Above Ground Pool

[theboman]

I think we're about to get ourselves an above ground pool.... We'll have to level the area and any thoughts, comments, how-to stuffies is greatly appreciated. Of course I'll wanna use the B-7500 with FEL/BB to do all the digging, lifting, scraping etc. It won't be major digging but a few inches for sure.

 

[boggen]

you are going to eat "summer pricing" in purchasing a new pool. if you could wait till say fall, when prices drop to clear out inventory. pools can drop in half for the materials.

if you get a packaged deal for materials (sides, liners, filters, pump, and like) everything can be fairly simple to put together. but you also take a hard cut in what is used.

if the pool is going to be permanent setup. and say drained during winter. i would go over to Koiphen.com and check out some folks "pond builds for koi" were they use bottom drains, and DIY filters. and different setups than pools. folks there tend to be heavy on the DIY ((if it can be done DIY style someone there on koiphen most likely has done it and posted a picture guide in how they did it)). and can save half the cost on many things in building a pond. granted pools are different in filter types. and how you maintain water. but it might be worth your time to look over things.

as far as above ground pool, make sure you get things level. and if you need to grade stuff out. only dig down as much as you need to and if possibly never beyond what you need to dig down. if you dig out more than what you need to avoid settling problems. make sure you compact everything good.

to be honest, i will not have a pool nor pond without a bottom drain on it. it creates extra work and costs a little more to setup correclty for easier maintance. but boy do they make things much easier to keep things clean. more so in ponds, but same thing for pools. and if this is going to be a temp setup thing during summers. you can get "retro bottom drains"

many times on Koiphen.com folks will buy a cheap pool cut holes in sides and like.to run a retro drain, and a skimmer line. and a hole or like in liner for a return line or 2. put there fish in it. while they build or repair there pond. there be many threads there that show pictures and step by step guides to things. and what to and not to use in certain things.

i hate to say it, but pools and more so how some of these pools get setup and installed with small size piping and large huge costly run pumps, and the filter sizing can be to small and a pain to clean just for a pool. and for me, many times this runs into ponds for fish. due to pool companies tend to know pools and think ponds are same way; WRONG. and can destroy a pond or rather make a pond for fish a nightmare to maintain. on the larger size ponds, folks swim with there fish.

you have many options. if you have a tractor, and little extra cash to spend for a good long term pool. check out your options for DIY style setups. it might take longer to setup, but most folks given some time and willing to learn, even novices never done it before, i have seen create stuff that put folks in the business to shame.

================

if the pool are for the kids while there young / teenage years. and you might only have pool for a couple years a cheap package deal might be worth it, for ease of setup and be done with it. but if you are looking for long term. and want to cut down your physical cost of operating it and maintaining it including maintenance / chore time to keep it clean. i would start looking away from packaged deals say from walmart and start looking at building a DIY pool from scratch and get into niddy griddy of things.

 

[20 20]

I think we're about to get ourselves an above ground pool.... We'll have to level the area and any thoughts, comments, how-to stuffies is greatly appreciated. Of course I'll wanna use the B-7500 with FEL/BB to do all the digging, lifting, scraping etc. It won't be major digging but a few inches for sure.

I've setup many above ground pools{side job at one time}. The biggest thing I can say is make sure you get things level right from the start. Once you have it level....... check again. What type of base are you planing to put down?

 

[theboman]

Base, I assume you mean the sand, so sand. We have very hard clay and figured to go with 3-4 inches of sand on the bottom.

I've done smaller pools years ago on already level ground. We're hoping of 18-24' diameter pool, and we've got our eyes on a couple of used...we take down and get for about 1/4 the price, I'm sure they'll need liners. One has BUNCHES of extras too...

 

[boggen]

Base, I assume you mean the sand, so sand. We have very hard clay and figured to go with 3-4 inches of sand on the bottom.

I've done smaller pools years ago on already level ground. We're hoping of 18-24' diameter pool, and we've got our eyes on a couple of used...we take down and get for about 1/4 the price, I'm sure they'll need liners. One has BUNCHES of extras too...

create a small low spot in center. and barely slope from outside to the center. makes it easier to drain and remove all water from pool. also allows muck to more likely sink to one location.

you can get a cheap 2" shower drain. and run to this low center spot. and run a pipe underneath the pool to just outside of it. and put a valve on. to make it much easier and quicker to drain it.

if you tee into this line and say hook up your pump to this drain for filteration. then you need a dome or a large grate that fits over the top. or you risk drowning. due to being stuck to the shower drain. generally recommend for most folks. to hook up another outlet or another drain on pool / pond and tee them together. so if someone some how manged to get stuck on one drain. there would be much less suction / force to hold them in place. due to water would be pulled form the other drain / outlet on the pool / pond. i know my local require above. i would think most local codes might require it as well.

if you have tee any inlets / outlets pipes together. never do so under the pool / pond but run all pipes back to a common spot and bring them up and out of the ground first place a ball valve on each one, then tee / wye them together. ((if you ever have to do maintenance on a pipe or fix a leak. this is the reason))

instead of running a single large pipe around pool / pond and teeing off were you want an inlet or outlet. it tends to be better to run individual pipe from each inlet / outlet all the way back to a common spot. ((deals with friction loss, and ability to control how much water goes were or comes from much easier)) it might seem like extra cost / work. but when ya fitting the muck either collecting at surface of water or on bottom. it will make a large difference to you.

currents are key helping to keep a pond / pool free of muck. it is not about how big and power you have a jet of water coming out of some inlet on pool / pond.

TPR's (tangential point returns) and thinking of whirl pool like current going around in a circle and putting the returns so they shoot water down the length of walls vs pointed directly into center of the pool/pond. and hopefully a bottom drain hooked into filtration. can do wonders in helping keep dust, fine sand and like from collecting within the pool / pond. and no need for any sort of contraption to vacum the bottom of the pool.

a skimmer is required. and for me, a bottom drain is also required and not optional what so ever.

 

[WVBill]

I think we're about to get ourselves an above ground pool.... We'll have to level the area and any thoughts, comments, how-to stuffies is greatly appreciated. Of course I'll wanna use the B-7500 with FEL/BB to do all the digging, lifting, scraping etc. It won't be major digging but a few inches for sure.

I just did this for my neighbor. He's putting up a 15' above ground pool and needs a level 2" sand base.

The area he's putting the pool was grass and sloped about 4" from the high side to the low side.

We first laid out level lines on the three high sides of an 18'x18' area.
Then, using my Kubota B6100 with FEL and tiller, I first ran a tiller pass all over the area then scooped up the loosened sod with the FEL, transporting the spoils about 100' away.
Another couple of passes with the tiller on the high side and removal of the dirt with the FEL brought that side down to pretty close to level.
This took about 2 hrs.

He then had sand delivered and laid in and leveled the sand to a minimum 2" deep overall

 

[EddieWalker]

I did one that was four feet deep and 18 feet across. I loved it and enjoyed going out to my backyard to cool off and just float around on the water. It was so relaxing, and the best part was that I just had to walk out the house to use it.

Then like so many other things in my life, I found that I wanted to do other things and wasn't using the pool anymore. My ex and her daughter also lost interest in it after a month or so. Then it just sat there with me adding chemicals to it and cleaning it all the time. After summer ended, I drained it and gave it away.

I was sure happy to see it gone!!!!!

Eddie

 

[dodge man]

First off, you never drain an above groud pool, it will ruin the liner. Its left most of the way full even in the winter. If you buy a used pool, you will most likely have to buy a new liner, which is not a big deal. Normally, an above ground pool is not sloped toward the drain or anything else, its installed flat.

Rethink the sand. If you do put down a sand base, it has to be 100% PURE SAND. THERE CAN'T BE ANYTHING IN THE SAND LIKE SMALL ROCKS. The reason I cap locked that is its the most important thing. Any small rock, stick, bump etc will be felt in the bottom of the pool through the liner. Crawl around on your hands and knees and look for any foregin object. This is very imprortant. If you don't, you will have a crappy bottom in your pool, and worse, may have problems with holes in your liner. When my pool was installed the pool guy said NO SAND, and he crawled around and picked up every little thing, and we still have a couple of bumps in the bottom. It took the guy about 12 hours to level the bottom of the pool using my BX tractor and he had a helper. We have a 27 foot round pool, I wouldn't go any larger, and wouldn't go smaller than a 24 foot.

I would agree with the bottom drain idea. Get the correct sized filter and they aren't that tough to maintain. There is a lot to installing a pool, its something you can do it yourself, but I'd think about having a proffesional install it.

 

[Gizmo2]

We installing ours, the base twice. Thought I would use the tractor (JD650) with BH and FEL and all that did was make a big mess and disturb dirt that did not need to be disturb. Finally ended up filling in with crusher run and packing the heck out of it then added 3 inches of sand on top of the crusher run. The crusher run made for a heck of a base, nice and smooth and level, which made setting the upright pool supports real easy. More hands the better. My brother-in-law gave us a hand and after it was all done he mentioned he may install one at his house and if I would give him a hand, I told him to hire it done and I would pay half the cost for him helping me out.
If you are digging down make the sight about 2 ft larger.
A take down pool and reinstall sounds like a good deal, it's what you don't see is the bad part. Buy new and it will be there until you decide your tired of it, and you probably will be sooner than you think but maybe not.

 

[jwstewar]

I bought a 4' x 27' round pool June of 1997. Installed it at Mom & Dad's house - I still lived there at the time. Kept it up until I got married and moved in fall of '99. Sister kept it up for 2 or 3 more years and then it didn't get opened up at all. Summer of 2007 we took it down and moved it to our current house (OK, address, we've since built a new house). I leveled (I thought) the ground with the tractor and hauled in washed mason's sand - that is what you want. It will be a real smooth soft sand. Thought I had it level, ended up I was off about 1 - 1 1/2". Skimmer being on the high side. Makes me have to keep the water level fairly high. Other than that, the install turned out fine. We purchased a new liner from In the Swim. We bought the cheap liner thinking the pool probably wouldn't last too many more years. Should've upgraded to the heavier liner - it wasn't that much more money. Before we put the pool back up, I sanded and repainted all of the support posts and the top rails. I also noticed a little bit of surface rust around where the skimmer connects to the wall. I sanded that good and primed and painted it and small square around where the skimmer. Put the pool up and everyone thought it was a new pool.:thumbsup: I have an extra top rail, so I need to start swapping one out at a time and repaint the top rails again, but other than that the pool is still doing well at 14 years old. Still on the original Hayward filter and pump from '97. I took the deck off our house that burnt and put it up next to the pool and jacked it up. I then built and "addition" to the deck to make it curve around the pool and we added a deck ladder and that made it so much nicer getting in and out with a decent ladder as well as having a place for chairs and stuff to be able to sit and watch the kids.

We don't have a bottom drain in our pool, but we do in the Koi pond. Handy in the Koi pond, but I wouldn't do one in an above ground pool. The key to keeping a pool up is just like a tractor - find a good dealer. I have tests kits that I use, but I still rely on my dealer to tell me what I need to add. A good dealer can save you money by telling you what chemicals you need to add to get it in balance. If you try to do it yourself, you can waste a lot of my trying to throw chemicals at it because your water is green and you can't get it to clear up.

 

[AGGIE00]

We just put in an Academy 18' round pool with the inflatable ring at the top. $300 is cheap for a summer of fun with the kids. After the summer I'll throw it away and do it again next year. We have a fott of fall in 18' where I put the pool so I used the boxblade to gather up clay from the surrounding area and drug it in. I did use a rotating laser for grade and leveled it of with a straight edge with my wife's help. I didn't mess with sand and don't care about a few bumps in the bottom. We then put two pallets of sod around the pool so there wouldn't be mud from splashing water. Don't overthink it, it's simple and easily removed when the season is over.

 

[deepNdirt]

Quite allot of good advice given,

as the heat cranks up folks are putting these above ground pools in, Seems everyone has their own idea as to how they are suppose to be installed, and different pools have their own type applications, But regardless of the type pool is used , it all comes down to having the ground prepared correctly,
I been spending allot of seat time lately grading out for these pools, Just yesterday I spent 10 hours, what was supposed to had been 4 hours and a 20" deep grade on the high side of the pool wound up being 36" and this is of red clay, I hit the all everyone dreaded nightmare (granite) at 18" deep in an area of 72" across, the pool is to be a 24' so I leveled out 30' the HO insisted the pool go in this area, so he spent 4 hours with a jack hammer as I was scooping it away, we had to go down and extra 10" at the granite in order to get good soil over the top of it to assure no rocks work back through,

I start out using my disk harrow to loosen up the hardened surface then scooping out about 3" at a time, and then back to using the harrow etc,etc, when I finally got it down within 2" I then use the pulverizer on it, the pulverizer gets the ground back level and in plane, and then can start scrapping rather then digging, during this time I took breaks and to shoot the area my transit, the very last thing was to use a straight 2x3 12' long,and to locate a Pin at the center point of the pool area, on one end of the 2x3 I have a ring that slides down over the pin, and on the edge of the 2x3 I secured a alumn lightweight 4' level, I use to the 2x3 to drag in a 360* rotation to check for complete levelness,:thumbsup: The home owner was very please with the end results .... tired but pleased

 

[MNBobcat]

To install the pool (assuming round, not oval) drive a metal pipe in the ground as a stake where the center of the pool will be. If its 24 foot round, get yourself a 12 - 14 foot long 2x4 or some other long, straight edge about 12 - 14 feet long. Drill a hole in the end of the 2x4 and slip it over your center stake.

You now have a tool much like a compass you used in school as a kid. Set a 4 foot level on top of the 2x4 and then get on your hands and knees and start working that 2x4 around the center pipe in a circular fashion.

I recommend a sand base as it makes leveling much easier. It should only take an hour or two to get a perfectly level and flat 24 - 28 foot diameter circle where the pool will sit.

When installing the pool, you might want to set a paver block under each vertical support.

After you get the sides of the pool set up, spray the sand base down with water. Then jump inside the pool with a cement trowel and trowel out the base until its perfect. Install foam coping around the inside base of the walls to provide a nice slope for the pool liner.

You DO NOT NEED A FLOOR DRAIN. In the fall, install your winterizing chemicals and then drain the pool down about a foot below the skimmer opening. Throw on a winter cover and you're done. You don't drain an above ground pool. The only time you drain them is if you're replacing the liner which is only once about every 5 - 7 years. And even then, you use a garden hose as a siphon and it will remove all but the last few inches of water. Then pull the liner back and let the rest of the water spill onto the ground. No need for a drain and a drain is just one more spot it can leak.

 

[deepNdirt]

 

[theboman]

Lots of great advice, that's why I ask at TBN! The little girls is 5 and LOVES the water, Ms. Lu is the same... They are home a lot and want to entertain family and friends...me I need a place to do nothing for short bursts of time...

 

[dodge man]

The main purpose of the bottom drain is to help keep the bottom of the pool clean. You get a fine silt that falls to the bottom of the pool that you have to vacum up every few days. The bottom drain helps keep some circulation going in the bottom of the pool and keep this silt from forming so quickly. I agree it isn't mandatory. My only complaint about the bottom drain is its something to stub your toe on.

Plan on spending on average 1 to 2 hours a week maintaining a pool.

 

[boggen]

To install the pool (assuming round, not oval) drive a metal pipe in the ground as a stake where the center of the pool will be. If its 24 foot round, get yourself a 12 - 14 foot long 2x4 or some other long, straight edge about 12 - 14 feet long. Drill a hole in the end of the 2x4 and slip it over your center stake.

You now have a tool much like a compass you used in school as a kid. Set a 4 foot level on top of the 2x4 and then get on your hands and knees and start working that 2x4 around the center pipe in a circular fashion.

I recommend a sand base as it makes leveling much easier. It should only take an hour or two to get a perfectly level and flat 24 - 28 foot diameter circle where the pool will sit.

When installing the pool, you might want to set a paver block under each vertical support.

After you get the sides of the pool set up, spray the sand base down with water. Then jump inside the pool with a cement trowel and trowel out the base until its perfect. Install foam coping around the inside base of the walls to provide a nice slope for the pool liner.

You DO NOT NEED A FLOOR DRAIN. In the fall, install your winterizing chemicals and then drain the pool down about a foot below the skimmer opening. Throw on a winter cover and you're done. You don't drain an above ground pool. The only time you drain them is if you're replacing the liner which is only once about every 5 - 7 years. And even then, you use a garden hose as a siphon and it will remove all but the last few inches of water. Then pull the liner back and let the rest of the water spill onto the ground. No need for a drain and a drain is just one more spot it can leak.

drain or not to drain for winter. multi ways of going about it. and majorty of the time they can all work.

to note it though, above ground pool. can be drained completely or not and be fine. if this was an ""in ground pool"" it might be a different story. and would more likely encourage to keep pool full of water, and just lower water below skimmer level. so as not to risk a possible cave in.

as far as as a drain. i have to strongly dis-agree with you, and to me, ""just one more spot it can leak"". is a low blow compare to over all benefits it can provide in maintaining and keeping a pool or pond clean. i rather be doing something else than out there cleaning and doing chore work on a pond. if a pool or pond is a night mare to keep clean. then more likely stuff will not be done, and more likely it will be less enjoyable.

the generic everything in one box pre-made pool kits come to mind. as having the very bare essentials of having a pool. but at same time do not offer anything right out of the box. for long term easier to maintain pool and/or pond that could be much more enjoyable. a properly setup bottom drain / drains. and return lines and skimmer. can make life very simple. and change what might be 4 hours chore work a week to 30 minutes chore work. and only at some small cost compared to over all cost of pool / pond.

do not get me wrong. if this was a quick setup temp pond. that may only be there for a year or 2. why spend more cash. and just deal with the extra chore work for that time. but that extra chore work can put many folks off of liking a pool or pond.

 

[Matt_W]

I think we're about to get ourselves an above ground pool.... We'll have to level the area and any thoughts, comments, how-to stuffies is greatly appreciated. Of course I'll wanna use the B-7500 with FEL/BB to do all the digging, lifting, scraping etc. It won't be major digging but a few inches for sure.

I installed a used 30' pool in my yard last fall, used my B7610/BB/FEL to rough level the area then tried to use the manual method. A long board being spun from the center with a level on it to set a paver on each column. On the last paver I ended up being off about an inch! After stepping back/resting/thinking for a few days I rented a laser transit (put it in the center) and lifted/reset each paver again.
Try to keep it on undistrubed earth not digging more than you need.
I don't think you need a drain, just buy a winter kit and cover it for the winter.
I spoke with a man from the pool store who said put in 4" of sand, It turned out to be too much so my J hook liner would not fit properly, ended up pulling it over like a overlap liner is used to make it work.
The sand I used was mason sand, the wrong sand can create pin holes in your liner.
This was alot of work I don't want to do it again but enjoying the fruits of my labor now.

good luck!

 

[KubotainNH]

Time to put in my 2cents I got a free 18'x33'x42" pool that I needed to take down. Aside from the bees it wasn't too bad using my battery powered drill. I had the option of 2 free pools, I picked this one because of size and build quality. I can walk on the wall with no issues. It's an older Johnny Weisman, says JW on the covers. Love the size of it and went with the quality J liner. This is out 6th or 7th season and only needed to patch the liner once, did need to replace the pump at one point.

This had to be a low budget deal or it wouldn't have happened. The kids absolutely love the pool. Below is what I did to install it.

-used the tractor to level as much as possible, layed out the top horizontal pieces to get the size/exact location and piled fine sand in the middle area. My area is sandy where my house was built so I dug some sand up to use for the pool.
-set up the pool using a rented laser level to get the top of the vertical posts all the same height. I used 2x8x16 cement blocks under the uprights.
-I then added/spread out the sand to be close to level (using the laser level with beeper stick thing). I made sure the sand covered the blocks plus had a slope to the wall so no sharp edge.
-I then put down pink foam insulation, I think it was 1/4" and came folded up. Just a home depot buy. I didn't want to deal with rocks or roots and so far so good.
-Next put in the liner and started filling with the hose. I have town water which ended up much cheaper than a water tanker. Filling slowly gives you time to get as many wrinkles out as possible.

The other parts of this was having to run the pump wire to town spec plus a ground cable around the pool. The town had pretty good directions with the permit. I do not have a floor drain, I see no need for it because I don't know how permanent it will be. I did eventually add a deck which is nice to have. Other noted items, hear in NH a solar cover is a must. I also do not drain my pool for winter, just add the plugs and a strainer cover plus the bubble and winter cover. I started with Baquacil but hated it and it was expensive. I then went to what is called the BBB method (one B is bleach) at this site: Forum Index • Trouble Free Pool. Read the pool school section, it's great. Now I use a cheap Intex salt water generator and test the water a couple times a week. What takes the longest is vacuuming once in a while. As long as I keep the chlorine levels good through the season all I need is a quick shock at the end of the season and it holds the chlorine all winter. Just another quick shock in the spring and all is good. A good test kit is a must. Good luck!

 

[patriciathore]

Glad i joined this thread! I found great advice! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge about above ground pool.