First year with Intex was great! Looking to upgrade

[jlsr]

We bought an Intex 14' round beginner pool last summer and loved it! It was our first pool and with the help of a great test kit and the BBB method our little pool was crystal clear all summer. Thank you so much troublefreepool.com for the extensive advice on this website. :-D

Since we enjoyed our little pool so much and actually enjoyed taking care of it, we decided to find a 15 x 30 AGP for our next pool. We have decided on that size as it is the largest we can go with in the area we want to put a pool.

We have been searching the internet and researching pools and are feeling overwhelmed. We plan to install it ourselves. My husband is in construction and is an excellent equipment operator. He has all the tools needed to do the dirt work and get the location perfectly level.

What would you recommend as a good brand to go with? We are in north Texas and have not contacted any dealers yet. Would we be better off to purchase on-line since we plan to do the work ourselves?

We have looked the most at the Doughboy brand since we originally intended to bury it but have decided against that as we are pretty much on solid rock here. However Doughboy seem to be much higher in cost to some other brands we have read about online. Is it worth the additional expense? We've also been looking on craigslist for a used pool but nothing in the size we want has appeard.

Looking forword to your input!

 

[Casey]

I am sold on Pool Supply World's Sharkline pools. I'm about to hit the submit button on the Venture as noted in my signature. It's sitting securely in my shopping cart at poolsupplyworld.com and just waiting on the go ahead from my wonderful hubby.

I called PSW today because I had a question about all their liners that I didn't get an option to select, the woman made it very easy for me to get the one I wanted in my cart. They have oval pools and you may save money too by going with PSW. I know when I looked and looked and looked for pools around here and online, I always found my way back to Pool Supply World. Like I said, I'm waiting for my go ahead and our pool should be here by the middle of March. Good luck and seriously, check them out!

 

[jlsr]

Thanks Casey! I will definitely check them out and see what they have in a 15 x 30. I too can't wait til summer! Actually it gets warm enough to swim here in late April/early May. We plan to do dirt prep first part of April. We are getting excited about a new pool!

 

[tick221]

I can't speak highly enough about PSW, not only were the prices very good their customer service is second to none. I bought a Matrix last summer and due to bad shipping from the manufacturer we had 2 RMA's for the same product. Each time I called I got someone on the phone right away and everything was handled top notch, I won't hesitate to recommend them and will be shopping with them again this summer

 

[cramar]

Doughboy is a reputable brand.
I got a Sharkline Matrix from "Family Pool Fun.com", they were a great company to deal with and everything went well, Sharkline is also a reputable brand.
Aqualeader is another reputable brand.

 

[Safetybob]

You have the great recommendations for online vender's here. Are you going to intall it yourself? If you are, poolsupply world has been great to me, but I have not ordered a pool from them, but we certainly have many, many people here who have many great experiences here with them.....that says alot.

Local pool guys "could" be OK. I would ask around to anyone you can find around you who has a pool similar to what you want. Up here in Oklahoma City we have two really big players and some years they do great installs and other maybe not as good.

If you are not up to clearing off and leveling that much for a pool, perhaps a good landscaper, ground guy could do the hard work and then you do the final install of the pool (obviously with help for that size of a pool).

Good luck. I loved all the Intex pools I have had. Great value to find out if you "like" the pool thing.

Bob E.

 

[jlsr]

Hi all,
Thanks so much for the replies and input ! We will definitely check out pool supply world today.

Yes we plan to install it ourselves and my H will do the dirt work. He's a great landscaper and can run any piece of heavy equipment out there. So we got that part covered :-D

Haven't had a chance to do any more looking locally lately. What I hAve seen so far locally is much more expensive than what I've found online. Now that its warming up outside I'm anxious to get the pool project underway!!

My goal is to have pool ready to swim by first of may. First job I have to tackle is getting phone co out to relocate the underground line that goes right thru where we want to put the pool. Hope to get that done within a week so hubby can start dirt work.

And the biggest decision..... Finding the right pool and pump/filter !

 

[linen]

And the biggest decision..... Finding the right pool and pump/filter !

For your proposed 15X30 (assuming 54" deep) pool, your volume would be 13500 gallon pool. For that volume we would recommend as minimums: 2.5 sq. ft. sand filter, 220 sq. ft. cartridge filter, or a 38 sq. ft DE filter. Which type you pick depends on water restrictions, source of fill water and other things. I prefer the simplicity of a sand filter, but others will argue for other types.

As for the pump, we would highly recommend a 2-speed pump not bigger than 1 h.p. Something like the pump I have (Hayward Matrix 1 hp 2-speed) or Pentair Dynamo 1 hp 2-speed.

 

[jlsr]

Thanks linen for the suggestions on the pump/filter. I found this combo so far (we want to go the cartridge route):

Pump/Filter: Pentair PNCC0150OF2160 Clean & Clear 150 Sq' Cartridge Filter System with 1-1/2HP Dual Speed OptiFlo Above Ground Pool Pump

I haven't been able to find where we can get a bigger cartridge filter or find them separately? Would the 150sf be ok? I don't mind cleaning it out more often if that would be the issue.

The pool we have looked at the most so far is Cameo 15' x 30' x 54" Oval. Comes with liner and skimmer for $2,097.
http://www.thepoolfactory.com/cameo-15- ... -oval.html

Since rain is in the forecast for this weekend our dirt work 'party' is being pushed back another week or so.

What would you recommend for a ladder? We probably won't do a deck for a year or so.

Thanks so much for the replies and advice!!

 

[Casey]

I was going to order this ladder, http://www.poolsupplies.com/product/sku/832084 at PoolSupplyWorld with my pool order... but late nights, bored at work and wondering if I could get it cheaper lead to a success! I found the same ladder much cheaper at PoolSupplies.com which allowed me to get the upgrade 38" steps instead of the 30" step!

I personally like the bigger steps. I know some people dont but I like to have a place to sit and lounge and still have enough room for someone to enter and exit the pool without me having to move.

 

[jlsr]

Casey, Thanks for the ladder suggestion.
Has anyone had any experience with the Cameo pools? I'm not able to find out much about them. Thanks

 

[jlsr]

So... we are ready to make the pool purchase, probably will do that tomorrow evening. "very nervous" :-S Have been reading and reading about different pool types and installation, so much to learn! Spent some time clearing the spot where the pool will be and drew out the diagram with orange paint. 15 x 30 doesn't look very big!

We plan to stay with the plain blue overlap liner that comes with the pool, then upgrade to something fancy when it wears out. Do we need to buy the foam cove or make a cove out of sand? Seems like the foam might be better.

We still have the upgraded Intex 2500 gph pump we bought for the 14' intex last summer. Would it be of any advantage to have 2 pumps? The 2500GPH one really worked well to vaccuum with. We are buying the 2 speed Pentair pump for the new pool .

Just wanted to get y'all's opinions and say 'we're excited'!!!

Best wishes,

 

[pwrstrk]

I have the pool cove and like it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cramar]

Oval pools are more of a challenge to install than round, and a comparable sized round pool has more water.
From the site I looked at:
- 30 foot round pool = 21,000 gallons
- 15X30 foot oval pool = 11,000 gallons

Personally I'd opt for a large round pool which installs easier and has more water volume, although the oval may be easier to fit into a limited space. Just something to think about. If you haven't watched online videos on how to install oval pool wall/braces you may want to do that first, the side walls take more work than a round pool.

Just something to think about.

Oh, and don't forget your drop based test kit - no strips!

 

[jlsr]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies. I believe we are going to go ahead with the foam cove.
Cramer, I have the TF100 Kit with quite a bit left in it from last year. Is it still usable this year? Or should I buy a new one?

Still hoping someone can give me some input on the Cameo pool. Due to the area where we want to put the pool, we will have to go with an Oval. 15 x 30 is about as big as we can go... I would love to have a deep area in the middle but Hubby says we'd have to have dynamite to dig it out since its pretty much rock here.

Thanks all.

 

[jlsr]

Hi,
All this pool research and pool selection is getting nerve wracking! Since I couldn't really find anything on the Cameo, and my H was balking at the cost of tht 15 x 30, we have decided to go with a round pool. Now we have narrowed it down to the Sharkline Heritage 27' x 54" round from Pool Supply World, contingent on our yard measurements we are going to do again tonight. If it will fit, our plan it to hopefully order this week, and then start clearing and digging the grass out this weekend, weather permitting.

Does anyone know if my TF100 kit I used last year will still be good for this summer? I purchased it in June last year I think.

Thanks !

 

[cramar]

They'll still be good this summer, just make sure you've got enough to last all summer, I typically order refills in the spring.

 

[jlsr]

So we got started on the leveling last weekend. What a job! Our ground is very hard with rocks everywhere. Since hubby 'forgot' to bring home equipment to work on this he used his tractor and box blade while I used the Mantis tiller to break up the sod and top layer of dirt. My arms still hurt!

We hope to continue leveling this weekend. Checking the site with his laser level we are within an inch of level now.
Can anyone tell me how many uprights there are for sharkline 27' round?

Getting excited about a pool!

 

[jlsr]

Re: First year with Intex was great! Upgrade in Process

Pool is on the way. Bought everything from Pool Supply World. How do I determine how much sand is needed? THanks.