Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Weekend

[debbids]

Hi, everybody.

After a lot of research (by my wife, I'm more of a procrastinate-then-wing-it kind of guy), our family decided the best option for our budget and yard plans is a DIY installation of a partially-buried Saltwater 8000 12' x 20' oval. I am reasonably handy and my wife doesn't mind some hard work. I wanted to run our plans by you guys and ask a few questions about specifics.

The Plan

• My wife has already done an awesome job at picking out a pool and all the equipment. The warranty does cover burial up to 27", which is the depth we intend to use.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• The pool and equipment order has been placed. It's headed toward us now and should arrive Thursday or Friday.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• We've already secured a dig ticket and building permit from the local codes folks.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• On Thursday, a Bobcat guy, no, the Bobcat Man, will be out to excavate and level the surrounding area. I've read the manufacturer's instructions and know the required dimensions for the install.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• After the pool arrives, we start the installation. I am going to be reading the installation instructions, watching videos, and reading everything I can find about AGP installs.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• We've got a decent understanding of the installation process and fully understand that it needs to be level, level, level. I do have a couple questions below.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• I plan on running power myself. I've got a better than average understanding of residential wiring, but I don't consider myself expert. This will include the installation of an outdoor subpanel; we have other things we'd like to electrify outside. I'm going to put a 240V/60A panel in about 100 feet from the main. By my reckoning, that means a lot of 10/3 UF-B. (Copper is expensive. Yikes.) I have read up on the bonding needed for pools and their equipment, but I welcome any tips in this area.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• After the pool and power are in, we're putting up a fence around the pool with extra space for a hammock, fire pit, cooking area, and patio.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• The rest is cosmetic (e.g. pavers, landscaping).[/*:m:33l7d2mc]

The Questions, in no particular order

• Our manufacturer's instructions include a two-foot-wide band of crusher run around the perimeter of the pool. However, the installation video on the reseller's site just includes digging out the area under the supports/cantilever with a paving stone under the support base. They level the interior with sand and make sure to cover the cantilever. I'm leaning toward not putting the crusher in. We're having the excavation done professionally, our dirt is very dense (especially two feet deep), and honestly the manufacturer's instructions were either translated poorly or put together by someone with little attention to detail. Thoughts?[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• I know I need to level/square everything I possibly can at every step. I know I cannot be OCD enough about this. How much time is a transit level going to save me over a long board and bubble level, line level, or both? I'm thinking I need to rent or borrow a transit.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• I don't have the specifics with me right now, but I'm fairly sure our pump is 1.5 HP. We're going saltwater. How many amps am I looking at, roughly? I can provide more detail when I find the links my wife diligently sent me. (Sorry, baby.)[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• What was the thing you figured out toward the end of your installation or even after that would've saved you hours of frustration, hundreds of dollars, or months of heartache?[/*:m:33l7d2mc]
• How crazy are we, very crazy or the most crazy? I feel like some of our finest moments have been the result of biting off more than we could chew at the time.[/*:m:33l7d2mc]

Thanks in advance.

 

[linen]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

Welcome to tfp, debbids

I'll take a crack at some of your questions:

Our manufacturer's instructions include a two-foot-wide band of crusher run around the perimeter of the pool. However, the installation video on the reseller's site just includes digging out the area under the supports/cantilever with a paving stone under the support base. They level the interior with sand and make sure to cover the cantilever. I'm leaning toward not putting the crusher in. We're having the excavation done professionally, our dirt is very dense (especially two feet deep), and honestly the manufacturer's instructions were either translated poorly or put together by someone with little attention to detail. Thoughts?

You might want to give the manufacturer a call to make sure you don't void the warranty, but I would use pavers put on undisturbed soil, like it sound the video did.

I know I need to level/square everything I possibly can at every step. I know I cannot be OCD enough about this. How much time is a transit level going to save me over a long board and bubble level, line level, or both? I'm thinking I need to rent or borrow a transit.

I used both, but the transit ending up being the most helpful and accurate.

I don't have the specifics with me right now, but I'm fairly sure our pump is 1.5 HP. We're going saltwater. How many amps am I looking at, roughly? I can provide more detail when I find the links my wife diligently sent me. (Sorry, baby.)

That is a fairly large pump for that pool. I would recommend a 2-speed 1 hp pump such as the pentair dynamo (maybe even the 3/4 dynamo) or the hayward matrix. Most agp pumps at 1.5 hp are rated somewhere around 12-16 amps.

How crazy are we, very crazy or the most crazy? I feel like some of our finest moments have been the result of biting off more than we could chew at the time.

Your a crazy diyer...just to add fuel to the fire...have you thought about making a deep end?

 

[debbids]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

Thanks for the reply, linen.

You might want to give the manufacturer a call to make sure you don't void the warranty, but I would use pavers put on undisturbed soil, like it sound the video did.

That sounds reasonable. Probably why I didn't think of it. I'll give them a call tomorrow. I need to get my ducks in a row before placing an order with the quarry.

I used both, but the transit ending up being the most helpful and accurate.

I figured it would be. We found a place nearby that rents them for about $40/day.

That is a fairly large pump for that pool. I would recommend a 2-speed 1 hp pump such as the pentair dynamo (maybe even the 3/4 dynamo) or the hayward matrix. Most agp pumps at 1.5 hp are rated somewhere around 12-16 amps.

I now know it's a Hayward S166T. Still can't find the amperage/watts easily. If anyone knows off-hand, you could save me some time. And isn't that what we all want?

Your a crazy diyer...just to add fuel to the fire...have you thought about making a deep end?

I haven't, but my wife, who is the one that enables me to survive in the world probably has. Maybe on the next go 'round, tentatively titled 'Pool-lantis: Return of the Deep' (Sorry, the Bobcat Man's penchant for naming firepits got to me.).

 

[linen]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

I now know it's a Hayward S166T

That is the filter. I see a 12X24 pool on the website you pointed to. Is it that or 12X20? Either way that small filter is fine for that small of a pool. It would still be good to see if you can get a 2-speed 3/4 or 1 hp pump to pair with it.

 

[wellington]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

I figured it would be. We found a place nearby that rents them for about $40/day.

I'd use a rotary laser with a detector as that would be the easiest.

 

[cramar]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

Best of luck, anticipate stress followed by joy and satisfaction.
Post some pics.

 

[debbids]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

I'd use a rotary laser with a detector as that would be the easiest.

Thanks, wellington. We were looking at rotary lasers. I'm unfamiliar with the detector.

 

[pwrstrk]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

He means the receiver. It receives the beam from the laser.

You attach it to a grade pole and tells you wether your grade is high or low or on grade. You first have to get your grade established. Then move it up and down along the grade pole to find the beam then attach it to the grade pole when you get a steady tone from it.

If you are renting one they will clue you in on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wellington]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

I'd use a rotary laser with a detector as that would be the easiest.

Thanks, wellington. We were looking at rotary lasers. I'm unfamiliar with the detector.

It's not a must but will make it easier to work with during the day as it can be hard to see the laser in direct sunlight.

 

[msgtdan]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

I used the rotary laser for rough level on my dig down. I then used a rotary laser to set my pavers level with each other, then the board and level to work from the pavers. I place the ends of the board on 2 pavers and swung one end around, leveling as I went, then did the same for the next paver. Since I dug out the middle I couldn't pivot in the middle like everyone tells you to. I also used the board and level in the middle dug out area.

 

[debbids]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

Thanks everyone for your advice. Today was a busy day. Our yard looked like this in the morning.

We'd already marked out both the pool footprint and the area we're going to fence. The Bobcat Man showed up right on time and, within a couple hours, we had a big hole and , somehow, even bigger pile of dirt.

Right after that, we got the call from the shipping company letting us know the pool was almost to our house. The driver was nice enough to help us get it loaded in the pickup for the trip up the driveway. We'd already unloaded a couple boxes at this point. (Great Caesar's Ghost, that steel wall is heavy.)

Of course, we ended up needing a run to Home Depot for some tools we are going to need. I've got tomorrow off and plan on starting bright and early. I've watched the installation video a few times. Even transcoded it so I can put it on my phone for quick reference.

I decided to just run a 20 amp circuit off the main panel. When I was figuring wire gauge, I was figuring for voltage drop, but not ampacity. It would take a pretty fat wire to run a 60 amp sub-panel. I can drop another 12/2 cable in the trench for future use for way less money, and I've got plenty of open space for the breakers.

One question that's come up: should we back-fill with dirt or gravel? Obviously, I've got plenty of dirt on hand. It'll be about a two-foot gap when finished, 27" deep.

 

[triplets&quads]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

Unless I missed it, I didn't see what kind of a SWG you are adding to your pool since it is going to be saltwater. Nice pool site by the way.

 

[msgtdan]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

I'm still in the process of burying mine, but here's what I'm doing. I put a slotted plastic drain pipe around the base of the pool with a silt sock on it. Then a layer of gravel followed by dirt with the larger rocks removed. At the down hill side I put in a "T" and ran some more pipe downhill in a trench to below pool base level "T"d that and put another section of slotted pipe to distribute any water laterally. I got rain before I covered the trench completely and it seems to be working well. The fill dirt will come up a little higher than the surround dirt so surface water flows away. Not sure yet what type of border I'll put around it.

 

[debbids]

Re: Installing a Partially-Buried Above-Ground Pool This Wee

Unless I missed it, I didn't see what kind of a SWG you are adding to your pool since it is going to be saltwater. Nice pool site by the way.

We have a AquaTrol SWG. Looks like you do to.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature has decided that no more pool work will be happening this weekend. Yesterday, we had sustained 30 mph winds, which is very unusual for these parts. Now it's raining pretty much straight through the weekend. I guess I'll get to see how the dirt under the pool drains. I hope everything's still level on Monday.

We love our yard. Moved a little over six months ago from a townhouse with no yard, and it's been awesome.