Above ground swimming pool.

[tvguy]

I guess chemicals are a skill you learn. My experience with an above ground pool found that I never could get the chemicals right, even with the pool guy coming every week. I had to keep up my MIL's pool after she passed away, and it was a 3 month mess. Even with what seemed like a snug solar cover, there were always leaves in it.

DW grew up with in ground and above ground pools and insisted any house we bought would not have a pool of any kind. We're the only one's on the block without one.

 

[lady9]

I've never had kids just appear that wanted to go swimming- the years of just knocking on someones door to see if the kid is home has been over here for a long while.
My neighbors use my pool when I am not here with my full blessing! Its there in the yard, might as well make use of it even if we are not home! One neighbor on one side is an older couple (60) and on the other side is a mom, dad and 5 year old who may also use the pool when they want.

I think I worded my response wrong-kids just didn't show up in a swimsuit and towel wanting to swim. They would knock on the door and ask to play with DD or DS and casually mention it would be fun to go swimming. When DD or DS asked, I would tell my child in front of the other child that his/her mom or dad needed to come down and at least sit on the deck while they swam. Then when the child went home to ask, he/she never came back. This was because our families didn't really know each other and these neighborhood "friends" seem to only want to be friends during the swim season.

 

[aprilgail2]

One thing we noticed was how much water we kept having to add, even though we kept the pool covered when we were not using it.

:

I add water after the winter to bring it back up to the right level and then I don't add water again the entire summer--- maybe you had a hole in your liner

 

[tefrench]

I would echo another poster who touted the salt water system. We have a 27' 54" pool, and can honestly say, it's not much work to maintain. Hubby put in 5 bags of pool salt this spring, and the levels are all fine, didn't need to add any chemicals at all.

Last summer, only twice the whole summer did he need to add any chemicals.

We have a cartridge filter system.

We love our pool, it's great family time and makes for a quick cool off when weeding

 

[brettgirl]

15X48 here in the sticks/mountains.......we love it....I found that the smaller the pool the harder it is to balance the chemicals. I have also found that the cheaper way of doing chemicals is wonderful-bleach, borax and baking soda. I usually use the regular stuff if I am not around to do the pool. We cover it with a solar cover when not in use since it is chilly here and have done the solar panel in the direct sun (not an expensive one)-it got holes so we did not use last year but it got very hot here so it was not a problem. We just replaced the liner after 10 years. Once you get use to doing the pool it is just like any other normal chore on your list and it is relaxing. We found it also a benefit as we tend to loose power and have here for days on end in the fall and winter and with a well, we cant flush toilets so we use the pool water in emergencies.

 

[lucigo]

I think maybe we should make one like Lucigo's so that it will fit on my shed roof instead of my house (shed roof is only 8 ft long and is in direct sun). I know dh won't want to drill holes in our roof to install the solar heater either. Our pool is in shade until 3-4 pm due to the trees in our back yard, so we really need a heater this year. We bumped up from 13x39 pool to 14x48 and it seems so much bigger!

I can send you more pictures if you need to see exactly how we hooked it up. Its made from black hoses, probably spent about $150 total on the whole contraption.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I never thought the chemicals were that hard to do and I was in my early teens when I started doing it. I grew up with a pool so I guess the safety and maintenance were just always present in my mind. When I was in my late teens the new landlord decided to remove the pool because he refused to pay the insurance for it.

I would suggest going to a pool store/center and letting them walk you through the setup and care. Some things may work better for your situation and you don't want to go in thinking "I can afford this" only to find out you need something specific and it costs more. They can tell you what the difference between filter systems, what the chemicals do and all that jazz.

You do have to remember those little hidden costs just like anything else, like others have mentioned your insurance, water, and electricity will go up. Then are you prepared for an emergency? Like if by some chance the pool springs a massive leak...would it flood anything important like a basement? Are your kids going to want all the fun toys because those add up pretty quickly too. Some places (so I hear, its been awhile) require safety measures to be put in place so that's something to take into consideration.

They're a lot of fun but starting from scratch is a big commitment, just take your time and get all the info you can before you settle on something.

 

[lucigo]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2903511

This thread has more detailed pictures and description of our solar heater.

 

[Kellydelly]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2903511

This thread has more detailed pictures and description of our solar heater.

Thanks! My husband is pretty handy so I think this may be the kind of system we will get/make.

 

[lucigo]

Thanks! My husband is pretty handy so I think this may be the kind of system we will get/make.

Hope it works out for you!

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We just installed our 3rd pool.

They have a long life but our 2nd one was a used one that we had bought, taken done & reinstalled. We got about 12 years out of it.

This one is 24 foot round like our others but 54" deep instead of the 48".
We have a deck around a 1/3 of it & flowerbeds & pavers around the rest & this area is surrounded by a wooden fence. We enter this area from the master bathroom & it is a gorgeous area.

We find it easy to maintain. After the initial startup yearly then we keep tablets in the floater& every 10 days I liquid shock & put in another chemical in it. We are under lots of trees so we have a leaf vacuum & use it often.
We also use a timer & run our filter lots.

Putting up a pool by yourself is a tough job. My husband & I did this one by ourselves In the Texas heat & it's no fun. We did install our other two so we knew what we were doing but it's not easy.

Our spot was level already but our pool is also sunken about 16" so we had to dig downto remove the old one & remove all the landscape pavers we had around it. That was a huge job.

We put foam on the sides, bottom & foam coving around the inside also to help protect the liner. It makes it so soft to have the foam on top of the sand under the pool. I'd recommend that. Also, remember to put the nut grass killer under the pool area as nut grass can grow up into the liner.

We love our pool & find the enjoyment & useage far outweighs the small time we use on maintaining it. Our water stays sparkly clear & we never have a problem. Just never get behind on chemicals , earlier is better than later. Shock after a big rain or heavy pool useage & run the filter as much as necessary.

 

[jeepnjudy]

I would echo another poster who touted the salt water system. We have a 27' 54" pool, and can honestly say, it's not much work to maintain. Hubby put in 5 bags of pool salt this spring, and the levels are all fine, didn't need to add any chemicals at all.

Last summer, only twice the whole summer did he need to add any chemicals.

We have a cartridge filter system.

We love our pool, it's great family time and makes for a quick cool off when weeding

Ditto on the salt system. We love ours and so much easier to maintain!

 

[tarheel618]

We just installed our 3rd pool.

They have a long life but our 2nd one was a used one that we had bought, taken done & reinstalled. We got about 12 years out of it.

This one is 24 foot round like our others but 54" deep instead of the 48".
We have a deck around a 1/3 of it & flowerbeds & pavers around the rest & this area is surrounded by a wooden fence. We enter this area from the master bathroom & it is a gorgeous area.

We find it easy to maintain. After the initial startup yearly then we keep tablets in the floater& every 10 days I liquid shock & put in another chemical in it. We are under lots of trees so we have a leaf vacuum & use it often.
We also use a timer & run our filter lots.

Putting up a pool by yourself is a tough job. My husband & I did this one by ourselves In the Texas heat & it's no fun. We did install our other two so we knew what we were doing but it's not easy.

Our spot was level already but our pool is also sunken about 16" so we had to dig downto remove the old one & remove all the landscape pavers we had around it. That was a huge job.

We put foam on the sides, bottom & foam coving around the inside also to help protect the liner. It makes it so soft to have the foam on top of the sand under the pool. I'd recommend that. Also, remember to put the nut grass killer under the pool area as nut grass can grow up into the liner.

We love our pool & find the enjoyment & useage far outweighs the small time we use on maintaining it. Our water stays sparkly clear & we never have a problem. Just never get behind on chemicals , earlier is better than later. Shock after a big rain or heavy pool useage & run the filter as much as necessary.

Can I ask the cost? Been debating installing one

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

Can I ask the cost? Been debating installing one

We ordered this pool online from Discount Pools Direct.
We were very pleased with their speed of shipment, the product & the way it was packed.

We ordered a Paradise 24 round standard package:

This was a higher priced pool.
There are cheaper ones on the webpage.
We went with better walls, wider uprights, a wider top rail, & a heavier gauge liner in a beaded print.
Filter, pump system, ladder , maintenance kit, vacuum hose ,etc are all included.
We also purchased foam pool pad, wall foam & foam coving to use when installing.
The total cost was $ 2887.

That is with us installing it ourselves.
If you get a installed pool add about $2000. more. Truthfully, I can see why they charge that much... It's not easy to put up a big pool. The ground must be leveled & it's hard to install without the walls crashing down & bending.

 

[micheallang]

We just installed our 3rd pool.

They have a long life but our 2nd one was a used one that we had bought, taken done & reinstalled. We got about 12 years out of it.

This one is 24 foot round like our others but 54" deep instead of the 48".
We have a deck around a 1/3 of it & flowerbeds & pavers around the rest & this area is surrounded by a wooden fence. We enter this area from the master bathroom & it is a gorgeous area.

We find it easy to maintain. After the initial startup yearly then we keep tablets in the floater& every 10 days I liquid shock & put in another chemical in it. We are under lots of trees so we have a leaf vacuum & use it often.
We also use a timer & run our filter lots.

Putting up a pool by yourself is a tough job. My husband & I did this one by ourselves In the Texas heat & it's no fun. We did install our other two so we knew what we were doing but it's not easy.

Our spot was level already but our pool is also sunken about 16" so we had to dig downto remove the old one & remove all the landscape pavers we had around it. That was a huge job.

We put foam on the sides, bottom & foam coving around the inside also to help protect the liner. It makes it so soft to have the foam on top of the sand under the pool. I'd recommend that. Also, remember to put the nut grass killer under the best above ground pool area as nut grass can grow up into the liner.

We love our pool & find the enjoyment & useage far outweighs the small time we use on maintaining it. Our water stays sparkly clear & we never have a problem. Just never get behind on chemicals , earlier is better than later. Shock after a big rain or heavy pool useage & run the filter as much as necessary.

I just wonder the quality of the pools you ordered now. What is your experience when buying an above ground pool. Can you share? And what is the best price do you suggest?
Thanks.

 

[katyjeka]

We love ours and have made some great memories. Once you get the hang of it, they are easy to maintain. We live in Western Pa. and the summers are not long enough to justify the cost of an in ground although our neighbors love theirs. I will agree having a deck around it makes the difference, nothings harder to get out of the pool than grass!!

 

[PatMcDuck]

We had one for about 10 years, and I did the pool maintenance, not DH. We had a DE filter, not sand. I liked it clean and sparkly, so I was on it all the time. After awhile, you get the whole routine down. I would open it each summer, and shock it, get it in balance, and then change the DE, 3-5 days after. Then I used to shock once a week, then vacuum, and completely empty the filter and replace the DE once a month. We used regular chlorine, I think one of the big tablets in a floating thingy.

We replaced the liner once, and only got rid of it when it needed a new filter pump. At that point, kids were in their teens and rarely used it. Some days now, I wish we still had it! But it is nice to have the yard back, and better for resale for it to be gone now. I think above ground pools are great. Ours butted right up to our deck, so we could walk out back door and into pool, without walking on the ground. (there was a railing and gate to control access on the deck).

PS we had only an 18' round, yard is small and that is what fit best.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

My simple advice:
#1 You have to really want a pool, then the maintenance and such won't seem a problem!
#2 You have to really want a pool, then say NO to uninvited quests when you need to. Simple as that!
My Husband is a do it yourself kind of guy. The best money ever spent was paying those guys to install our pool. From the ground dig, installation, to water fill.

 

[thoughty1955]

Most oswner spend between $600 and $3000 to buy a above ground pool, which does not consist extra charges for professional summer escapes pool filter pump.
This much less than the cost to shop for and set up and inground pool.
The very last price for installation of an above ground pool depends on an expansion of things.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Most oswner spend between $600 and $3000 to buy a above ground pool, which does not consist extra charges for professional installation.
This much less than the cost to shop for and set up and inground pool.
The very last price for installation of an above ground pool depends on an expansion of things.

Newbie, why did you bump a FIVE year old thread? I think the OP has resolved her issue by now.