Hi all, my name is Mike and I just thought I'd introduce myself. My wife and I have had an Intex 16' pool since 2003 and have thoroughly enjoyed it, however we had a son in 2005 and another son in 2008 and last year the pool started to seem crowded so we decided to put in an oval, we had the perfect nook in our backyard between the garage and our bar-b-q deck to fit a 15x30. So once the size was settled, I began online shopping, I ended up ordering a Fijian from http://www.familypoolfun.com, a great company to do business with by the way. I devoured all the install information I could find online and decided that I had to have my ground perfectly. I borrowed a friend's tractor and box blade and bought a transit. I got the ground to within less that 1-1/2 inches of level with the tractor, I used the dirt to build a berm the length of the pool to drain water away from it and the I crowned my garden with the remaining dirt. Now out came the 8 foot 2x4, 4 foot level and square billed shovel. I obsessed over this for some time, the wife was a trooper dropping whatever she was doing to hold the grade stick. I got the ground to +/- 1/4" with a shovel, got my pavers planted, I decided to add extras too, 1/2 way between each upright. I also got the buttresses planted. At this point I was stressed to the max and didn't have enough extra manpower to roll out the wall and drop the liner. I called a local installer who was very nice, he said he'd finish the job for $450, I looked at it as tuition so I could do it myself in the future, He came out, checked my work, then offered me a job which I declined. Anyway, the wall went up like I figured, but I really got an education on liner installs, I had a J-hook that was a little tight. Once it was hung, Mark said put about 5" of water in and let it sit, we'll come back in the morning and cut in the skimmer. Well, they showed up bright and early Friday morning and Mark wasn't satisfied at how the liner looked after "settling" so he asked if it would be ok to come back the following Tuesday and pump out the water and rehang the liner. I said thats fine with me and thanked him for not just saying that's good enough or blaming me for what I'd done before he got there. Besides it was great opportunity to let the boys use it as a giant slip and slide. Anyway, the next Tuesday, they showed up got the liner perfect and cut in the skimmer and return. I the preceded to destroy my skimmer, return and old sand filter by over tightening my threaded PVC fittings into them, I guess brawn isn't always an asset. Anyway, I got a Hayward 24" sandfilter, thanks to advice recieved here, to replace the old Waterway 19" I had so it wasn't the end of the world. Man is that thing HUGE compared to the Waterway. Oh well, here some pics, I'll post 3 at a time.
An introduction and build pics
- Thread starter Dupjr
- Start date
Good job on the pool install. Looks like it will be lots of fun for the kids!!!
Cheers
Cheers
Thanks for the warm welcome! It was a major blow to my pride to hire someone to do some work on my place. I'm a big time do-it-yourselfer, I built everything on my property you see in the pictures besides the pool. I guess I was in need of some humbling! Poolidiot, if you live in the Tomball area, I'd lend a hand changing a liner, but I don't think I'm qualified to just come and do it for you!
Nice job!, I ordered the Tahitian from familypoolfun, can't wait to install.
Which Liner is that, is that the Grand Tile? (That's the liner I picked, and am curious what it looks like with the water full)
Do you have any pictures of what it looks like with the water full? or sun on it?
Which Liner is that, is that the Grand Tile? (That's the liner I picked, and am curious what it looks like with the water full)
Do you have any pictures of what it looks like with the water full? or sun on it?
I plan to build a 10x16 deck down the south side of the pool. That's the opposite side the pump is on. I'm going to build it just like my bar-b-q deck, but I don't want to lay out anymore cash on the pool right now. I may do it late summer, but will probably start in January, shouldn't take me but a couple days, it's something I can do myself efficiently. I plan to use the remaining pool budget on chemicals......LOL. Actually, I just want to enjoy the pool for awhile, then later I can appreciate the deck separately from the pool. Then I will be out of major outdoor projects and will probably move so I can start over.
Beep, it is the grand tile liner. The sun is not out right now or I'd take some pics for you. I'll try Sunday when I remove the solar cover to change the skimmer and return.
A couple more pics, realized I didn't have a side view and also a picture of the sun on the water for beep. Beep, the grand tile liner looks great in any light to me, I'm very pleased! Now that I've replaced the skimmer and return, the pool is ready to enjoy. We actually hopped in for about 15 minutes yesterday, the water was 70 but it didn't feel too bad. If the trees would quit dropping those pollen buds, life would be great!
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Hey Dupjr,
Great Pic's, looks awesome!
I love the deep blue color of the water.
I can't wait to get mine setup!
Unfortunately I live in the great white north, so it won't be for another month!
But it has given me something to look forward to.
Great Pic's, looks awesome!
I love the deep blue color of the water.
I can't wait to get mine setup!
Unfortunately I live in the great white north, so it won't be for another month!
But it has given me something to look forward to.
Beep, you'll Love it, you have pleny of time to level your ground, I started at the end of January with the intention of taking my time and hopefully getting done by April, it goes pretty quickly once you get the hang of it. If you're doind your own build, start out with a transit or laser lever, it'll save you alot of headaches. I knew terrain can fool the eye, so I borrowed a buddie's transit, I liked having one so much I quickly bought my own.