Hello from Louisville, Kentucky! I found this site while trying to fix a green pool problem last year and I have now decided to join.
We always had a small steel-wall-with-liner pool when I was a kid. So, about three years ago, my wife and I decided to get an AGP for ourselves and my three boys.
During our first year as pool owners, we purchased a 24 foot round Intex pool that was on sale about mid-summer. We did an awesome job leveling out our pool area with a rented mini-dozer. We also topped it off with a two inch base of sand. Afterwards, set up was a breeze! Unfortunately, we soon developed a problem with moles burrowing in the sand under the ground cloth beneath our pool. So, we took it down at the end of the season with the idea of actually burying the pool half way into the ground the following spring and adding a base of limestone dust for good measure (it hardens like concrete after it gets wet and the moles hate it).
When we got started on our "above ground" to "in ground" pool transformation project the following spring, we soon discovered that the underground electric service line for our house went diagonally through our yard. So, we had to sell our 24 foot pool and go with a smaller 20 foot one in order to clear the underground electric line AND meet the required five foot utility set back (the set back requirement applied whether or not the pool was in the ground or above the ground). Consequently, we ended up with a 20 foot round pool in a 24 foot round hole since we had already dug the hole before learning about the extra five foot utility set back. Ugh! That left us with a big muddy mess around the pool every time it rained!
Well, this year we have started building a three foot retaining wall around the pool so can back fill the hole around the pool with dirt. Once that is completed, we plan to build a deck that will both encircle and be level with the top of the pool. Fortunately, got an early start on the swimming season this year by installing a roof top "Eco Saver" solar heating panel for our pool. Additionally, we are in the process of switching over to a sand filtration system after purchasing a Jacuzzi sand filter system and a 1 hp pump and motor from a neighbor who decided he would rather have a hot tub instead of a pool after discovering he needed a new liner for his AGP pool. Also, we are adding a SWG. Yay! No more filters and no more chlorine fuss!
Anyway, that pretty much sums it up as to where we are in our "pool journey"! I'm hoping to learn a lot from this site--as well as sharing anything I learn along the way.
--Busnardo
We always had a small steel-wall-with-liner pool when I was a kid. So, about three years ago, my wife and I decided to get an AGP for ourselves and my three boys.
During our first year as pool owners, we purchased a 24 foot round Intex pool that was on sale about mid-summer. We did an awesome job leveling out our pool area with a rented mini-dozer. We also topped it off with a two inch base of sand. Afterwards, set up was a breeze! Unfortunately, we soon developed a problem with moles burrowing in the sand under the ground cloth beneath our pool. So, we took it down at the end of the season with the idea of actually burying the pool half way into the ground the following spring and adding a base of limestone dust for good measure (it hardens like concrete after it gets wet and the moles hate it).
When we got started on our "above ground" to "in ground" pool transformation project the following spring, we soon discovered that the underground electric service line for our house went diagonally through our yard. So, we had to sell our 24 foot pool and go with a smaller 20 foot one in order to clear the underground electric line AND meet the required five foot utility set back (the set back requirement applied whether or not the pool was in the ground or above the ground). Consequently, we ended up with a 20 foot round pool in a 24 foot round hole since we had already dug the hole before learning about the extra five foot utility set back. Ugh! That left us with a big muddy mess around the pool every time it rained!
Well, this year we have started building a three foot retaining wall around the pool so can back fill the hole around the pool with dirt. Once that is completed, we plan to build a deck that will both encircle and be level with the top of the pool. Fortunately, got an early start on the swimming season this year by installing a roof top "Eco Saver" solar heating panel for our pool. Additionally, we are in the process of switching over to a sand filtration system after purchasing a Jacuzzi sand filter system and a 1 hp pump and motor from a neighbor who decided he would rather have a hot tub instead of a pool after discovering he needed a new liner for his AGP pool. Also, we are adding a SWG. Yay! No more filters and no more chlorine fuss!
Anyway, that pretty much sums it up as to where we are in our "pool journey"! I'm hoping to learn a lot from this site--as well as sharing anything I learn along the way.
--Busnardo
