Seriously considering an AGP...

[dansamy]

I was considering it last year, and with the sweltering heat, I'm revisiting the idea. My local Walmart has plenty of the Coleman 18ft x 48in and the Summer Waves 16ft x 48in. I can get a local handyman fellow to (mostly) level a spot, clearing the sod, etc. and were can finish it off when we level the pavers for the legs and put down sand for the bottom. I know the pool price is just the beginning, but the 18ft is $388 and the 16ft is $277. Thoughts?

(They also have a 22ft, but that's $577 and more than I want to do for a first pool. If I hate having a pool, I want to be able to take it down fast.)

 

[Deb04]

Your yard and your money, but I’d go with the 18 ft. 16 ft is a very small pool.

 

[Deb04]

Once you decide to buy the pool, order your test kit (tf-100 or K2006c) right away so that you are ready for the TFP method right away. This method works and is considerably cheaper than pool store methods. I have a.bigger pool than you’re considering, but I spend about $500/yr on chemicals. Other people look at me like either I’m lying or my pool must be gross when I tell them that. They’re spending that every 2-3 weeks. I do have a SWG, which helps on the chemical cost. I don’t buy much bleach, I just have to replace the SWG for $600 periodically. Just had to do that for the first time. First SWG lasted 11 yrs. I hear 5 yrs is closer to average.

 

[rajung]

If you decide to go with the Coleman, I suggest staying away from the ones with the window on the sidewall. Another member questioned about what to do for a leak from it. I did some web searching and found there are many people that have had that problem and are totally frustrated since a repair is not likely, or easily done. You may do some research yourself. It looks like that 18 x 48 is one of them. Maybe they have changed the design to address the issue ?

 

[KarenNJ]

People on here say that you'll never wish you had a smaller pool and I agree. If you're going through the trouble of flattening out an area I would plan for the pool size you want and then do one size bigger. Especially if you're not going to be taking it down each year. Our neighbors have a 15 foot Intex and 4Kids is absolute Max. I would go for the 22ft

 

[KarenNJ]

Also we have a saltwater generator so I spend very little on the pool each year. I need maybe a bag or two of salt on opening and one container of stabilizer. Then really the only other cost is closing. I need enough liquid chlorine to bring the pool up to slam level and then I would need the cover and pillow if we can't use the one from the previous year.

 

[dansamy]

Thanks for the info on pool sizes folks. It's hard to picture how big something is without much of a frame of reference. So we have, at max, 6 adults who would be in the pool at any one time. Mostly I figure 2-3 at a time, but 6 would be everybody. So, Walmart/Target/Lowe's wild likely not carry one big enough? I should be considering the 20+ sizes?

 

[Bosley]

Go with whatever size your yard & budget allows. I started off yrs ago with a 15' intex. 3 people and it was tight but that was the max size my yard would allow. Now we have a 27' and the only reason we didnt do a 30' is because of the amount of real estate it uses up.

 

[KarenNJ]

You could fit 6 adults in is 16 ft but you're literally just going to be standing without much room to move around. You can't go by the pictures on the boxes they make them look so much bigger lol. Get something to Mark out a 16 foot circle and then get a few people to stand in it and you'll see it's not very big. The neighbors who have the 15 foot pool, her kids are always in my above ground pool

 

[Poolzzz]

Our 15 foot is great for me and the two grandkids (3 & 5). More than that and it starts to feel crowded. Can't imagine 6 adults in a 18 ft unless they are just standing.

But number of people is only one part of the equation. What will you do in it? Maybe round is not even the right shape for you. Also how deep do you want the water? Some of this you won't know until gaining experience so there's an argument for buying cheap now and investing more when you know what you really want.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Check online for your pool. All the retailers have sizes that they don't sell in the brick & mortar stores available online. Check out Amazon, too.

We got a 14' x 48" because we thought that's all our site could hold. After laying it out, we could easily fit a 16' in the area, or any size if we moved to the other side of the house. Heck, we could put in an in ground of we could afford it on that side.

So go for the biggest pool you can safely fit in your available space.

 

[Blacklisted]

For size use a garden hose or rope to lay it out to see how it fits the yard and stand/ lay in the circle to see how it will fit your needs. We have the 15' Intex and for us it works. It's normally My wife and I and a few friends and we just normally hang out/float with the chair style floats. It can get a little crowded but it's not that bad for us.

 

[S-Merry]

Also, check with your city to see if there are fencing requirements, or other permits needed based on size. Where we are, they are determined by how many gallons of water the pool holds. A few years ago we had a 15ft Intex, because an 18 foot would've pushed us in to needing higher fencing for our yard (5ft instead of 4), even for an Intex. My sister took our 15 ft when we decided to put in our current AGP, and her city requires special permits for putting up the 15ft.

 

[Purple]

Last year we bought a 15’ round intex. It was fine for me and my 2 kids, or for each of my kids to have a friend over.

We loved it so much that this year we bought a hard sided pool, and based on the advice of people here, I upsized to the 18’. It is a very tight fit for the space it’s in, but the extra bit of swimming room definitely makes a difference. Plenty of room for me, 2 kids, 2 dogs and a water slide.

If I had to do it again, I’d still choose the 18’ pool, but I wouldn’t buy a hard sided pool again. The intex was a breeze to install, whereas my current pool was the single worst project I’ve ever done and I still have anxiety it’s going to collapse or something. Water maintenance has been easier than I expected, though.