Hello, back again with questions !

[Miskatonic]

Hi, I was here a while back asking about above ground pools but I ended up moving house and never got around to putting one in. Now we're in a new place and we'd definitely like to put in a pool. We've had quotes from companies to put them in ranging from too expensive to ludicrously expensive and, being as we're both currently not working, we've decided we have more than enough time to do the job ourselves.

I've recently got a bunch of quotes from manufacturers for felt backed 2mm pvc lining and plan to go the heat gun route to line a pool, however I have a lot of questions before we get going. Hopefully some of you good folks can help us out !

Finally, before the questions, our pool is going to be roughly 4.5 by 3 metres and 1 meter deep shelving to 1.7 or thereabouts. Not a massive surface area, about 45 sqm of pvc lining should more than cover it including steps etc.

1) Do we need to use gunite/rebar etc for a pvc lined pool or can we just dig, breeze block/cinder block then line that with a coat of plaster or so and then stick the pvc to top rails to hold it on at the pool ? Does anyone have any experience with using PVC who could help us ? I was thinking we could probably just dig deep then pour concrete in for the base and make the balls from concrete filled cinder blocks. does this sound ok ?

2) would an above ground pool made of cinder block (sorry if that's the wrong term, we call them breeze blocks in europe but i'm aware this is a mostly US forum) hold itself okay ? it's a lot of digging to do for us for an in ground pool but i was thinking it'd be a lot stronger. However, we cannot in any way get a digger to our garden so we're going to have to dig it out ourselves. it's a lot of work I think so would like some thoughts on above ground building, too, if anyone has any experience with this.

3) I've seen a lot lately about no main drain in pools, with people having skimmers and inlets/outlets instead on the side. this would be great for us as I know plumbing isn't rocket science but I'm no mario and although I'm totally confident with it to a greater extent (i plumbed my house and it's not leaked yet) I am reticent to put in a main drain then bury the plumbing under the pool. If something goes wrong we're up a certain creek without a paddle. So, is it fine to use just side jets and suction to circulate the water ?

4) going on from point 2, what is the sort of pump we would need ? I've heard a varispeed pump is best, some sort of eco brand, that will save us about 90% compared to a main drain and a larger pump going full bore 1/2 the day or so.

5) We would ideally like our dog to be able to swim with us, although the people who quoted us for PVC have said they'll throw in enough for us to make a little dog pool adjoining the main one. Does anyone have any experience with dogs and pvc 2mil lining ? I think they'd probably get through cheaper pools quite easily but should be okay for 2mil, right ? (or wrong ?)

6) Finally, and this is an important point price and timewise, would we be just as simple going for an above ground setup like an intex pool and building some decking around it ? Does anyone know how long this kind of pool lasts ? We'd want something that lasts at least 5-10 years and I believe the PVC we're looking at is good for 10 years at least according to the manufacturer. However, building a pool IS a lot of work, however we do it, and I'd like to consider all options and these type of pools seem to be very reasonably priced.

I think that's all the questions (for now, there may well be more !) but we're definitely looking to get on with it this time and would like to get it done before the summer fully kicks in. Any and all help is much appreciated and before anyone calls us noobs or twits, well, bear in mind we all have to start somewhere and we're certainly keen to make a start and learn as we go

 

[Miskatonic]

we'd also, as briefly mentioned, really like to know how long an intex style metal frame above ground pool will last for. I've heard that a salt system is best but that the salt eats the metal supports, is this true ? We have hot summers and cold(ish) winters that get to around 5c (41f) and summers at as much as 43c (110f) but that's the extremes of both ends. could we keep the pool at a reasonable temperature all year round using a solar cover ? Would really like to get started on this asap but need a few pieces of helpful advice on this intex issue and the comments outlined above. As I've also mentioned we'd really love the dog to be able to swim with us, would this be impossible in an intex or does anyone on here let their pets in ? Our dog is big (alaskan malamute) so would need some steps to get in and out.

 

[pooldv]

I don't know that you will receive a lot of feedback for your first post. Those building practices are not commonly used to build pools in the US. There have been a few pool builds using cinder blocks, a search on cinder blocks in the search tool above right might yield some results. There are also a few folks with dogs that swim.

As for Intex, they usually last 3-5 years and many folks use the Intex sand filters and salt water chlorine generators with them. There are so e reports of rusting but it is more due to the inexpensive nature of the materials used than the salt. A solar cover will help a lot but maybe not enough at the lower end of your temp range.

 

[needsajet]

I know nothing about you but if you're considering block and liner, I'm guessing you and your partner have skills. I respect DIY by careful people very much.

But if you want to swim this summer, I would be thinking about an above ground kit pool, and I wouldn't be overly concerned about salt. All chlorinated pools have salt in them from the way chlorine is supplied to a residential pool. After a season of use, a liquid chlorinated pool runs anywhere from 500 to 1500 PPM salt. A saltwater chlorinated pool has 3,000 to 4,500 PPM salt. Seawater averages 35,000 PPM salt.

You can do it all without buying a saltwater chlorinator, by planning to use chlorinating liquid. My pool is about twice that size and I would be buying ~700 lbs of 12.5% chlorinating liquid per year for my 6-month season if I didn't have an SWG. On the other hand, the SWG causes faster upward pH creep, so I need ~100 lbs of 31% muriatic acid per year. The cost of liquid chlorine vs. SWC tends to be about the same if you divide the cost of the SWC across 5 years.

Hope this is helpful.