- Jan 21, 2013
- 112
Greetings!
We installed our pool last year but I never got around to posting a build thread. But I wanted to do one because a lot of people want information on how to bury an AGP.
First step was to buy a well-built AGP pool and bury it ourselves. It was going to be up to DH and his many friends to make this happen. He has many knowledgeable friends, so that's not too much of an issue, but he got nervous at the size of the project.
So when that got too complicated, we moved to Plan B. I started calling PBs and assessing our options. First on the list was cost. We live in a small town with a low COL. Our home is small, but we love it and we live next door to DH's mother. So taking all those things into consideration, we didn't want to spend $40k+ on a pool. For some of you, that is cheap! But in comparison to our home and the property values nearby, it didn't make good financial sense. It needed to be less than $20k for us to be able to not regret spending the money. Further down on the list was size and shape.
So I sent several emails to PBs and they said "you can't bury an AGP". The first PB I talked to in person also said the same. In fact, said it was impossible. I heard that over and over from PBs who installed both IG and AGPs. It's 100% untrue and made me distrust them from the start. It's ok to say it's not something you do and then try to sell me one of your options. I get you're in the business of selling your inventory. But to say it's impossible, well you're either ignorant or a liar, and either way I don't want you digging a hole in my yard.
Then comes our savior PB. I drove past his shop on the way out of town one day. I called and asked if he buried AGPs, he said yes, and thus began a very nice relationship. You, sir, can dig in my hole. That's what she said.
I went immediately to meet him and he told me about a new pool he just started selling called Radiant. He showed me a brochure with this picture on it and I was sold.
I got an estimate on the project and went home to discuss with DH. We both went back a few days later and booked him. The plan:
*24' Radiant Metric, completely buried
*Kool Deck - 350 sq (hmmm, that's not enough)
*1.5HP Pentair IntelliFlo
*Hayward top-mount sand filter - 300lb.
*Liner, start-up chemicals, steps
*3 returns & vacuum return
*Stanley automatic vacuum
*Electrical
*Install
$14,700
So here are the befores. Our yard looking off our back deck at the 11:00-12:00 mark.
1:00-2:00 mark. Aww, look at that sweet cess pool. Buh bye. But you can see where we sprayed an outline of the new pool. Woot!
My snazzy rendition of what I want the backyard to look like (with a few more sq of deck). No 3-D here. Old school powerpoint all the way, baby.
Digging started in April 2013. There were a few snags along the way, which I will document, but the overall timeline from first dig to swimming was about 3 weeks.
We installed our pool last year but I never got around to posting a build thread. But I wanted to do one because a lot of people want information on how to bury an AGP.
First step was to buy a well-built AGP pool and bury it ourselves. It was going to be up to DH and his many friends to make this happen. He has many knowledgeable friends, so that's not too much of an issue, but he got nervous at the size of the project.
So when that got too complicated, we moved to Plan B. I started calling PBs and assessing our options. First on the list was cost. We live in a small town with a low COL. Our home is small, but we love it and we live next door to DH's mother. So taking all those things into consideration, we didn't want to spend $40k+ on a pool. For some of you, that is cheap! But in comparison to our home and the property values nearby, it didn't make good financial sense. It needed to be less than $20k for us to be able to not regret spending the money. Further down on the list was size and shape.
So I sent several emails to PBs and they said "you can't bury an AGP". The first PB I talked to in person also said the same. In fact, said it was impossible. I heard that over and over from PBs who installed both IG and AGPs. It's 100% untrue and made me distrust them from the start. It's ok to say it's not something you do and then try to sell me one of your options. I get you're in the business of selling your inventory. But to say it's impossible, well you're either ignorant or a liar, and either way I don't want you digging a hole in my yard.
Then comes our savior PB. I drove past his shop on the way out of town one day. I called and asked if he buried AGPs, he said yes, and thus began a very nice relationship. You, sir, can dig in my hole. That's what she said.
I went immediately to meet him and he told me about a new pool he just started selling called Radiant. He showed me a brochure with this picture on it and I was sold.

I got an estimate on the project and went home to discuss with DH. We both went back a few days later and booked him. The plan:
*24' Radiant Metric, completely buried
*Kool Deck - 350 sq (hmmm, that's not enough)
*1.5HP Pentair IntelliFlo
*Hayward top-mount sand filter - 300lb.
*Liner, start-up chemicals, steps
*3 returns & vacuum return
*Stanley automatic vacuum
*Electrical
*Install
$14,700
So here are the befores. Our yard looking off our back deck at the 11:00-12:00 mark.

1:00-2:00 mark. Aww, look at that sweet cess pool. Buh bye. But you can see where we sprayed an outline of the new pool. Woot!

My snazzy rendition of what I want the backyard to look like (with a few more sq of deck). No 3-D here. Old school powerpoint all the way, baby.

Digging started in April 2013. There were a few snags along the way, which I will document, but the overall timeline from first dig to swimming was about 3 weeks.