Another “can I bury an AG pool” post

[Wrightb]

Hello all,

I will start off by apologizing for yet another post about burying an AG pool. I have read the previous post and seen the pros and cons. I know there are issues that could arise and the benefit (especially cost). The information I can’t seem to find is area specific. I live in London Ontario Canada, not Arizona, California or Florida haha. I have called or emailed all the pool companies around here and I get the same answer “AG pools are just that, above ground, are designed to be built that way” yet the I read about success stories. Can anyone help me decide if this can or should be done where I am. We get the rain, the heat, the snow and thaw and frost. All these things that I am being told will make the pool fail. I am looking at a 10-12’ round, probably 52-54” deep AG pool. I only want to sink it roughly 2’. I have even sought out a distributor a few hours away that apparently sell doughboy pools (they have yet to respond)since they claim you can bury theirs.

thanks for the help

 

[AJ.A]

I bought from thepoolfactory.com and the pool is warrantied to be burried around 24 inches. The pool was made by Wilbar. They give you some stipulations such as not draining it in a wet season due to it caving in. I have one side buried in gravel about 2 feet. Unfortunately I just put it up so not sure of the longevity but I've read a lot that it will be OK. Good luck.

 

[Wrightb]

I bought from thepoolfactory.com and the pool is warrantied to be burried around 24 inches. The pool was made by Wilbar. They give you some stipulations such as not draining it in a wet season due to it caving in. I have one side buried in gravel about 2 feet. Unfortunately I just put it up so not sure of the longevity but I've read a lot that it will be OK. Good luck.

Thanks I’ll look into Wilbar.

 

[AJ.A]

Thanks I’ll look into Wilbar.

I think poolwarehouse.com could be buried too but not sure who makes their pools. They were all out of stock when I tried to order from them.

 

[Wrightb]

I think poolwarehouse.com could be buried too but not sure who makes their pools. They were all out of stock when I tried to order from them.

Where did you find the info that they are warrantied to 24” buried? I’ve been on a ton of sites and can’t find that spec.

 

[AJ.A]

Here is the pool I bought only in 27': 12'x54" Melenia Round Swimming Pool

Here is the warranty addendum: https://media.thepoolfactory.com/media/productfile/m/e/melenia_semi-inground-addendum.pdf

 

[AJ.A]

Honestly I am just rolling the dice. I didn't even register the warranty within 30 days like they make you - I had the pool sitting in the boxes for weeks and forgot until now. Oh well. It seems like all these pool manufacturers pro-rate it horribly down after a few years. Maybe some other manufacturers have better warranties.

 

[Newdude]

Oh well. It seems like all these pool manufacturers pro-rate it horribly down after a few years

Alot of warranties aren't worth the paper that they are printed on. If they are worth anything its only for the period that you are overwhelmingly not going to need a warranty for.

 

[Wrightb]

Honestly I am just rolling the dice. I didn't even register the warranty within 30 days like they make you - I had the pool sitting in the boxes for weeks and forgot until now. Oh well. It seems like all these pool manufacturers pro-rate it horribly down after a few years. Maybe some other manufacturers have better warranties.

I’ve been struggling to find any information on burying them at all. Even the installation manual won’t offer up the specs. Best I can find is that some will allow them to be installed cut into a slope, some won’t but neither offer up anything about burying. Thank you for your info that at least gives me a starting point.

 

[scout123]

There are several pools that can be buried. (lots of research bc I'm planning to bury a pool) Doughboys, Radiant, Optimum are a few. If you go to 'the pool factory . com', you'll see pools that can be buried partially. Another website to check out is 'royal swimming pools'. One important part of the install will be back fill. Doughboy pools suggest a slurry backfill. The Optimum I was quoted use a gravel backfill. With the freeze/thaw, you may need to add a concrete collar to your build. With the Wilbar Optimum (the pool I planned) a concrete collar is needed for any pool 24" in the ground. I believe this helps keep the walls from moving. I think if you do it correctly, you'd be able to bury a pool. One installer told me that he gets calls about partially buried pool collapses usually when the owner is doing a liner change. It's important to time a liner change when conditions outside are dry, and do the liner change quickly. You don't want to leave a partially buried pool empty. One more thing, if you do find a pool online and decide to go that route, be sure to line up an installer first. I had a heck of a time finding an installer when I was looking to buy a pool online. Good luck.
edit to add: I believe the wilbar optimum is made in Canada. When I was getting my quote the salesman mentioned ordering it from Canada. Not sure if that would be helpful for you or not, but thought I'd mention.

 

[Wrightb]

There are several pools that can be buried. (lots of research bc I'm planning to bury a pool) Doughboys, Radiant, Optimum are a few. If you go to 'the pool factory . com', you'll see pools that can be buried partially. Another website to check out is 'royal swimming pools'. One important part of the install will be back fill. Doughboy pools suggest a slurry backfill. The Optimum I was quoted use a gravel backfill. With the freeze/thaw, you may need to add a concrete collar to your build. With the Wilbar Optimum (the pool I planned) a concrete collar is needed for any pool 24" in the ground. I believe this helps keep the walls from moving. I think if you do it correctly, you'd be able to bury a pool. One installer told me that he gets calls about partially buried pool collapses usually when the owner is doing a liner change. It's important to time a liner change when conditions outside are dry, and do the liner change quickly. You don't want to leave a partially buried pool empty. One more thing, if you do find a pool online and decide to go that route, be sure to line up an installer first. I had a heck of a time finding an installer when I was looking to buy a pool online. Good luck.
edit to add: I believe the wilbar optimum is made in Canada. When I was getting my quote the salesman mentioned ordering it from Canada. Not sure if that would be helpful for you or not, but thought I'd mention.

Great info! Thank you

 

[clduncan]

We have a doughboy Saratoga and on one side it is buried about 1 foot in the ground. The people who sold it to me said it is ok to bury it up to 2feet the warranty is still valid. We have had no problems with it so far.

 

[Wrightb]

We have a doughboy Saratoga and on one side it is buried about 1 foot in the ground. The people who sold it to me said it is ok to bury it up to 2feet the warranty is still valid. We have had no problems with it so far.

I do know the doughboy is capable of going what I want. Though the slurry backfil might be counter productive financially? I’m still waiting for a reply from the distributor in my area.

 

[clduncan]

I am not sure if we did it wrong or not, we just used the dirt/ clay that was moved to level the pool. Maybe we did it wrong I sure hope not. Well Crud now I have questions.

 

[Wrightb]

I am not sure if we did it wrong or not, we just used the dirt/ clay that was moved to level the pool. Maybe we did it wrong I sure hope not. Well Crud now I have questions.

Maybe since you’re buried one side and only a bit it’s ok. But I know the instructions for burying the 2’ like I want it says to backfill with a slurry mix.

 

[JoeSelf]

I'm in about 18-22" on the high side. Down spout is halfway on that side also. Very sandy soil. I just used the dirt (sandy gravel - orange construction dirt) that came out of the hole. 15th summer, no problems other than a washed out white bottom on my liner.

End view of pool.JPG

• JoeSelf
• Sep 30, 2019

 

[clduncan]

@JoeSelf makes me feel better now...thought we might have messed up