Decoy’s Above Ground Pool Saga

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Congrats !!!!! That was a huge burden lifted and they emailed me a copy of the C.O. that day. I've yet to get one from the PB. :roll:
 
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Newdude said:
Congrats !!!!! That was a huge burden lifted and they emailed me a copy of the C.O. that day. I've yet to get one from the PB. :roll:
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Thanks dude! Yeah I was stressing so hard but the inspectors were really laid back. So glad it’s behind me. I’ll have to confirm how I will get the CO I’m not sure as this is the first time ive done anything in this town.

I will also let my contractors know all went well with the inspections.
 
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Decoy205 said:
Thanks dude! Yeah I was stressing so hard but the inspectors were really laid back. So glad it’s behind me. I’ll have to confirm how I will get the CO I’m not sure as this is the first time ive done anything in this town.

I will also let my contractors know all went well with the inspections.
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Congrats! Our Township said they would mail us the final paperwork but gave my wife a "Passed" notification. I have no clue what they're sending ... I thought a CO was for when you initially buy the house! :unsure:
 
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VinnyinNJ said:
Congrats! Our Township said they would mail us the final paperwork but gave my wife a "Passed" notification. I have no clue what they're sending ... I thought a CO was for when you initially buy the house! :unsure:
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Thanks! Yes they gave me the pass stickers for each sub. Typically any time you open a permit you need to “pass” so you can close the permit and get a “continued certificate of occupancy” my assumption is that is what they will mail you. You can’t sell your home usually without it. My town also apparently fines you a lot of money if the permit isn’t closed after a year.
 
Emergency….So my pump shut off. I’m thinking it overheated because I haven’t emptied the basket in about 2 weeks. Or it died because it’s old. It’s getting juice so I know it’s not the power. It hums now but doesn’t pump. I’m waiting a bit more to see if it will turn on again after fully cooling.

Also posted a thread in the pumps section for help. I hope I’m not screwed!!
 
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New 2 speed pump installed yesterday! Thanks to new dude mdragger and others for the advice in the pump section!

bRPMMhy.jpg
 
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So before closing I said screw it, why not try and fix up the deck up. So had my friend come back To work on that. I also decided to have a retaining wall put under the deck as that’s the higher grade. So it’s in progress. Hoping to finish it soon.

I will probably keep the pump running for another week or two before covering. Just waiting on the weather to cooperate for a weekend. This weekend we’re getting rain.

I have my closing stuff ready and I’m trying to solidify my plan.

Here’s what I have:

1 4x4 pillow (from last year)
1 4x8 pillow bought in case other is too small.
1 leaf net cover
1 reg pool cover.
Return plug
Skimmer plug.
Poly rope for tethering pillows

I never had a leaf cover before and per @Mdragger88 i was thinking of getting binder clips for it. I have 3 trees that will dump tons of stuff on the pool so want to try and get most of it off before the freeze.

Here’s my current close questions:

1: I have two pillows should I use them both or is one sufficient and how do most people tether them to the pool? I’ve seen some tie them to the uprights and some slip them under the rail and make a knot. Not sure the best way.

2: there seems to be a debate on the skimmer closing. I will be draining 2” below the return and feel like leaving the valve open for the winter would be good so that water build up in the skimmer doesn’t get nasty or created a frog hotel. (That’s what happened last year). If I leave it open should I still put foam or cut up noodles in it?

I’m sure I’ll have more questions but that’s it so far!

Thanks!
 
I leave my skimmer open on the bottom so any water would drain out instead of freezing or collecting frogs 🐸 (i have a valve there so I just open it) & I throw a little foam football 🏈 in there incase there happened to ever be any water.
No experience with pillows- have never used them.
As for the binder clips - they have a few purposes,
- temporary way to secure the solid cover when putting it on & taking it off the pool
- keep the solid cover from flapping too much (this was the original reason I used them)
- securing the leaf net for easy removal/replacement vs the included cable
 
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Decoy205 said:
I have two pillows should I use them both or is one sufficient
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If you don't like how the first one looks, add the other.
Decoy205 said:
how do most people tether them to the pool?
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Careful now. No need to start a knot war. :ROFLMAO: I've never done it but I'd tie it up like the bow on a Christmas present all 4 ways and then secure lines to it. With all you've spearheaded this year, figuring this out on the fly is a non issue.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
I leave my skimmer open on the bottom so any water would drain out instead of freezing or collecting frogs 🐸 (i have a valve there so I just open it) & I throw a little foam football 🏈 in there incase there happened to ever be any water.
No experience with pillows- have never used them.
As for the binder clips - they have a few purposes,
- temporary way to secure the solid cover when putting it on & taking it off the pool
- keep the solid cover from flapping too much (this was the original reason I used them)
- securing the leaf net for easy removal/replacement vs the included cable
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Thanks! Yeah I think I’m gonna go the open valve with the skimmer this year. 👍🏼 I’m also gonna try the clips I think it’s a good tip.
Newdude said:
If you don't like how the first one looks, add the other.

Careful now. No need to start a knot war. :ROFLMAO: I've never done it but I'd tie it up like the bow on a Christmas present all 4 ways and then secure lines to it. With all you've spearheaded this year, figuring this out on the fly is a non issue.
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Ha. It’s more about minimizing the ability for the water to pool in the center and of course hopefully help with freezing etc.

I might try the 4x8 this year just to get a bigger area. I’ll have to see what works for the rope.
 
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Decoy205 said:
It’s more about minimizing the ability for the water to pool in the center
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The pillow’s sole life purpose is to get squished when/if the water expands due to freezing to reduce the possibility of pressure on the walls from the ice. (How well they actually do this is debatable)
They aren’t for helping shed/divert water off the cover in any way (contrary to popular belief). I think this is why so many people have “poor experiences” with them. They are expecting them to do something that they aren’t supposed to do. Many also over inflate them & so they pop because they have no give. Having give is their life’s work!
Ironically it is much harder to pump out the moat they create than it is to just weigh the pump down in the middle of the puddle you are trying to avoid. Basically, it’s easier to keep 1 big puddle pumped/scooped out than it is multiple smaller puddles.
 
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+1. I live where it freezes solid and it seemed that everyone had an above ground pool growing up. Many still do. I never once heard of anyone's pool getting blown apart from ice, and very few people continue with pillows beyond year 3. The ice might grab a hold of the skimmer and buckle the wall, but the pillow won't help with that either way.

But. You have them so you might as well use them until they pop. By then you may choose to not replace them. They might bring some added aggravation, but they also won't hurt anything.
 
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Mdragger88 said:
The pillow’s sole life purpose is to get squished when/if the water expands due to freezing to reduce the possibility of pressure on the walls from the ice. (How well they actually do this is debatable)
They aren’t for helping shed/divert water off the cover in any way (contrary to popular belief). I think this is why so many people have “poor experiences” with them. They are expecting them to do something that they aren’t supposed to do. Many also over inflate them & so they pop because they have no give. Having give is their life’s work!
Ironically it is much harder to pump out the moat they create than it is to just weigh the pump down in the middle of the puddle you are trying to avoid. Basically, it’s easier to keep 1 big puddle pumped/scooped out than it is multiple smaller puddles.
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Yup I understand all that. For what it’s worth, I found it easier to use the pump with the water in a circle around the pillow than pooled into the center. Just due to me moving the pump around closer to the perimeter. Scooping the leaves out of the middle was a real pain when the pillow shifted.

Last year was a bit weird because my liner leaked so I was dealing with the heavy water in the center cuz the pillow shifted and with the lower water I was afraid of the cover pulling the sides in.

Hopefully this year my liner will be ok and in that case maybe no pillow would be fine but I’m gonna give it a shot with the one larger pillow and see how that goes.

Maybe invest in an auto pump so I don’t have to keep moving around the submersible.
 
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My automatic cover pump made things soooo easy! A real game changer. Just gotta remember to take it out in freezing temps because the output hose freezes faster than the puddle & u can burn the pump up.
 
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Made a siphon today. Works awesome. I made it so I can put it in the water up to the valve then close the Valve to hold the siphon without using my hand to hold it.

I tried to make the short end to be about 2” below the return and it should stop we’ll see how close I got.

I also put a 3/4” threaded end so I can hook up the hose and get the water away from the base of the pool.

DGZxoR8.jpg

vink4Wd.jpg
 
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Spent all day getting things set to close.

Set up the pillow and finally got the cover on. I noticed this cover has just barely enough diameter to go over the rails and tighten the cable.

Last year I had way more slack on the edges with the old pool so thought that was strange.

I got this years cover from inyo pools, last year from Leslie’s and I didn’t even think to check the size as I selected 21’ round cover when I ordered. Apparently most 21’ covers are 25’ and the Inyo pools covers are 24’. Did some searching this evening and every other place has 25’ covers for 21’ pools.

I feel like it should have some slack for the eventual water weight on the cover.

I’m not thrilled about the possibility of buying a new cover and changing it at this point but Im worried this could be an issue for my top rails.

I’ll take a pic tomorrow. I finished just before dark so I didn’t get a chance. I’m curious what the experts think about this.
 
Have you measured the cover ? Manufacturers stretch the truth sometimes and the 24 might be 23.1. Then factor in the tent from the pillow and it could be on the verge of too small. I'd lose the pillows before I bought another cover.

It very well could be most/all covers. Shrinkflation has hit everything else, why not this too ?
 
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