I’m baaack.... and have some build ??

[AprilsZoo]

Hi all... long time no see.
I had to give up my beautiful, awesome, perfectly balanced, truly trouble-free pool a little over 4 years ago when I moved away from sunny Tucson, AZ to rainy, barely-ever-breaks-85° F Bainbridge Island, WA. There were a few days each summer when jumping in the pool would’ve been nice, but it mostly would’ve been a lot of work for a very short swim season— like maybe 2 months that the pool would’ve been warm enough. I mean, if it barely stays above 55°-60° F overnight during the summer, the water wasn’t gonna be at 76°-78° F that I find comfortable too often without help.....

Anyway, I digress...

We’ve moved back to Tucson, and after an exhaustive search for a house with a backyard that could hold my dream pool, it turns out theres no way in heck we can afford to build it. I’ve definitely got champagne taste— and I know that if I put in anything permanent, I’m always gonna be less-than-happy with the “affordable“ pool we’d end up settling for. So until I can have the — gulp—$75+K pool of my dreams, I’ve decided we should look for an ABG that will last us 10 years or so, by then we’ll have the equity in the house to use toward the Pool-of-Dreams.

Now on to my question... I’d ideally like to scoop/dish out the bottom to be ~60”, at least down the center of the 21’x43’ oval that we’re getting. If we wait to put this up until the weather heats up (i.e. the daytime temps are 90-100°), does anyone think the liner would be able to stretch and give me that extra 6” or so? (Which I guess 60” is kinda a “nominal” measurement anyway... the pool is 54” sides and I want the center to be 6” deeper than the ground level... so it won’t really be 60” deep but that’s fine...)

The pool came with an ugly plain blue overlap liner, which I upgraded to a unibead liner with a pattern. They haven’t shipped my pool yet, because I’ve been dragging my feet on nailing down the other components, so if the overlap liner would be a better choice to do what I want, I can always get it switched back. I really wanted a pattern, but knowing this isn’t my forever pool, I can live without one.
I guess I can try to find an expandable liner somewhere else and do a proper deep end... but so far I haven’t seen any in stock.

So, what do the ABG gurus think? @Dirk, @kimkats, @ anyone else?? Am I crazy? Or can the AZ heat be good for something?

 

[Dirk]

@kimkats, what do you think?

Might be questions for the pool's manufacturer... In addition to them knowing best about their product's materials, you don't want to do anything to compromise the warranty...

PS. I'm a plaster pool guy. The only thing I know about AG pools is to ask @kimkats about them!!

 

[kimkats]

You rang??? HI!!

You are getting an oval pool? I think they have straps under the liner that go side to side. That would keep you from dishing the bottom. Now if you are getting a round pool you sure can do it. Let me know which one you are getting and we will move forward.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Guess I really have been away too long... I’m glad at least one of the people I called on was right.

Well, the pool I bought is oval (21’ x43’)— I thought I mentioned that in my first post... oops.

I didn’t even think of straps— hmmm... how do people have a 7ft. “deep end” with the expandable liner then? Or is it because it’s just at the one end that it works? I suppose I could just have the one end a little deeper— that would be better than nothing... Would I need the expandable liner, or would the normal one stretch a bit under the blazing AZ sun?

I don’t know, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I should just be happy getting wet in my 4 ft of good ol’ H2O?
Here I thought I could get all fancy with this pool so it wouldn’t feel like as much of a step down. Well, live & learn I guess. Maybe if I really start pinching my pennies (virtual though they are nowadays), I can have my in-ground in 5-7 yrs, instead of 10. Of course with my luck, prices will soar again.
It’s so frustrating, because I looked at getting an in-ground pool about 8-9 years ago... and it was ~50% of what it is now. Idk when the prices started skyrocketing, but now fiberglass is more than the fanciest pebbletec-type finishes... and I had NO luck (& actually got laughed at) trying to find an in-ground vinyl installer. That was a whole other frustration, because I could buy the kit for a really nice, semi-custom vinyl lined pool from a place in Phoenix but they don’t install in Tucson, & didn’t know of anyone who did.

Oh well, for now I’m just gonna put on my happy face and be grateful for a pool at all.

I’ve really missed having one. We had just finally gotten our last one so that it was perfect. We “bit the bullet” and bought a *real* pool pump for our Intex pool, and suddenly we had a pool that worked & it didn’t feel like a such a chore anymore. Then we moved...

Thanks for the answer guys... I knew I’d find the info I needed here.

 

[kimkats]

See if you can find the installation guide for your pool. Share the area that shows the straps from wall to wall. We might be able to find a way to make it deeper somewhere but my gut is saying no

Oh you did say oval in your first post but I wanted to make sure as that does change things.

 

[kellyfair]

Good morning! Honestly I think once you install and jump in, you aren’t really going to miss having a deep end.

I’m no expert on oval pools, but I’m always hesitant about applying uneven forces if the pool isn’t designed for it. Definitely don’t do anything that might affect your warranty!

 

[Teald024]

Kim is right, most oval pools have straps under the pool where the wall is straight. One strap at each post of the straight section. It may be possible to find a pool with buttresses, but they are less common on the nicer AG pools. Many owners dislike the supports sticking out.
If you have a pool with the straps, it likely won’t make sense to try to dish out a deeper area, but it would be possible to get a few inches. The 21’x43’ is a huge pool and you could carve out a 15’ half circle in one end that is deeper. That is a good amount of space.
The question I have is why? Is the effort worth the reward?

 

[Casey]

If you're going to dish out an end on this pool, you need an expandable liner. A beaded liner or even an overlapping liner will never give you the material needed to compensate for the additional depth you're looking for.

 

[Newdude]

Hey April and welcome back !! Check these 2 out :
@nobueno is lying through his teeth. It is super duper butt whoopin bueno. The 2nd one is really cool too

21x41 above ground with deep end owner build thread

Pool prices in our area are unreal (starting at 100k for in ground) so we decided on an above ground. The only above ground installer in our area wanted $28k to install a 21x41 Doughboy, so here we are, doing it ourselves. Pool kit with expandable liner - $5,428 Pentair Clean & Clear 150SF...

www.troublefreepool.com

21X43 AGP Install PROJECT!

I started this project the beginning of June with clearing 12 trees and digging up the stumps. I still, as of today, do not have the wall up. This project is taking everything I have. We have hit so many obstacles along the way. The latest this weekend was the discovery of the builders...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[nobueno]

Hah thanks @Newdude.

@AprilsZoo here's the pool we installed and they still have expandable liners in stock. This pool is salt compatible and doesn't have any cross straps. Not sure you could you dig the whole thing down to 60" though because stretching the liner is tough. Do it when it's as hot as possible. The deep end is totally worth it and we're really happy we did it.