Newbie here and confused *****UPDATE*****

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MirellaJoe

MirellaJoe

0
Jun 4, 2013
144
Aurora, Ontario-Canada
I love this site and thank god i stumbled on it.

Well we just bought a intex Ultra Frame 16x48 with the new sandfilter pump. We at first wanted to purchase a real permanent above ground pool but I got alot of mixed reviews about "how it takes alot of time to clean, maintain etc. So we decided we would go with the intex ultra frame since it would be better to have lost 800 dollars compared to 1000's of dollars if we didn't like having a pool. I have never really owned a pool ( besides those cheapies for the kids ). Anyways, We started off with hiring a landscaper to level our backyard lawn for us, wow i could not believe how unlevel the ground is. Well we decided to put stone and crushed stoned and compacted it. Hubby works on a construction site so he got those foam insulation pads for free I read on here that those are good for under the pool for under the tarp. Ok now we plan on setting up the pool this weekend as long as it doesnt rain (which of course there's a chance of rain and thunderstorm but i'm hoping it doesnt) but i'm confused now, are these foam pads too thick? is hubby suppose to bury them? and i also know we should be putting some kind of stone or slab under each leg of the pool, how do you recommend doing that? level to the crush stone ?

On another note i was debating on the maintaining of the pool, which is easier to maintain, salt water or chlorine ? i have 3 kids and this summer i want it to be the best summer with this pool but i also want to make it easy for me since i also want to have fun too.


here are pics from what my lawn looked like before it started to when he was finished








 
Re: Newbie here and confused

Hi, welcome to TFP! Here are some guidelines for installing an intex pool. Since you have already got the crushed stone down make sure it is well compacted and level. Then you can level the blocks on the gravel. It is very important that these pools be level and the ground beneath them is solid and firm. You can skip the part about removing the grass, but I would still add nutgrass killer before putting the pool up.

How to Install a Temporary Seasonal Pool (Intex, Summer Escapes, ect)
Materials needed: Shovel, concrete patio blocks, a straight 2’x4’x8’ board, measuring tape, nut grass killer, ground tarp, TF 100 test kit.
Basic Instructions:
1. First and foremost the ground under the pool must be level and firm. Remove the grass from the area to be leveled 2 feet wider than the stated diameter of the pool. (For an 18’ pool remove a 20’ circle of grass)
2. Find the lowest point of the perimeter of the circle and use that as your reference to level the ground. Dig away the high spots inside the circle. Check for level using a 3’ long level on top of a straight 2’x4’x8’ board.
3. Once the ground is level saturate the soil with nut-grass killer. Lay down the ground tarp.
4. Lay out patio blocks where the upright supports will go. Dig out the area under the blocks so they will lay level with the ground.
5. Lay out the pool liner so the openings for the intake and return are positioned as close to your source of electricity as possible. Assemble the pool according to the manufacturer’s directions.
6. Fill pool with 12” of water and check frame for level. Pool should be within 1” of level for maximum safety. Adjust upright supports if needed at this time.
7. Connect the pump/filter and continue filling the pool.
8. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for operating the filter/pump.
9. Use the pool calculator to determine how much CYA and FC you need for your pool.
10. Use your TF 100 to test the water and balance as needed.

Once you have everything level you can put down the foam. You can cut out the foam around the blocks to make everything the same level.
 
Re: Newbie here and confused

The foam is not too thick, it should be just fine. I did foam under mine this spring and really like it. The main difference I see is I used 4'x8' tongue and groove sheets. Just make sure you get the butted up straight and tight. I would use the 3" wide Gorilla brand duct tape for the seams. I used Tyvex tape and wish I had used the Gorilla duct tape instead. Oh yeah I have the Easy Set so you may need blocks for your posts.

I am currently using an Intex SWG with the copper bars disconnected. Last year I chlorinated manually with bleach. I pretty much follow the guidelines found in various places in pool school. For me I prefer the SWG, I find it to be a little more convenient. I prefer not having to be locked into adding chlorine every day.

If you do go with the Intex SWG, I recommend following the general guidelines here rather than the Intex guidelines (other than lbs of salt, intex has that right). Disconnect the copper bars. I set my CYA to 60 which is on the bottom end of what's recommended here, but higher than the Intex guide. Currently I'm running my filter pump 8hrs / day and the SWG for 4 hrs. My chlorine is running a little above required levels, so I may drop the SWG back to 3hrs. Make sure you get your chlorine up to and maintain the recommended level with bleach when you fill up, and then transition over to the SWG as you get the salt and CYA added. Don't be afraid to make up any chlorine shortfall with bleach as you are getting a feel for your SWG settings.

I typically add acid about once a week to keep my ph in check (fill water has high TA). Other than that; I brush and vacuum once a week, check the chlorine and ph a few times a week, and clean / change the filter. Been running pretty smooth this year.

Also if you have the Intex cartridge filter you may consider a better cartridge to catch finer debris. Unicel / Filbur seem to be highly recommended. I could only find Pleatco in stock locally. I've had it installed about a week and it looks like the really fine debris that have plagued the creases on the bottom of my pool are gone.
 
Re: Newbie here and confused

OK here is an UPDATE!!!

SO friday started working on the pool, but first we needed to go get this "gorilla tape" that i have been reading so much about on this forum because initially we were going to use duck tape because hubby has rolls and rolls laying around the garage from work that he gets for free. WEnt to homedepot and bought 2 rolls of gorilla tape and also bought 2 sheets of pressure treated wood for the legs of the pool which were cut down to a foot long, so 16- foot long pieces of wood. All pumped up to get to work really the only thing we could do friday was lay down the foam and tape them up. Saturday morning came around we decided to start nice and fresh to get this work done so we go in the back and opened up the box and started to take the pool stuff out and our material, as we started to take the liner out we (actually I) noticed 2 nice holes in the liner :rant: i was soooooooo friggen ****** ( of course this was gonna happen, it never goes smooth ) we were going to call the intexcorp but decided to call walmart (since that's where we bought it) to see if we can just replace the liner with another liner in a new box because if we call intexcorp it would take at least a week or so to get a new liner and we had planned to do this NOW! anyways thank god walmart had no problem exchanging the liner ( i swear i love walmart). We got back and start to work away. Opened up the pool and waited a few hrs for the liner to soften up a little as the instructions say. Once opened hubby and i started the assembly. It was actually pretty easy! once we had the liner up with the legs and everything we started to mark where the legs were so we could cut out the foam for the wood, i was so excited to see this was actually gonna get done WRONG :rant: it started pouring rain...so had to stop the work and hopefully the rain wouldnt last long. ya right wishful thinking....SUnday morning is when the work would continue .....marked the legs on the foam, cut the foam, inserted the wood in the places that were cut and leveled each leg with a level when there was 12" of water, took out as much of the wrinkles on the bottom of the pool. Viola the pool was ready and started filling the pool with more water.
We noticed the sand filter pump needed silica sand which we thought would be provided already in the box NOPE! DUh! no silica sand so off we go again to home depot, nope they dont carry....we went to 2 other hardware stores in my area...no one friggen carried this silica sand :hammer: of course at this time it's 630pm and all pool stores are all closed so we have to wait for tomorrow ( which is today). All we really gotta do now is get the this silica sand and the intex saltwater system which of course we decided on. Pool is pretty much filled up :party: , now we are debating on how to "finish" off the look around the pool....any ideas??? remember this is not going to be up all year i will be taking it down in the fall so i want something easy and quick but pretty nice looking.






 
I'd get some bleach in there to hold you over till you've got the SWG going. Also it is typical to get the chlorine up to level with bleach and then let the SWG "take over" and maintain the level. I use the liquid "CYA" from Leslie's cause it's quicker, but either way you'll want to get CYA in there ASAP to help maintain your chlorine level. Use the "Pool Calculator", there is a link in pool school, if you need help to determine qty's to add.

Not sure what I could recommend to finish off around it. I did rubber mulch. It seemed perfect for up against the pool, and it looks good, but it seems like it always getting dragged out onto the patio and in the house. It's kind of annoying to me really.

[attachment=0:2mdbmsqi]pool.JPG[/attachment:2mdbmsqi]
 
...as a side note on gorilla tape, if you have kids with any PowerWheels type vehicles, you can wrap the tires with gorilla tape if they ever start cracking. It can wreak havoc on the gearing system so wait until you actually start seeing cracks.

And now back to pools...
 

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MirellaJoe said:
I just noticed the legs moved on the wood planks, hubby marked them when we leveled each leg...do i have to be concerned?
Click to expand...

I'm setting up our pool this week - rain has been delaying things here too. I'm also planning to take down at the end of summer and will be reclaiming this part of the yard in a couple years for other purposes so I"m not putting down gravel or a concrete pad.

I also read about the foam vs. rubber mat bottom (I chose the 4x8x1/2 inch styrofoam and gorrilla tape) and decided on the treated wood as supports rather than the pavers. This TFP post had an interesting option I'm going to use since the legs will move: Newbie wanting to start right, please help. "...screw the feet to the plywood because the legs move out at the bottom as the pool fills so the leg support moves with them." So my legs will all be 3/4" off of my strofoam pad and will hopefully slide just a little as the pool fills.

My question is whether to try and seal the styrofoam in two tarps to protect it a little. It looks like you just put the styrofoam on top of your gravel and are looking for a rubber mulch or something else to put on top pf the foam that is on the outside of your pool.
 
MirellaJoe,

What size crushed stone did you use, this is precisely what I want to use under our pool for next year.

The pool and setup look fantastic :cheers:
 
Backyard Luddite said:
MirellaJoe said:
I just noticed the legs moved on the wood planks, hubby marked them when we leveled each leg...do i have to be concerned?
Click to expand...

I'm setting up our pool this week - rain has been delaying things here too. I'm also planning to take down at the end of summer and will be reclaiming this part of the yard in a couple years for other purposes so I"m not putting down gravel or a concrete pad.

I also read about the foam vs. rubber mat bottom (I chose the 4x8x1/2 inch styrofoam and gorrilla tape) and decided on the treated wood as supports rather than the pavers. This TFP post had an interesting option I'm going to use since the legs will move: Newbie wanting to start right, please help. "...screw the feet to the plywood because the legs move out at the bottom as the pool fills so the leg support moves with them." So my legs will all be 3/4" off of my strofoam pad and will hopefully slide just a little as the pool fills.

My question is whether to try and seal the styrofoam in two tarps to protect it a little. It looks like you just put the styrofoam on top of your gravel and are looking for a rubber mulch or something else to put on top pf the foam that is on the outside of your pool.
Click to expand...

Honestly i read somewhere here that u dont need to use the tarp under the foam so thats exactly what i did. As for hiding the foam i think i'm going for a cheap thing this year because of budget purposes i think we are going to do the the artificial grass rug around i know it might look cheap but for now it will do.
 
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