The ever evolving life of my AGP

[kne]

Just finished our 4th year with our Intex and it's getting tired. The liner is almost totally bleached white, and the top part has turned a brown that no amount of scrubbing can turn back to grey. So I've been checking Craigslist, Facebook etc for the last few months. Found what I hope turns out to be a fantastic deal. $300 for the pool, and a ton of accessories. Ladybug pool cleaner, sand filter, pump, the type of ladder where the outside leg raises up, 2 solar panels and a bunch of other stuff. I'll pick and choose between the 2 setups and sell the rest of the stuff. I don't know the brand, if anyone recognizes could you let me know. I was thinking we would wait until spring to put it up, but my SO isn't one to let projects wait so I have a feeling we will be done before the year end. It will be a significant project, taking down the old pool, mats, tarps, pulling back all the river rock, leveling the spots that we missed last time, etc. Good news is there has been 6,500 gallons of water sitting on the space for 3 years so it's pretty compacted Same diameter so no drastic changes there, but 4 inches taller, so we will need to adjust our current platform/deck set up.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Yay you!! Sounds like a great deal!

Maddie

 

[riley00dog]

Looks like a great buy!

 

[kimkats]

Now that is a sweet deal you go there! How exciting!

Just know you will NOT be able to reuse the liner I have seen many that tried and, so far, none of them were successful. The main problem is the holes for the skimmer and returns followed by the liner drying out. I just wanted to give you that heads up.

I can't wait to see how it turns out! Do you have in yet?

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Now that is a sweet deal you go there! How exciting!

Just know you will NOT be able to reuse the liner I have seen many that tried and, so far, none of them were successful. The main problem is the holes for the skimmer and returns followed by the liner drying out. I just wanted to give you that heads up.

I can't wait to see how it turns out! Do you have in yet?

 

[kne]

I'm back! Well, life got crazy. Ended up doing a massive house remodel, so the pool project had been pushed back until this week. We are waiting for a final inspection on the house to close out the permit, then we will put up the pool. Hopefully that happens this week.

Wow, the forums have changed a bit. I have a warning on here saying something about it being 60 days since the last post on this thread, not sure if it will show up or not. We will see!

@kimkats - I did know that I would need a new liner it's waiting patiently in it's box to be installed

We borrowed a tranist level from our friend and have been digging down to level the ground. Yesterday we put together the track and today I will dig down and level the first two pads. I'm thinking do pad #1, stake back the track to hold it, then go to foot directly across from it. Make sure I'm at 18', level and stake. Then do the pad to the right of the first, and continue until all are done. Our biggest pain right now is that we had tons of river rock around the base of the last pool and working around it sucks. We have pushed a lot of it back, but there is part of the pool that is next to the lawn and we are trying not to kill it by having rocks on it for a couple weeks.

Ok, questions. I am familiar with Intex, not with the steel sided pools. We have watched a bunch of youtube videos and now are leaning towards the foam coves rather than sand, as they look easier. Any reason why we should stay away from them?

We have a huge canvas tarp that we were going to put down to stop weeds, roots etc from popping up, along with the anti fatigue pads that we used with the last pool. are these ok to use with this type of pool? or is it more of a temporary pool situation? Do you put sand on top of this or below it?

I'll take pictures as I go. Here is why we were delayed, we lived in a little part that wasn't remodeled to the left. 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and living room. I missed having a kitchen.

 

[Teald024]

Wow, life gets crazy!
Most AGP's with steel sides dont use the anti-fatgue mats under the liner. They just use sand. You can use them if you want, but it's not necessary. I don't think the canvas will prevent the weeds since it is a woven material. There are Gorilla brand pads that many people use if they are worried. If you use the pad, put it on top of the sand.
The foam cove is a personal preference. I had sand in my pool and I didn't have any issue with it. The foam can't wash out though, so that's a positive. Just make sure you butt up the pieces tight and triple tape the seams so the liner doesn't fall through.
Yeah, post pics of your build, we would love to see your progress.

 

[kimkats]

Well you HAVE been busy!!! That goes past remodel straight into redo!!!

Foam cove= great! Love mine and so easy to work with!

Pad=oh so nice on your feet and keeps the bottom smooth!!! Triple tape is a must for his reasons above.

Kim

 

[zea3]

Be sure you treat the ground with nut grass killer before you put down your base. It can grow through just about anything!

 

[kne]

@zea3 we will definitely Roundup before putting anything down, but luckily nut grass isn't an issue around our area when we removed the other pool, there was not a single thing growing under there.

Last night we got 4 blocks for the legs dug down and leveled flat and leveled with each other, within 1/4 inch across the pool. My goal was 3, so a bit ahead of the game. Tonight I'll dig down between the pavers, then hopefully get another 3 or 4 done. I'm also going to separate the anti fatigue mats that we used before. We just kind of rolled it all up and shoved it behind a shed. The gorilla tape held amazingly well. It's actually a pain taking it off, but needs to be done so I can get clean seams with my 3 layers of tape, lol.
Here's what I'm working with. Trying to dig down and level around river rock is NOT the business.

 

[kimkats]

Does not look fun at all BUT you KNOW it is being done right and saving a bunch of money so it will all be worth it!!!

Kim

 

[kne]

I have a bonding question, not sure if I should start a new thread, but I will try here first. As I am digging the legs, might as well dig out the trench for the bonding wire. I understand how to attach the wire / lug to the pool wall at the seam, I get how to do the skimmer, and equipment, but I can't find any example of how to attach the wire to the pool in the 3 other locations (4 equally spaced locations) . Pool is all steel, except for the feet, which are resin. Am I supposed to drill into the wall?? I also can't find anything for my city on the electrical codes, but we are in California so I am sure it's overkill. I have a guy that is going to run the electrical from the panel, but I get (have) to do the dirty physical digging stuff myself.

 

[kimkats]

That is a VERY good question! I am calling in someone who should know the answer to this. @jimmythegreek @ajw22

 

[jimmythegreek]

All depends on how you finish the bottom of pool. I'm not familiar with above ground but if legs are resin you have the steel walls and the top cap maybe? I would bolt thru bottom of wall way down and insert bolts from inside to out. Make sure bottom of pool or cove will hide and protect liner and bond lug the outside. Bare #8 for the ring and you need split rings to jump off to skimmer and equipment. The inspectora always want lock nuts and washers on both ends and they want stainless hardware

 

[kne]

Pool is all set up. Cosmetically we didn't install the liner great, but structurally the pool is sound and VERY LEVEL

For the bottom we ended up doing sand, the harbor freight anti-fatigue mats that we already owned, and the foam coves. the ground feels lovely.

I don't think my Aqua Rover Jr is long for this world, the plastic is super brittle, part of the bottom cover snapped off and the axles are giving off splinters if you grab there, also it will run for about 20 minutes, then stops. But we got 4 years out of it and the pool came with an aquabug that is working wonders.

I found some wedding cake type steps on Marketplace a couple years ago that were missing the handrail, but basically free. Even without the rail they were comfortable to use. The 4" height difference in the pools makes a big difference and now the step down to get into the pool is awkward at best. I don't know of a good way to raise them up 4 or 5 inches so I may have to start looking for new ones. On a plus note, we dug the pool down far enough that we only had to adjust the platform we built to get in the pool an inch or so.

 

[kimkats]

Well done!!! I bet you are loving having it going again with this heat!!

Step up..........how much do you think it needs to be raised to make it more comfortable?

Kim

 

[kne]

Step up..........how much do you think it needs to be raised to make it more comfortable?

I'm not exactly sure. Probably 3 or 4 inches, BUT the pool is a little different. The Intex was is pretty flat with the railing, so the steps could hug the wall where now with the new pool, railing that overhangs the water a couple of inches so if the steps hug the wall, the area to step down is smaller... I'm thinking I might be able to fashion a PVC type handle to keep the steps away from the wall by attaching it to the deck, but could I bring it up also?

Here are steps how they sat in the old pool and a not very clear picture of the platform, but what I was able to find in my phone as I'm at work right now

 

[kimkats]

I love the idea of the pvc type handle for a couple of reasons. It will get the steps away from the wall so water can flow behind it some to keep it from getting algae back there. If you are able to make the handle so it attaches to the platform you will be able to use it to steady your self as you go up and down them.

Kim

 

[kne]

I never posted pictures of setting up the pool a few years ago. I didn't really take any good ones, the liner install didn't go as easily as YouTube made it seem It's all wrinkly, but it holds water all the same.
I've decided after this season is over and before next season starts I am going to move the electrical and plumbing, and if there is any relief on pool liners maybe replace at the beginning of next season. That most likely though will be drought dependent.

A) putting up the wall. Took forever to get everything lined up and the wall bolted
B) Mats. This is one that I did wish I had a picture of complete. These got cleaned up, re-taped, cut to the pool walls exactly. We put the foam coves over the mats. You can also see a bunch of dents, etc that happened between the old owner and us. Taking the pool down, transporting it, storing it, putting it up. But they aren't noticeable really from the outside.
C) Putting in the liner and doing an absolute horrible job at it.
D) Just some of the wrinkles we are still living with. Don't even get me started on the floor. I recently watched a YouTube video where the pool guy spent 20+ minutes walking around and kicking out the floor. If we did 10 I would be surprised. Now take the level of expertise and we probably did equivalent of 5 to his 20+. Next time.
E) State of the AGP today.


This summer will be more working on the yard. etc. Installing some simple speakers I from help I got on a different thread and we have a slab from a tree we cut a few years ago, going to figure out a way to create a bar top / counter out of it and hang it from the house somehow.

 

[Teald024]

Great looking pool!
Don't hold your breath on liner availability though. Maybe have to wait until the off season to find one.

 

[kne]

Great looking pool!
Don't hold your breath on liner availability though. Maybe have to wait until the off season to find one.

Definitely not holding my breath, but am picturing myself cooling off in my beautifully lined pool that I got for an incredibly good price by using the laws of attraction

In all seriousness, my biggest downfall was not asking about liners on here. I read about them for hours, and thought I could only use an overlap. Had I just asked I would have been steered in the right direction. So lurkers that are scared to ask a stupid question here, ask the stupid question. Don't be me with the boring boulder swirl overlap when you could of had a pretty j hook instead.