Buying an AGP

[pmsmith2032]

We just moved to the Kansas City area and are looking to have an AGP installed. We had a 27' one at our old home so I am familiar with pools. A couple of questions:

1. What is the lead time on AGP now? I had heard during the COVID lockdown that pools were in high demand and it was almost impossible to buy one. Is this still the case?
2. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to buy one? We had bought our old pool from the Great Escape in northern Illinois but I am not familiar with the Kansas City market?
3. Our new backyard is approximately 45' deep by 75' wide so we don't have a ton of room (our old lot was much bigger). We also have a Labrador so need to keep some area for her to run/play. Any suggestions on shapes/sizes to best utilize the area?
4. The pool will have to be built into the side of a slope (see pictures). What should I know about this sort of installation?

Thanks in advance!

 

[kellyfair]

First, that is the greenest grass I have ever seen! Especially since my yard is a big sand pile right now (rainy season has begun though, hallelujah).

Pool Factory is a good option - many of us purchased our pools there. Not sure on the wait for pools themselves, but the other stuff (equipment, etc.) is either hard to come by or very expensive! I messed around agonizing over which salt water chlorine generator I wanted and watched the prices go up minute by minute, it seems.

You are going to need a retaining wall or a partial bury at least, so keep that in mind. Strongly encourage you to get as much resin as you can, to prevent rust issues. My pool is all resin, even the wall, and I love it!

Your lot looks plenty huge to me! Is it a perfect rectangle? Can you do a quick drawing showing an overhead view? Will help to determine shape, although from the photos it looks like any shape will work!

 

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks! Here is an overhead view (we are the house with the red pin on it). Unfortunately our house doesn't extend all the way to the lake (stops just past the utility boxes in previous pictures) but the area between us and the lake is common area and doesn't seem to get much use. You can see the neighbor two doors down installed an agp and built it into the ground (it looked like they had a similar slope to ours).

 

[kellyfair]

Ah. Ok, I’m thinking that you don’t want to obscure your view, correct? So, something set into the slope. You could do oval or rectangle.

What about fencing?

 

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks. I was thinking similar shape and something in the slope too.

For fencing I was originally thinking of an underground fence for the dog and putting around the pool (top rail of pool). Per the covenants of the subdivision all fences must be picket type. The regulations for the city are a bit confusing (see below) so I'm not sure what the best option would be:

 

[kellyfair]

I’m not a fan of invisible fences. Dogs can and do run right through them, if they are motivated enough, and of course, it doesn’t prevent anything outside from coming in.

i like the black railing type fencing for a view like yours - you’d have to check with your HOA to see if that meets the picket requirement.

 

[pmsmith2032]

Thanks! I'll definitely look into it. Here are the specifics of our old pool (which we loved):

Wilbar Quest 27' 54" pool with stainless steel panel
Unibead "J" Liner
Wide Mouth Skimmer
InnovaPlas Biltmore Step w/2 Hand Rails
Gladon Sticky Pool Cove
Hayward 1HP Powerflo
Hayward 256 T Swimpro Sand Filter
Solar Cover
Hayward Lady Bug Cleaner
Composite raised deck made with Menards Ultradeck
Maintained with bleach
No heater

What could we add/substitute to this package (obviously different sized pool) to make it better (easier maintenance, more energy efficient, increase usage, etc) ?

 

[pmsmith2032]

Any suggestions? It's been over 10 years since we purchased our last pool so I know the industry/products/technology has changed some.

 

[kellyfair]

I don’t see any issues with what you had before. I assume none of that moved with you?

Either a 2 speed or variable speed pump might be an upgrade for you, if your last one was single speed. Biggest filter you can afford. I like sand filters, but others prefer cartridge or DE, so they may come a-running! LOL

Something I consider essential - a salt water chlorine generator. In your neck of the woods, a heater could extend your swimming season.

Watch out. Some of us are really good at spending other people’s money!

 

[AK-]

If you get a heater (specially if it is a heat pump) make sure you oversize it a little bit (or a lot).

 

[Pv2]

highly recommend salt water chlorine generator (get larger than recommended for pool size) and a robot cleaner. heater could be a nice upgrade too.