New Pool Build Questions

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Thanks for the reply about the pavers and foam sheets, When I get to that point of the install I am going to see how difficult it is for me to get the pavers leveled and then make a decision. If the ground ends up being very hard and tough to dig then I will probably do what you did...
 
I had started with my old pad for a 15' Summer Escapes pad that was pretty level, I needed to cut a larger circle in the sod so I rented a sod cutter and cut a new circle that was 20 feet in diameter for an 18' diameter pool. The kids helped me and we had a fun family project cutting the sod. I saved the sod so that I could use it to replace around the pool and to finish another project that I had late last year. Then it was off to leveling ....
 
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An early morning to beat the heat and do leveling before baseball games and 2 days of digging (Had allot of activities, actual time was about 3 hours). The site was close to level which helped allot but I had a few spots that I had to work on ... The final leveling was done with sand (The sand was used to fill in the small holes and crevices, the 3 feet edge of the circle where I did most of the leveling had no sand or very little sand ... I rented a roller to smooth out the sand and dirt ...







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Next was to set and level the Pavers. I used 12"x12" pavers. I set the pavers directly on top of the leveled area. I did not cut them in, you'll see why soon ... I asseblemed the top ring to position the pavers. The paver were leveled ...






 
After leveling the pavers, I then used the original tarp that came with the intex pool to lay under the foam insulation ...





I folded the tarp to keep some what of a circle shape and used a few spikes to hold down the tarp edges that were pulled back to create the circle ...
 
Installed the foam insulation next. (In my area of Northern Ca. the pink foam sheets are not available so I went with Expanded Polystyrene Foam Board Insulation) I used the 1 1/2 thickness in 4'x8' sheets. I read on another post on TFP that I needed 11 sheets. I only used 9 sheets because I cut my sheets to keep the round look to the pool. You can see from the Pictures how I taped it all together. The Tape with the extra wide Gorilla Tape. I used only one tape on the seams unless I was tapping small pieces than I used 2 or 3 tapings on the seams. The foam and the pavers are the same thickness which worked out great since the paving stones will help keep the insulation in place.








This is what I ended up with in scrape from the 9 sheets of insulation. The kids will have fun with these ...

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The little foam pieces were all over the place, my yard blower helped out in the clean up ...

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You can see in the photo some of the sod I had to cut out, I will use this later when I work on the landscape around the pool
 
I purchased a Black HD Tarp from Amazon which I then put over the 1 1/2" foam insulation. I tucked the tarp under the insulation but over the original blue Intex tarp.



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The pavers located near the fence of the pad are right up against the mow strip I installed several years ago, the pavers and foam insulation sheets have no chance of moving ...

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Early in the Spring I trimmed all the Neighbors trees to keep the leaves and stuff from falling into the pool to a minimum ...
 
Putting the pool together (Finally) felt good, but as everyone worries about: Will it be level after all that work!



While to initial pool fill was happening, I put the ladder together ...



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I used 2 hoses to fill the pool, one from the garden hose from the backyard and one that I used from the Hot Water Heater to get the pool a little warmer for the first swim. Once the water was just barely covering the bottom of the pool, The whole family got involved in removing the wrinkles. The kids had allot of fun as it was their first time in the new pool. This was probably the busiest time (You filling the pool and getting the wrinkles out not to mention working on the tarps under the pool to keep them tucked under the pool and ensuring the frame uprights and centered etc ...) during the installation and the most stressful ...

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After the wrinkles were all gone, we continued filling the pool with both hoses. The Hot Water was only used occasionally. The fill took a few days. I would only fill the pool while I was there in the backyard to be safe. On this day the temp outside hit 104, the next day it rained? Unusual Northern Ca. weather ...
 
As soon as the water got about half way, I place a new clear solar cover in the pool. I started a thread early in the spring about the type of solar covers recommended. After allot of good posts and suggestions I went with the clear 12 mill by blue wave. This is heavy and tough to work with but I am getting used to it, one of the next pool projects will be to install a reel on 4x4's behind the pool.



 

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Early on in the project stage (January) I decided that I would go with solar on my patio roof, with that in mind I knew the Intex pumps would not have enough head to left the water. I posted and read allot on the subject and found some great help on this site. Thanks to Pensfan76 who did a thread with the same pool as I was installing (Intex 18x48) and Pensfan76 also was doing solar with a Hayward Pump and it worked well, I also d went with a Hayward Pump. I wanted to ensure that I had a pump and filter that matched each other. I highly considered a sand filter but read on here that the cartridge filter has a higher filter rating and I am familiar with the cartridge filters from the ring pools, I purchased a Hayward Easy Clear 550 filter with a Hayward 1 HP Power Flo LX Pump from Amazon. This was a big step in that I know have a 40MM fittings on the Intex Pool and 1 1/2" fittings on the pump. So I did a lot of research here on TFP and began to get fittings from lowes to make adaptors. I also looked at adaptors on the internet and found one that I thought would work however I forgot to order them and when it was time to install the pump I was left with having to make some quick decisions on which way to go. The pump came with 2 hoses and barb hose fittings to 1 1/2" NPT and the barbed end of the fittings actually fit into the Intex 40mm hoses (This was the backup plan). I went to the local pool store (Leslie's) and by chance they had the Game 40mm to 1 1/2" hose adaptors (They had one left, it was hidden behind some other fittings and I was lucky to find them). The adaptors come 2 to a package and were $9.00. I had some better quality Teflon tape which I used and these worked perfectly (Great Item). I have read so many posts about how to adapt standard NPT to Intex 40mm hoses, this is by far the simplest method. Intex hoses directly to Hayward pump and filter ...









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Amazon.com : GAME 4560 40mm to 1 1/2 Inch Conversion Kit (For Intex Garden

I had to relocate some of my backyard bushes and re-do some of my sprinklers which took a while. I did the PVC plumbing in the rain that is why the last photo has some dirt on the fittings.
 
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The pool came with 2 pump inlets which is then connected to an Intex valve. The instruction book said that this was to comply with the Virginia Graeme Baker Act.



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In the photo you can't see both of the inlets but you can see both of the hoses that feed into the shut off valve.
 
The next issue that I was about to encounter was something that I posted here on TFP during the winter. I wanted my younger 2 sons to be able to stand in the pool and have the chin above the water line. I searched for and found a post that gave the dimensions on the pump inlet and pool return holes in the liner however the post was several years old and I was not sure if the Intex pools had been changes since then considering they now have dual pump inlets cut into the liner? I purchased the pool with the hope that the pump inlets would not have changed and that I could modify the pool return since it would be above the water line and that could cause some chemistry problems with aeration. I ordered an Deluxe Intex over the wall Skimmer which arrived before the pool installation and then it was time to get creative with the pool return. I went to Lowes a couple of times and even tried Leslies (That is when I found the Game 40mm adaptors) but in the end I found something that would work. From the Intex Pool Return fitting I removed the cover with adjustable eyelet and installed an ABS 3" to 2" adaptor. I used PVC cement, I read online that this would work instead of the ABS to PVC cement. I used a small syringe extract the cement and fill the little trough on the intex fitting with the glue and then placed the ABS adaptor on the fitting and then hoped because I just used my only return on what I hoped would work ... VICTORY! The fitting worked, I then glued on some PVC fittings and Pipe to make the adaptor complete, Now I have a return below the water line on a pool that is not 100% filled to the max line (The pool is 35" deep). I then installed the Skimmer. You can see them both at the end of the pool in the photo ...



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How about the CLEAR BBB WATER!

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Another picture of the Water ...



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I want to thank the members and Administrators for the quick answers while I was doing my testing with my TF100 kit ... Water is perfect in my opinion
 
I had my pool vac from last year, I kept the batteries in good shape during the winter. I turned the unit on and it still works as if it was brand new. Been Vacuuming daily right now to get the sand out of the pool bottom from the install. Today there is no more sand in the bottom as you can see from the previous pictures. On my list to upgrade this year will be purchasing the Aquabot Pool Rover Jr. robotic pool cleaner but my little cordless will work in the time being ...



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Some more info: I have had to work on the skimmer a few times but now it is working better. Since I had a lower water level the unit was only under the water line by about 3/4's of an inch or so, now it is almost 2" below that water surface and performing much better. The dual pump inlets don't give the skimmer as much flow as I think it should have but for now it will work until the boys grow bigger and then I can put in a Hayward on the wall skimmer. I like keeping the flex hoses with the pool. The Hayward pump and filter combo work GREAT! The initial filter pressure was 9 at start up. The only leaks that I had were with the Filter / pump. I needed to slide the pump over a little bit as the pump / filter union distance was not set right at the factory (5 Min. fix). The other leak was I needed to re-tape the Game Adaptor on the Filter housing (The first time I tapped the threads I didn't put enough Teflon tape on the threads). The Game adaptors work great, on the 40 mm side of the adaptor there is no gasket or Teflon tape needed.

The Intex ladder will be replaced with a more sturdy ladder soon, my list of work has now grown to over 25 to do's, the fun of having a pool. It is actually fun for me because I enjoy doing projects and having fun while doing them. The water is great and the kids are having a BLAST with the new pool.

One more thing to do, change my signature from in project to COMPLETE (Well almost anyways, still got 25 more tasks to do ...)!:)

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Thanks,
Just changed my signature :cool:
 
For those wondering does leveling work... YES the pool is within a 1/2" level all around the pool. Thanks to this site for the advice. If you take the time to read and ask questions you will have your answers.

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As I finish landscaping and begin other projects for the pool I will keep updating with Photo's ... Again thanks to all who took the time from this past winter and just recently to help in the project! TFP Rocks!
 
Correct,
I did not use the gorilla pad only the foam and tarp. My build site was pretty smooth dirt and the insulation (1 1/2") made the bottom of the pool feel great to walk on. So my set-up is leveled ground, then the intex tarp, then then the insulation sheets, then a HD tarp, then the pool.

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Free trip to Disney World, I could be persuaded LOL
 

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