16' x 48" DIY Project 24K Warning

Mar 16, 2013
25
Hello everyone. Wanted to take a min and thank all the fine individuals on this forum. I have enjoyed reading about the many projects discussed simultaneously getting educated about my own project along the way.

I thought I would show you my build real fast from start to finish. Well almost finish. I'm currently deployed to Kuwait and only have the pictures that I brought with me on my laptop. I didn't have pictures of the Hayward Skimmer or PVC plumbing work.

I followed the advice from the website and rented a sod cutting to remove the grass. Then I taped a level to a straight 2 x 6 to get it all nice and level.




Sorry I don't have the pictures to show the ground work done but we did like most folks and sunk 12" x 12" pavers level with the ground. I then had my dad bring over his surveyor's level. The pavers were all within 1/2" of each other. That was a huge relief.

Next we laid the heavy duty padding and tarp down. Then the pool went up. I filled it with water and added all the chemicals.







I knew from the start not to rely on the Intex cartridge filter to keep my pool clean. I purchased the the 14" Intex Sand/Saltwater setup and couldn't be happier. Pool as been beautiful all year.



Ended up using the canister filter to run my two solar heaters. This picture was before I hard plumbed and added the through the wall skimmer.



Next we added a little landscaping to blend the pool into the back yard.



We ended up building a little deck to have something to sit on during the evening with our feet in the water. Though I shouldn't, I love to jump off of it as well. It isn't very large but it is built really strong.







Deck was almost done.



Next I had to add a fountain. Just looked like too much fun to build. You can see the new skimmer in the first picture. LOVE IT





Finally a night shot.



If I had a larger yard I would have went with a bigger pool but to be honest the 16" fits really well and I think looks great too. I can't wait to get back home to enjoy it with my wife! Thank you all for looking!
 
Great pics, great looking pool! Lots of work early, but now it's just a little work, and a lot of enjoyment.

Thanks for sharing your build, but more importantly thanks for your service - everyone of us is grateful.

:goodjob: :cheers:
 
connie said:
What is the green trim along the bottom? I LOVE LOVE the set up!
Another Thank you from a military mom. Your service is greatly appreciated. God Bless you and your wife.

Thank you very much. My wife is actually in the Army too. Its kind of funny actually, I outrank her in the Army but she is always the commander at home :).

The green thing is just some metal landscaping edgers I picked up a Home Depot. They come with stakes you can drive in the ground. They are pretty sturdy. I used them mainly to keep the small wall from eroding into the pool wall. It also gives me something to weedeat up to without the danger of hitting the pool.
 
We got a new ladder for the pool. The intex ladder served it's purpose initially. It has started to rust and just really isn't that strudy.



My wife sure is doing a great job with the upkeep on the pool. She said that she vaccume it twice a week. I thinks it's time to get her an autovac. :)

 
sgtcampbelld said:
connie said:
What is the green trim along the bottom? I LOVE LOVE the set up!
Another Thank you from a military mom. Your service is greatly appreciated. God Bless you and your wife.

Thank you very much. My wife is actually in the Army too. Its kind of funny actually, I outrank her in the Army but she is always the commander at home :).

The green thing is just some metal landscaping edgers I picked up a Home Depot. They come with stakes you can drive in the ground. They are pretty sturdy. I used them mainly to keep the small wall from eroding into the pool wall. It also gives me something to weedeat up to without the danger of hitting the pool.

Well double blessings and thank you and of course she is the Commander in Chief at home. LOL I will need to look for the metal landscape now for next year. Maybe I can find it on sale. I know what you mean about the weed whacker. I end up doing so by hand. ugh. Like your wife I vacumn 2 times per week and am looking for an auto vac. Been looking on Amazon and Craigslist. Not in a hurry as this year is pretty much done for us swimming but for next year it will be great and add in a timer and wala just enjoy!

Be careful out there and again Thank you
 
I also thank you and your wife for your service. My nephew is currently in the Air Force stationed in Utah but working on assignment in PA.

I noticed in your pics, you made a water fountain. On other threads people have asked how someone would build a waterfall for AGP. How did you make your fountain?
 
mariane said:
I also thank you and your wife for your service. My nephew is currently in the Air Force stationed in Utah but working on assignment in PA.

I noticed in your pics, you made a water fountain. On other threads people have asked how someone would build a waterfall for AGP. How did you make your fountain?

Pictures speak a thousand words.... I'll have my wife take a picture of how I plumbed it and then I'll explain what I did.
 

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Could you tell me more about the solar heaters you have? I want to do something for next year and I like how compact yours are. What is the difference in water temp when using them? I would also like to use the old filter pump for running one.

Also more thanks to you and your wife for your service!
 
sgtcampbelld said:
mariane said:
I also thank you and your wife for your service. My nephew is currently in the Air Force stationed in Utah but working on assignment in PA.

I noticed in your pics, you made a water fountain. On other threads people have asked how someone would build a waterfall for AGP. How did you make your fountain?

Pictures speak a thousand words.... I'll have my wife take a picture of how I plumbed it and then I'll explain what I did.



Sorry I haven't posted any pictures yet or discussed how I made the fountain. My wife has been really busy. I'll try to get something posted soon!
 
sgtcampbelld said:
mariane said:
I also thank you and your wife for your service. My nephew is currently in the Air Force stationed in Utah but working on assignment in PA.

I noticed in your pics, you made a water fountain. On other threads people have asked how someone would build a waterfall for AGP. How did you make your fountain?

Pictures speak a thousand words.... I'll have my wife take a picture of how I plumbed it and then I'll explain what I did.

Here are the photos of my completed fountain. Sorry but I do not have any pictures of the build process.

I put the ball valve in so I can turn it off and on. It works like a charm. I can turn the ball valve to the fountain all the way open and then slowly close the Intex valve to direct more water to the fountain. With the Intex valve fully closed, the fountain will spray all the way across the pool. No need to ever operate it like that though. The only thing I did different than most people was use a mil to drill the holes in the PVC. I drilled one row of holes and then rotated the PVC 1/4" and then drilled another row of holes in-between the first row. It really makes a good looking fountain in my opinion. The mil also helped drill each hole the same so the spray pattern is more consistent than if you did it by hand. I also used 2" PVC instead of 1 1/4". I'm not sure if that helped but if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask!





I love this picture of the fountain.

 
TChess said:
What a beautiful pool. I am thinking of putting in solar heating as well, can you provide information on the heaters you used and the site used to purchase them.

Thanks

I used the GAME SolarPRO XD1. I purchased them from Amazon. Below is the link. I can't really comment on how well the warm the pool because I haven't been home. My wife seems to love them. I can tell you we haven't had any problems with them leaking or other issues. We are running them with the small Intex pump that came with the pool. It's nice because if the pool is really warm we can just keep that pump off and the filter pump can run as scheduled.

I don't think you can buy the two heaters as a kit any more. You would have to buy them individually if you wanted two of them. If you plan to run them with one of the small Intex pumps don't worry about the bypass kit. Mine came with it but I opted not to use it and everything has ran all summer just fine! I built a little stand for them out of the left over deck material. Now I don't have to worry about hitting them with the weed eater. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C10 ... UTF8&psc=1

 

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