=1-10

Jstas

My neighbor has that PVC one you posted Ron.

The grass doesn't grow back. Maybe it would if he put some effort in to it but, he doesn't. Too busy plowing the "north 40" of a vegetable garden he has. Then again, you need to have it on level surfaces otherwise, the clumps of rotting grass get compacted by the massive weight of the water and they turn in to vinyl covered diamonds with a penchant for big toes.Or at least it seems that way! You'll have to do sand underneath. Not play sand either. That will chew up the liner. Since the liner is the pool, that's bad. You need construction sand that's real fine. Don't use vermiculite either. It may be soft but the little shards of quartz crystals are like glass knives and your liner will leak.

Anyway, yeah, it needs a level surface because the piping frame cantilevers against the outward pressure of the water in the giant sack draped over it.

I wouldn't put it on concrete or you'll end up with numerous leaking pin holes in the liner as well from the concrete. Not only will the concrete surface poke through but the movement of the water shifts the liner around and it rubs on the concrete. That wears out the liner and causes stress tears that leak as well.

Lastly, DO NOT put it on a deck. The deck would be insanely expensive to support the weight. Also, you need to leave gaps in the decking to allow the wood to expand and contract with temperature. The weight of the water would start squeezing the liner through the gaps like a bunch of really long, blue zits. Also, the weight will eventually compact the decking and cause bowing in the structure. That causes nail pops and screws to start tearing out. That causes nail heads, splinters, splits and screw heads to poke through the liner as well.

But I will say, those are fairly easy to put up and take down, just tedious and you'll be humpin' it on hot days. If you get any kind of autumn weather like we do here, you have to have it down by mid-September or one good autumn blow and you'll have an empty pool that looks like a deflated pincushion with branches sticking out of it.

But yeah, best to pick a spot you don't mind bringing desolate destruction to and set it up in the same spot every year. My neighbor powers his filter with an extension cord coming out off the outside outlet at the back of his house. Every time it rains when the filter is on, he pops the breaker. Not exactly safe so you might want to see about a ground-faulted outlet installed properly near the pool filter. And by "might want to see" I mean you probably should see and by "probably should see" I mean, install a ground faulted outlet the proper way.

tonyb

I still don't get it Ron, while that pool will do you fine for what you want it to do, aren't you pretty much in a year round climate for swimming ?

Your gonna get tired of replacing grass, get it looking good, then sticking the pool on it again next year only to kill it again....and repeat that process every year.

Jstas

Ron-P wrote: »

$124.95, free shipping for the 12'x30" and it will fit in the yard without any damage, other than to the grass, which I can grow back. I'll pick up a few bags of sand at HD to create a level pad for it and I should be good to go.

Dude, a few bags of sand?

A 12' circle with enough sand to level it (about 3-4" deep)? That's about 16,286 square inches. Or around 113.1 square feet. Add that to a dept of 3" and you have 48,858 cubic inches. Or 28.275 cubic feet. If a single 30 pound bag of sand covers the average of 30 square feet at a 1" depth, that's about 2.5 cubic feet per bag. That's about 12 bags of sand. or 1.1 cubic yards of material At 30 pounds each, that's 360 pounds. You really want to hoof all that yourself?

BTW, you may need 4 inches depending on how lumpy your ground is. I' would dig a 12' by 3" hole, level it out and dump the sand in there to make sure it was flat and level.

Ron-P

Jstas, as for all those concerns about wearing on the liner. I have a super-heavy duty tarp that will go down first. This should do a fine job at protecting the pool itself. I also have the proper outdoor outlet for power.

I'll just use the cheap-o play sand as I will lay the tarp down first. Part of it will be on my concrete patio but it is 6" thick with an 8" thickened edge, wire reinforced ontop of a 3/4" gravel bed. This thing will not damage the concrete.



Tony, no we are not. Winters here are pretty damn cold and wet. Not good pool weather. As for the grass, I don't care about it much. I almost did away with all of it and laid sand instead to give it a tropical beach look.

Ron-P

Jstas wrote: »

Dude, a few bags of sand?

A 12' circle with enough sand to level it (about 3-4" deep)? That's about 16,286 square inches. Or around 113.1 square feet. Add that to a dept of 3" and you have 48,858 cubic inches. Or 28.275 cubic feet. If a single 30 pound bag of sand covers the average of 30 square feet at a 1" depth, that's about 2.5 cubic feet per bag. That's about 12 bags of sand. or 1.1 cubic yards of material At 30 pounds each, that's 360 pounds. You really want to hoof all that yourself?

BTW, you may need 4 inches depending on how lumpy your ground is. I' would dig a 12' by 3" hole, level it out and dump the sand in there to make sure it was flat and level.

Dude, that's way over kill for this thing. My in-laws and neighbors placed there's directly on their lawns with no prep, not even leveling, and it worked just fine. I'll do a bit of work, but no where near all that.

At $125 I'm not too worried. If it lasts a couple of years I'll have gotten my monies worth.

steveinaz

Ron, get you a Taylor test kit--best 65 bucks you'll spend on a pool. Those "go/no go" $9 testers aren't worth a darn, they don't tell you actual levels--same with test strips---worthless. And, no--you don't need a high-end pool to need a good test kit.

Most of all--ENJOY!

Ron-P

I went ahead and canceled my order for the pool. I want to do a bit more research before "jumping in".

steveinaz

Not a bad idea Ron. Go hit the pool forums. You'll need a solar cover as well to get that pup warmed up quicker.

Feel free to email or PM me with questions.

Jstas

Ron, my family had a pool, actually a couple above ground pools, in my parents backyard from the time I was 10 until last year. 23 years. We learned alot of the do's and don't do's the hard way in that time because of bad advice given to us by various people, including "pool experts". I'm just trying to pass on my hard earned experience and save you some trouble.

As far as your concrete, if you think the grass lumps will be hard, concrete will be worse. But since you keep bringing up weight, 2115 gallons at 8.34 pounds per gallon is roughly 17,639 pounds of weight. Even if it's just a small section of the pool on the concrete, the level is quite high.

Most normal driveways won't support that weight long-term, without cracking let alone a backyard patio. Just a thought.

Ron-P

Thanks bro. I think what I'll do is order up the smaller pool, the 10'er and that way it will be 100% on the grass. My grass is very level other than a few areas that are dead thanks to the dogs.

If I can keep it on the grass that should work really well and only require a little leveling.

faster100

all good scenario's here and suggestions. RON we have several of the small easy up pools for the kids and us. Same requirments you seem to have. we also live in florida..

Just a few things,

is it easy as you think to put up? yes, taking it down makes it almost impossible to reuse unless your real careful and take your time

will it kill the grass forever as stated? Yes, weird but we still have a spot 2 years later,

can you put it on grass? yes but really the least bit of slope really makes it lean, more then you would think. make it level best you can

Id do it for the 10 footer, as its the easiest way to get wet in the summer. the 12 footer and up are big and a pain to maintain.

get a good cover or the sun leaches all that chlorine out quickly

you will need, test kit, i bought the cheapie. soda ash eventually, ph plus eventually, all to maintain the ph. stuff to keep the slime down.. you will get it.

Not an expert, they are fun and we loved it. But after several years gave up as way to much work. good luck

steveinaz

The Taylor kits will measure:

FC...Free chorine (chlorine available for fighting germs)
TC...Total Chlorine (combination of FC+CC)
CC..combined chlorine (chlorine that is fighting something, ie algae, germs, etc)
pH...a measure of the acidity or alkalai of your water
TA...Total Alkalinity (corrosive or scaling condition)(controlled to stabilize pH)
CA/CH..Calcium hardness--non-issue with vinyl pools unless it percipitates (becomes flakes) into the water
CYA...Cyranuric acid level (aka: Conditioner, Stabilizer) used to protect chlorine from the sun

ALL of these numbers are needed to properly maintain a pool. With a pool that small, I'd seriously consider using plain clorox bleach to sanitize. It's cheap, it's far safer than powdered chlorine, and no mixing!

Ron-P

I went to Target to check there's, go figure better prices than Amazon, but no 10'ers. But, right on the box a big warning...Do not put on sand. So, that means dirt. Hopefully my neighbor that is doing a huge room addition still has excess I can wheel down.

Thanks for all the tips guys, greatly appreciated!!!

Jstas

Huh. My neighbor put his on sand. Wonder if it's different?

steveinaz

Wow, never heard of NOT putting them on sand. That's odd.

tonyb

They sell salt water conversion kits for those pools too. Might be worth a look see and save some coin on chemicals. Some of the people I know with these pools all complain about the same thing. The filtering system they give you with it is el cheapo, nothing more than a canister style like you may see in a small hot tub. Anyway, it may serve your purpose just fine as is.

Ron-P

I don't understand the "no sand" either and I cannot find any info on their website so far. I may just call and ask. I'd love to do sand as it'd be so much easier and faster.

joeparaski

I give two thumbs up for the salt water pool option. My pool is set up on sand, not grass, it stays up all year round although the water level is reduced for the winter. It's a 27' diameter by 52" tall. Wifey likes the pool when it's at 78 degrees and above and I'll go in as low as 68 degrees or so. May need to get some kind of heating system for it though so my wife will use it more.

Joe