Ideas for making steps/platform for intex pool?

[luvmyintex]

Hi,
This is my 4th year as an intex frame pool owner. I bought it partly to use for my son's therapy. (My son has autism and cerebral palsy.) Now that he is bigger, it is tough for me to lift him in and out of the pool, and he is not yet physically capable of using the ladder. Last year my husband and I built a platform out of pvc that we could take in and out of the pool, and used that along with steps we made for the outside of the pool. The platform worked ok, but if we use it again, we need to modify it to make it more sturdy. (It was quite wobbly.)

There are so many creative and handy people here, I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas. The challenge is just getting him over the pool wall, both in and out. He can bare weight on his legs and can do steps with help , but a ladder is too challenging. Of course, I want to use only materials which will not damage my pool too.

Any ideas are appreciated!

 

[dmanb2b]

Hey there...not sure if this would work or perhaps cost prohibitive, but if medically necesary, perhaps insurance would cover some of the cost....I was thinking of a step system as shown in the below link

http://www.conferplastics.com/ladders_entry_steps.php

 

[duraleigh]

choosing the correct material is important. I would either remanufacture the steps out of pvc, making them sturdier, or perhaps you could make something that combines a pvc frame and then synthetic decking boards (like "Trex") for the flat treds.

I would not use ANY kind of wood as it will expand and contract.

 

[HankW]

If you never made a platform I found that Intex has platforms for the 42 to 52 inch part # 11145 blue -- # 11146 white/grey the platform replaces the two top horizontal braces on the standard ladder.
I have a 48 inch 14 foot ultra pool that I just put up last week.