Above ground pool - Page 1

Posted: 4/21/2017 1:58:03 AM EDT

I'll soon be installing a 21' x 54" above ground pool. I've done in ground pools before but never an aboveground.

Current plan is to set it 8" in the ground to maintain 48" out of the ground height.

Things I'm unsure of:

Is thicker better when it comes to the liners?

They have 20, 25 and 30 gauge liners. The 30 gauge is an expanding liner which I guess you would use of you wanted to fish out the center to make the pool deeper. I don't think I'm going to do that so was leaning toward the 25

Which type of liner is best?

There seem to be several types of liners as far as how they attach. There is overlap, v-bead, and snap bead. Not sure if any of these are preferable over the other. I've worked with the regular snap bead liners for inground pools

Can I use a Portland sand mix like what is used for inground pools?

I don't see how you could keep the bottom smooth by just using stamped sand

TIA

Posted: 4/21/2017 3:47:07 AM EDT

[#1]

As far as sand, I used 2-3" mortar sand when installing my pool at previous house. I rough graded it, wet it down, then tamped.

I then fine graded and troweled it, much like you do with concrete. I still got footprints after liner/water was installed.

Posted: 4/21/2017 6:22:18 AM EDT

[#2]

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Quoted:
As far as sand, I used 2-3" mortar sand when installing my pool at previous house. I rough graded it, wet it down, then tamped.

I then fine graded and troweled it, much like you do with concrete. I still got footprints after liner/water was installed.

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Yeah I kinda figured there was no way you could keep footprints out with straight sand. Thanks for confirming

Posted: 4/21/2017 7:43:14 AM EDT

[#3]

I've never installed one, but I watched my neighbors install one. They smoothed the sand with a rake. Got it pretty smooth. Then built it up. The bottom is all footprints now after 5 years of kids playing and using volleyball net.

Posted: 4/21/2017 2:35:00 PM EDT

[#4]

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I've never installed one, but I watched my neighbors install one. They smoothed the sand with a rake. Got it pretty smooth. Then built it up. The bottom is all footprints now after 5 years of kids playing and using volleyball net.

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I wouldn't mind the footprints but they trap lots of dirt

Posted: 4/21/2017 9:44:49 PM EDT

[#5]

Bump for answers

Biggest question is liner gauge and type

Posted: 4/22/2017 9:33:03 PM EDT

[#6]

I installed a agp 3 years ago. No foot prints yet and I have a 20mil expandable overlap liner. The thickness and weight of a liner have a lot to do with the quality. 20gauge isn't as thick as 20mil. Also whether they use virgin vinyl or Some of the cheaper ones use recycled vinyl.

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24ft round 6ft deep doughboy pool. Trouble free pool.com is also a great website to get some advice. Link

Posted: 4/22/2017 10:37:18 PM EDT

[#7]

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Quoted:
I installed a agp 3 years ago. No foot prints yet and I have a 20mil expandable overlap liner. The thickness and weight of a liner have a lot to do with the quality. 20gauge isn't as thick as 20mil. Also whether they use virgin vinyl or Some of the cheaper ones use recycled vinyl. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/464188/20160521-205003-193149.JPG
24ft round 6ft deep doughboy pool. Trouble free pool.com is also a great website to get some advice. Link

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That site is great. I found it a few years ago

I'm planning on a small deck on one side. If love to see a close shot of how yours is built of you have any

Posted: 4/22/2017 11:56:53 PM EDT

[#8]

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Posted: 4/23/2017 12:01:31 AM EDT

[#9]

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Posted: 4/23/2017 12:14:45 AM EDT

[#10]

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@Effenpig

Posted: 4/23/2017 12:38:15 AM EDT

[#11]

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@Effenpig

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That's pretty neat and gives me some ideas

I was considering getting an expandable liner and fishing the bottom out but I'm not sure we really need the extra depth

Posted: 4/23/2017 12:38:17 AM EDT

[#12]

I also bought led lights and attached them under the rails. They are ip68 (water proof ) and low voltage so no risk of getting them wet and you can have pretty much any color you want.

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I built a shed for the pump,filter, heater, controls, chemicals and all the other pool stuff. It's great! You never hear the pump running and it's protected from the elements.

I did everything myself start to finish. The deck cost more than the pool but I put a pretty big deck around it. It just makes it easy to clean and nice to have space for when entertaining. I'm guessing the project cost around 15k including the shed. We never really had a set budget but that's a ballpark figure.

Posted: 4/23/2017 12:47:13 AM EDT

[#13]

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Quoted:

That's pretty neat and gives me some ideas

I was considering getting an expandable liner and fishing the bottom out but I'm not sure we really need the extra depth

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Personally I wish I would have made mine deeper. The max above ground pool liners can go is about 7ft. But I'm still happy with it and would put another one in if we move to another house someday.

Posted: 4/23/2017 2:39:03 AM EDT

[#14]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5orvamhsgOY

Posted: 4/24/2017 12:01:13 AM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:

Personally I wish I would have made mine deeper. The max above ground pool liners can go is about 7ft. But I'm still happy with it and would put another one in if we move to another house someday.

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Did you put a 45 degree cove at the base? If so, sand or prefab foam?

Posted: 4/24/2017 8:03:00 AM EDT

[#16]

Prefab foam that was 45°. Got it from the pool store.

Posted: 4/24/2017 2:06:29 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
I also bought led lights and attached them under the rails. They are ip68 (water proof ) and low voltage so no risk of getting them wet and you can have pretty much any color you want.https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/464188/20160722-210659-193318.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/464188/20160405-200033-193319.JPG I built a shed for the pump,filter, heater, controls, chemicals and all the other pool stuff. It's great! You never hear the pump running and it's protected from the elements.

I did everything myself start to finish. The deck cost more than the pool but I put a pretty big deck around it. It just makes it easy to clean and nice to have space for when entertaining. I'm guessing the project cost around 15k including the shed. We never really had a set budget but that's a ballpark figure.

View Quote

Do you have a link for the lights?

Posted: 4/24/2017 3:55:16 PM EDT

[#18]

Couple things to consider:
-A thicker liner will last longer and block out a little more sunlight to the bottom for weeds.
-After you dig out your dirt and before you fill with sand, spray some industrial weed/grass killer and let it sit for a few days before filling with sand. This will help prevent weeds from growing up through your liner. We did not do this originally when we put our pool in. After 2 years, we were replacing the cheap thin liner that came with the pool setup due to thistle weed (hard to kill bastards). Removed old liner, hand removed weeds that we could see, sprayed with weed/grass killer, let set for about a week. Added more sand and re-raked it to smooth out. Replaced w/ thicker liner.
- Consider going Salt Water instead of Chlorine. Every year we were spending $400-$600 a year on pool chems. Put in a Salt Water system, which just added into the regular pump/filter system. Spent around $40 the first year to get balanced out. Every year after that was about $15-20 for salt. This is the system we had, Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System. Around $120 on Amazon

Posted: 4/24/2017 5:55:07 PM EDT

[#19]

What type of pool did you use that Inex salt system with?

Posted: 4/24/2017 9:18:19 PM EDT

[#20]

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Quoted:
What type of pool did you use that Inex salt system with?

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Above ground, vinyl liner. Had no problems what so ever.

Posted: 4/25/2017 1:38:33 AM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
Couple things to consider:
-A thicker liner will last longer and block out a little more sunlight to the bottom for weeds.
-After you dig out your dirt and before you fill with sand, spray some industrial weed/grass killer and let it sit for a few days before filling with sand. This will help prevent weeds from growing up through your liner. We did not do this originally when we put our pool in. After 2 years, we were replacing the cheap thin liner that came with the pool setup due to thistle weed (hard to kill bastards). Removed old liner, hand removed weeds that we could see, sprayed with weed/grass killer, let set for about a week. Added more sand and re-raked it to smooth out. Replaced w/ thicker liner.
- Consider going Salt Water instead of Chlorine. Every year we were spending $400-$600 a year on pool chems. Put in a Salt Water system, which just added into the regular pump/filter system. Spent around $40 the first year to get balanced out. Every year after that was about $15-20 for salt. This is the system we had, Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System. Around $120 on Amazon

View Quote

We've been running the intex system for about 5 year now. The only maintenance I do beside adding a 40 lb bag of salt at the beginning of the season is to vacuum once in awhile

We're just replacing the existing pool because it exploded. It lasted about 24 years

I've installed a few of the Hayward systems on ingrounds and talked a few relatives into making the switch. All in all I've been dealing with saltwater systems for over ten years. I haven't seen any of the so called "issues" that I hear about. Most of these "issues" are no doubt propagated by pool companies and pool chemical companies.

One of my customers had a huge inground pool installed last year. I asked them why they didn't do saltwater and they rattled off a bunch of reasons the pool company recommended against it.

Like I said, I haven't seen any issues myself in 10+ years

Posted: 4/25/2017 1:41:21 AM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:
Couple things to consider:
-A thicker liner will last longer and block out a little more sunlight to the bottom for weeds.
-After you dig out your dirt and before you fill with sand, spray some industrial weed/grass killer and let it sit for a few days before filling with sand. This will help prevent weeds from growing up through your liner. We did not do this originally when we put our pool in. After 2 years, we were replacing the cheap thin liner that came with the pool setup due to thistle weed (hard to kill bastards). Removed old liner, hand removed weeds that we could see, sprayed with weed/grass killer, let set for about a week. Added more sand and re-raked it to smooth out. Replaced w/ thicker liner.
- Consider going Salt Water instead of Chlorine. Every year we were spending $400-$600 a year on pool chems. Put in a Salt Water system, which just added into the regular pump/filter system. Spent around $40 the first year to get balanced out. Every year after that was about $15-20 for salt. This is the system we had, Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System. Around $120 on Amazon

View Quote

We have a lot of bamboo patches so that another reason I'm going to use a portland/sand base. That stuff is nasty. Shoots pop up overnight 20+ feet from the nearest patch

We've been running the intex system for about 5 year now. The only maintenance I do beside adding a 40 lb bag of salt at the beginning of the season is to vacuum once in awhile

We're just replacing the existing pool because it exploded. It lasted about 24 years

I've installed a few of the Hayward systems on ingrounds and talked a few relatives into making the switch. All in all I've been dealing with saltwater systems for over ten years. I haven't seen any of the so called "issues" that I hear about. Most of these "issues" are no doubt propagated by pool companies and pool chemical companies.

One of my customers had a huge inground pool installed last year. I asked them why they didn't do saltwater and they rattled off a bunch of reasons the pool company recommended against it.

Like I said, I haven't seen any issues myself in 10+ years

Posted: 4/25/2017 9:31:50 AM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:
I also bought led lights and attached them under the rails. They are ip68 (water proof ) and low voltage so no risk of getting them wet and you can have pretty much any color you want.https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/464188/20160722-210659-193318.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/464188/20160405-200033-193319.JPG I built a shed for the pump,filter, heater, controls, chemicals and all the other pool stuff. It's great! You never hear the pump running and it's protected from the elements.

I did everything myself start to finish. The deck cost more than the pool but I put a pretty big deck around it. It just makes it easy to clean and nice to have space for when entertaining. I'm guessing the project cost around 15k including the shed. We never really had a set budget but that's a ballpark figure.

View Quote

Looks very nice. Did you ground the pool and if so, how did you do it?

Posted: 4/25/2017 11:42:56 AM EDT

[#24]

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Quoted:

Do you have a link for the lights?

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Link
This site should have every thing you need. They also have drivers and boosters to keep the strip bright so you don't have voltage drops and it gets dim at the end of a run. Also the driver (power supply) needs to be rated at least 25% higher than what your demand will be. That way you won't burn up the power supply.

Posted: 4/25/2017 12:07:52 PM EDT

[#25]

I'm contemplating an indoor lap pool 12'x50'x52"

The salt systems seem ideal. What are they saying that is bad about them?

I'll be away from mine for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Maintenance will be an issue for me.

Posted: 4/25/2017 9:34:05 PM EDT

[#26]

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Quoted:
I'm contemplating an indoor lap pool 12'x50'x52"

The salt systems seem ideal. What are they saying that is bad about them?

I'll be away from mine for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Maintenance will be an issue for me.

View Quote

I've heard it will flat out destroy your pool, ruin concrete, fittings. Pretty much everything

Saltwater should be ideal for you since once it's running it requires very little maintenance. The only time you need to add salt is If you lose or drain water. I'm a large in ground pool you can do several backwash cycles before you would need to add more salt

A common misconception about saltwater pools is that the salt is concentrated like in the ocean. It's not, in fact you can barely even taste the salt in the water.

Posted: 4/28/2017 4:35:25 PM EDT

[#27]

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I've heard it will flat out destroy your pool, ruin concrete, fittings. Pretty much everything

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Thanks

I figure sunlight and debris are the main contributors to excessive pool maintenance. I hope being inside will eliminate most of it.

Posted: 4/29/2017 7:13:54 AM EDT

[#28]

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Quoted:

Thanks

I figure sunlight and debris are the main contributors to excessive pool maintenance. I hope being inside will eliminate most of it.

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The few people I know who put their pools indoors all told me the same thing: it's great for outside the regular season but during the summer they always wish it were outdoors.

Maybe two pools is the answer

Posted: 4/29/2017 10:47:46 PM EDT

[#29]

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Quoted:

The few people I know who put their pools indoors all told me the same thing: it's great for outside the regular season but during the summer they always wish it were outdoors.

Maybe two pools is the answer

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Not a bad plan.

I'm putting the pool under a high tunnel greenhouse. So if I get tired of the view or lack of, I could change it. I need to heat it in the Rockies and have it available year round. Also with my sporadic maintenance requirements I figure covered is best. No kids or any fun stuff with mine, just laps.

Posted: 5/1/2017 7:08:55 PM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:
I installed a agp 3 years ago. No foot prints yet and I have a 20mil expandable overlap liner. The thickness and weight of a liner have a lot to do with the quality. 20gauge isn't as thick as 20mil. Also whether they use virgin vinyl or Some of the cheaper ones use recycled vinyl. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/464188/20160521-205003-193149.JPG
24ft round 6ft deep doughboy pool. Trouble free pool.com is also a great website to get some advice. Link

View Quote

Get their test kit. Well worth it.

Posted: 5/1/2017 10:30:18 PM EDT

[#31]

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Get their test kit. Well worth it.

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I have it. Money well spent if you like having clear water.

Posted: 5/1/2017 11:28:04 PM EDT

[#32]

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Quoted:
I have it. Money well spent if you like having clear water.

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Quoted:

Quoted:

Get their test kit. Well worth it.

I have it. Money well spent if you like having clear water.

I have that test kit plus several others but nothing ever changes so I mostly just do a free chlorine check every few days

I've considered getting a salt meter but I got mired in research. IIRC most of the meters really just read dissolved solids. In guess I don't really need one, I just add a 40lb bag of salt at the beginning of the season and 20lbs of the low salt light comes on.

Something like 3000 ppm is ideal for the intex system IIRC.

I usually have it set to run 3 hours a day

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