My First Build

[skinzfan23]

Hello, I have looked to this thread for a lot of great advice and thoughts although I have never posted before. I thought I would share some pictures of my first build of an 18' x 48" Intex Pool.

Had to move sprinkler line:

Retaining Wall:

Thank you all so much for sharing pictures and helping me to see how to tie it all in together. It took 2 months, but I completed the project all by myself. Here are a few numbers from the project:

770 buckets of dirt (over 40,000 lbs)
325 landscape blocks
15 bags of paver base
20 bags of river rock
2 rolls of landscape fabric

and I lost 20 lbs while working on the project.

It is all worth it. We got to spend the hottest evening of the summer tonight relaxing in our pool with our baby.

 

[CeeElGee]

Nice! Welcome, fellow 18'x48" owner! Let me know if I can help you with any modifications ;-)

 

[metalfanatic]

Your hard work has paid off with a very nice pool! What size river rock did you use... 2 to 3 inch?

 

[skinzfan23]

Thanks....I used river rock in a bag from Menards (local home improvement store), I would say that it was mixed river rock, some of the stones were about that size, some smaller. I used it for backfill behind the wall and landscape fabric, then compacted it down.

The only problem we had was after the water was completely filled, the leg caps on the two blocks away from the house slipped off of the paver and are cracked. So unfortunately, I am ordering the replacements and going to have to drain some or all of the water and replace the pavers with bigger ones so the leg doesn't sag. Right now the two legs are down about 1 - 1/2", but I don't feel comfortable with that. So in a few days I am going to make the adjustment so I don't risk the legs or wall of the pool collapsing.

 

[Augie56]

Nice work....from a fellow first-time DIY pool builder, I know what 6-8 weeks of labor feels like trying to complete a project! Your pool looks great! Nice job on the retaining wall, too!

 

[skinzfan23]

Thanks for the compliments. There were a lot of times I didn't feel like I was ever going to get done, especially since I was working all by myself while my wife watched our baby. Seeing it completed does bring a sense of pride though and knowing I didn't have to pay anyone to do it makes it even better. Like I said, without this forum and contributions from others I don't think I would have had the vision to complete it.

 

[Casey]

It is so nice to see that you took your time and did such a wonderful job on the pool.

Congrats to you on the new pool and your beautiful baby! My first baby will be 19 on Friday! Don't blink!!! It will fly by!

 

[treehouse pool]

awesome!
I just got 2" of water in mine this evening....started working out the wrinkles and realized that the entire pool was shifted to far to one side....placing the sharp corners of two of the 12x12 pavers I used to be up against the liner.
I stopped filling and will wrestle with it tomorrow after work. looking like I will have to get some help and push pull tug grunt snort fight and cuss the pool about 6" in one direction.

been working on mine since July 3rd, but no retaining wall for me....had to box in and build up a spot.

 

[skinzfan23]

Anyone have an idea how much I will need to drain the pool to add the extra block under the 2 outer legs? I was thinking of trying to drain it half way and see if I am able to move the legs at all to put the new leg caps on. I am guessing that I am going to need to drain more than that, maybe even all but a few inches.