Hello, last August I sold my house that had an inground pool, and moved to a new house that has no pool. The community pool is just four houses away, so I don't feel like forking out for another pool, but my wife for some reason won't swim in public, and so we agreed to a compromise of building an above ground pool. The cheapest one I found online (but haven't bought yet) is $655 including liner. (Not sure if that includes a pump though... the ad was vague about that.) One thing I'm wary of about it is that they recommend a cartridge filter, and I prefer from experience using a sand filter over a cartridge filter, and I'm not sure that that pool will work okay with a sand filter, so I guess I'm still shopping around. I'm confused though why any pool would be incompatible with a sand filter, but the Q&A says they recommend using the cartridge filter, as that's what the pool lwas designed for.
Anyway I've been reading about ground preparation. If anybody's interested, here's some pictures of the site on my backyard where I'd like to put up an 18 foot diameter 48" deep above ground pool:
I put red flags to show the perimeter of an 18 foot wide circle.
I read somewhere that when levelling the ground, I should go an extra foot around (i.e. 20 foot wide circle). Why is this needed? Also, how do I calculate the amount of sand to bring in? And why is sand needed, if the ground is already level? I'm guessing to make the bottom of the pool smoother to walk on? My yard looks pretty level, but I can't really know how level it is until I get out a level and measure it. I read a tip of using an 8 foot 2x4 and putting a level on it and sliding the wood around the region noting the readings on the level, but I don't have an 8 foot piece of wood. I'm thinking of going on my lunch hour tomorrow and buying one from Home Depot, so I can take the measurements to see if there's actually some kind of slope, and how much a slope it is. Chances are, there must be some kind of slope there, but I hope not too much, as I assume the more the slope, the more digging needs to be done.
If I singlehandedly try to level it with a pick and a shovel, does that sound like a lot of work? I do have a pile of dirt nearby, and any dirt I remove, I'll just add to the pile. I'm planning on spreading the dirt around my yard elsewhere, as my lawn in general is of very poor quality, as that's the state it was in last year when I bought the house.
Also I read somewhere that while filling up the pool, when there's about a foot of water, I should walk around to feel the bottom to make sure it's still smooth, and if any legs have shifted and are no longer centered on the concrete footings you guys recommend, I should make adjustments. How can that be done? Don't the concrete footings need to be sunk into the soil, so that the tops of the footings are level with the ground? It seems like to move them I'd have to get under the pool and do more digging to create a new spot for the footing, possible upsetting the work I did levelling the ground. (Also upsetting the layer of sand that's on top of the soil.) I hope that won't be necessary.
By the way, when the time comes for sand, I do own a Silverado pickup truck, so I think I can go buy it and a landcaping supply store, and deliver it myself to my house, and I suppose wheelbarrow it a load at a time out to the backyard. Is there a particular type of sand I need to look for?
Anyway I've been reading about ground preparation. If anybody's interested, here's some pictures of the site on my backyard where I'd like to put up an 18 foot diameter 48" deep above ground pool:
I put red flags to show the perimeter of an 18 foot wide circle.
I read somewhere that when levelling the ground, I should go an extra foot around (i.e. 20 foot wide circle). Why is this needed? Also, how do I calculate the amount of sand to bring in? And why is sand needed, if the ground is already level? I'm guessing to make the bottom of the pool smoother to walk on? My yard looks pretty level, but I can't really know how level it is until I get out a level and measure it. I read a tip of using an 8 foot 2x4 and putting a level on it and sliding the wood around the region noting the readings on the level, but I don't have an 8 foot piece of wood. I'm thinking of going on my lunch hour tomorrow and buying one from Home Depot, so I can take the measurements to see if there's actually some kind of slope, and how much a slope it is. Chances are, there must be some kind of slope there, but I hope not too much, as I assume the more the slope, the more digging needs to be done.
If I singlehandedly try to level it with a pick and a shovel, does that sound like a lot of work? I do have a pile of dirt nearby, and any dirt I remove, I'll just add to the pile. I'm planning on spreading the dirt around my yard elsewhere, as my lawn in general is of very poor quality, as that's the state it was in last year when I bought the house.
Also I read somewhere that while filling up the pool, when there's about a foot of water, I should walk around to feel the bottom to make sure it's still smooth, and if any legs have shifted and are no longer centered on the concrete footings you guys recommend, I should make adjustments. How can that be done? Don't the concrete footings need to be sunk into the soil, so that the tops of the footings are level with the ground? It seems like to move them I'd have to get under the pool and do more digging to create a new spot for the footing, possible upsetting the work I did levelling the ground. (Also upsetting the layer of sand that's on top of the soil.) I hope that won't be necessary.
By the way, when the time comes for sand, I do own a Silverado pickup truck, so I think I can go buy it and a landcaping supply store, and deliver it myself to my house, and I suppose wheelbarrow it a load at a time out to the backyard. Is there a particular type of sand I need to look for?
