Re: 18x34 Doughboy AGP Autumn Breeze - NEW Pics!!
Hi Glock. Just wanted to drop in and add a few lines. Be diligent with those steps (and the rocks you're weighting them down with) to avoid algae. One suggestion I found on here is that, when you add water to your pool, add it inside the steps, so you can get the water moving inside there. We used the plastic-coated weights to hold ours down. There are several methods on here that work well, including putting cement in PVC pipes and using those as weights. We also used a matt under our steps. But ultimately, we decided to move away from the wedding cake steps and went back to the type that came with the pool, because I'm too lazy to take the necessary extra steps in dealing with the wedding cake type steps. With the standard steps we now have, I can lift them in and out of the pool easily enough to clean them occasionally and it's easier to prep them for winter storage.
Also, you didn't mention whether they installed Happy Bottom on top of the sand to aid in preventing divits. Even with the Happy Bottom we got, our installer told us (ridiculously!) that it would really be better if we didn't swim in the pool for the first season, so that the sand would settle in better. I don't know how long it takes sand to settle in, but keeping our two kids and the other neighborhood kids out of the pool was a big....NOT! It's important that the swimmers not make it a POINT to poke their heels and toes into the bottom - you'll eventually have divits, but why rush it?
We held on to our dirt and glad we did, because as it rains on your backfill, it will sink..... a LOT. And since we don't get much rain, you should probably go ahead and water it in and get it to pack. You'll have to keep filling it several times until the dirt packs down around your pool, then get rid of your extra dirt. So I would hold on to a good amount of dirt (for us North-Texans, that means clay -- and yes, I thought you hit oil there in one of those pictures!!)
And finally, I would have asked them about the water that accumulated during the dig (what caused it?) ...and I would have THEM come back out to fix the leaks and not leave until your equipment is running properly. That's what you paid them for!
Congrats on the pool, it looks great!
...I would guess the metal content was very low and maybe most of it was the start of some algae...just a guess.
