Taking the pool down for the first time: questions

[peripatew]

I've read several posts, but I have a few remaining questions:

I have a 14' ultra frame, with in wall skimmer and 2650 sand filter. I'm in Wet and mild Oregon, not worried about freezing.

Should i remove the wall skimmer? Undo all the screws?

Scrub -> drain -> dry -> storage? I'm leaning towards stuffing it in a rolling garbage can, will buy something once I start rolling it.

We made a gravel/sand foundation... I'm curious for options on how to preserve this? We don't use the backyard much, but don't know how fragile it will be. 3" of -1/4 and 1" of river sand.

What's the process for the sand filter? Do I need to remove the sand after draining it? I'm planning on covering it, but leaving it outside under a roofed section.

Any other thoughts?! Taking it down as we feel it will be better protected from our kiddos that way.

 

[DigbyAllen]

I took my Intex pool down last September and plan to do so again this year. I live in NY so I do worry about freezing.

I don't have a wall skimmer so I can't answer that question.

My 2650 sand filter is new this year, but what I plan to do is drain all the water but leave the sand in, and store it in my basement. I have a walk out basement so it's easy to access without struggling down stairs. I also store the pool liner in the basement. The rest of the pool i.e. poles, ladder, hoses, etc. I store outdoors in my shed.

I also have a gravel/sand base. I left the blue Intex tarp on the sand and put stones all around the edges to hold it down. When Hurricane Sandy roared through last October I thought it would rip the tarp off and blow it away, but surprisingly it held up with no problems at all. You can see a million leaves down but the tarp is intact.
[attachment=1:wltn3dbg]DSC01360a (Large).jpg[/attachment:wltn3dbg]
By the end of the winter the tarp was dirty but still in good shape. When I put the pool up this year I only needed to put down 4 bags of sand to fill in a couple of spots where some sand washed out, and then re-level.
[attachment=0:wltn3dbg]DSC02645 (Small).JPG[/attachment:wltn3dbg]
Next spring I plan to put some foam boards down over the sand as many here recommend.

 

[pwrstrk]

Nice job !!