deck options for our AGP

[jolly1227]

Good morning!

We are about to put our new pool. Have cut away a hillside and will have a portion buried on one side- mostly open on the other. I'm not too worried about wall pressure from soil. Where we live in KY, the dirt (under what little topsoil is in place) is a very sticky hard clay. It doesn't move easily, wet or dry, with anything short of a backhoe. Once it gets settled, it stays in place. We are decking on the buried side of the pool. After looking at several threads, I am looking for advice before I begin. Specifically, is there now a recommended way to place the decking near the pool wall (meaning run the boards over the rail, level with rail, or place under the rail) What are the pros and cons, winter cover issues, etc.

I realize that on some other thread I missed this has probably been discussed. If so point me there. Thanks

 

[8corneflakes]

we had the same vogue pool and built a deck around it. My husband built it to extend over the edge. The decking ended up almost resting on the top rails. Four years in, we experienced why this was a problem. We had to replace the liner and of course had to remove the decking to get the top rails off. Also, one of our posts sank a bit and actually ended up putting pressure on the top rail. I'm thinking if we did it all over again, we would extend it over the rails so there is no trip hazard, but would have lifted it up quite a bit to create enough clearance to remove the rails if needed. What a difference a deck makes!