Hello. I am new and have some questions!!!

[Lea71]

Hello,
I am so glad I found this site. I am sure I will find a lot of good advice here.
First, we have not installed our pool just yet and it is almost September in the Mid East so time is running out!

I am going to sound so paranoid but here are some of my concerns.

We purchased a 15 x 24 Sharkline "Cameo" pool to be placed in a surround deck made of composite. Unfortunately, an in ground pool is a bit out of my price range and we wanted the pool to have an integrated look as much as possible. (Neighborhood restrictions prefer this also) Here is my concern 1. Has anyone out there done this? We are concerned about years down the road and something major happens to the pool- how do we fix it when it is surrounded in a deck (an expensive one at that!) and 2. This pool is a steel wall pool with some resin components but pretty much all steel. Is there a way to make it last longer from rust? Anyone had a steel wall pool last a good long time. This one has a 30 year warranty I think.

Obviously, I am new to pools. I have always wanted one and this year I talked my husband into one. This is a huge investment for us and I want to make sure I am thinking ahead in terms of maintenance down the road. I worry that the steel will rust and make the pool collapse and was wondering if there is any precautions I can take at this stage of the game. (I saw on here where a 2 year old pool collapsed due to rust and it looked like the owners were taking good care of it!)

If I can figure out how to post pictures I will because I love to see pictures of other peoples ideas and will definitely share ours. Our project will be starting soon. We leveled our ground and are trying to build this pool without written instructions!

I appreciate any advice others may have. I worry that surrounding the pool will make maintenance hard down the road for anything major like a wall rusting out.

Thanks in advance. We live in Maryland about 1.5 hour North of Washington D.C. and Baltimore.

Maybe someday I can give advice but right now I am as novice as they come!! I plan to read all I can on this great site.

 

[techguy]

I have an above ground with a composite deck surrounding the pool, at least 3/4 around. I think the bigger issues deal with the pump/ filter and liner. The walls are just steel walls that keep the water in place. I would spend more time in choosing your pump, filter and other mechanicals that have a larger effect on the daily operation. A level installation and the ground work matters.

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum.

Make sure your leveling job was DEAD accurate. Did you have to fill in any dirt?

 

[Lea71]

Thank you so much for responding.

We are trying to level ground now. We had a guy come out with a bobcat to level the ground, but the grade is still a little issue. We are going to have to just get a transit to do the actual pool leveling. The pool requires a 2"x7"x16" paver at the 4 buttress posts with the others as optional. We went ahead and got 16 for the entire pool so we need to set them. The size we have 15 x 24 has an odd shape when placing the rails around but we were told it is supposed to be that way until the wall is installed. We have to get a transit to get this thing level and they are 40/per 4 hours at the rental place but we need it and hopefully we will be all level then.

The pump is a 1 1/2 hp Hayward sand pump, the liner is an overlap with 25 mil.

I will definitely be checking out pool school to make sure the chemical balance is good if we ever get that far!!!

Where I live permits are brutal. They are very nice there but the cost and specifications with a deck also are pretty strong.

We will have a professional electrician hooking up the electric.

I guess I just worry about the steel wall and steel bottom rails. I didn't realize that resin was really better or aluminum until the pool was ordered and here. I am reading there are pools that are made of only resin now (but husband still thinks steel is best for strength) I am concerned about the service panel and rusting like that pool on this forum that collapsed it really looked like the owners had it done properly and knew what they were doing with chemicals.)

I don't know too much about my pool. I received no directions. We have been calling the company that distributes it and thankfully they are helping us along the way.

We do have some fill dirt, but we had a guy come in with a bobcat and he felt it was pretty solid ground. We have clay and rock back there also. We will be putting a 2" layer of sand when we get level.
Hey any suggestions I welcome. You guys know what you are doing- I don't!!!!! Thanks again.

 

[techguy]

The $40 you spend on a transit will save several thousand dollars if you don't get it level. In this case, it would be penny wise and dollar foolish. You mentioned fill dirt. Be sure you do NOT use fill dirt under any of the pool or its buttresses. The pressures exerted buy a pool and its 100,000 to 200,000 pounds of water will cause fill dirt to settle and walls or buttresses to become unlevel.

I would get the correct installation instructions and follow them, but, remember that the instructions understate things. They will state "level site" when this process is anything a but a single task

 

[Lea71]

Yes, I figure that the transit is a must- the problem is it may take more than a day so it is going to be pricey. 40.00 per 4 hours it is probably going to be at least 24 hours/1day but I understand we need it and that is that.

So, from your experience should I not focus on the fact that it is a steel pool and it collapsing but making sure the ground is 100% level (obviously) and keeping liner and chemicals in check at all times.

Right now we have the 4 buttress's out there and the rail getting soaked in the rain. We will have to try and start again tomorrow. It rained all day yesterday and today so far. I guess I am just so focused on rust and with putting this thing in a surround deck I worry that the pool will only last a few years and how do we reinstall a pool in that space. We knew surrounding would look nice and serve us some function around the pool but the flipside is down the road major repair???? Also, I thought I bought the resin top and it is a steel top, however we figure we can paint the top rail as needed. The deck will come to it and not over it.

I guess in a nutshell other than the leveling, proper maintenance it is the rust I fear the most deck or no deck. I didn't know if there is anything I can coat it with or do to help in that way also.

 

[techguy]

There are literally millions of above ground pools in use today. The difference between a resin pool and a steel pool are the top and bottom rails and the risers. In both pool, the walls are a single sheet of steel that have several layers of protection. I know rust can be an issue but with proper installation, I feel that risk is not huge, even with a deck around the pool.

When a pool is installed, it is critical to get the ground level and the braces supported correctly. If the direct is "cut and filled" some of the dirt on one side is moved to the low areas. In some cases, this is supported by a wall. Over time, the dirt can settle

While your installation my not be like this with the deep dig, is shows what can happen. It may not fail but it changes the pressure on your pools walls.

Even a sand fill of 3/4 of an inch can cause this to happen with a buttress

 

[Lea71]

thank you for the good info.
We are in process of trying to get a transit to get it level.
Unfortunately, we have ground that has been disturbed (due to the build of our house) new development- so their is no "original" dirt for us so we decided to have a guy come in with bobcat to level and compress as much as possible due to this.

I'll try to post some pix so you can see.
thanks so much again. totally appreciate it!

Like I said I just didn't want to get the pool to the point where it can't be replaced if a wall gets all rusty. I am sure the coatings they put on help with that or I would think they would anyway.