Uk - Intex Xtr 18 x 9 build

[BoringDamo]

Ok so technically I had my pool up for a month at the end of last year but I thought I’d do a build thread for the full build for this year as I have way more stuff and i can include links to help UK based folk.

I purchased an Intex XTR 18ft by 9ft from Ultra XTR Frame Above Ground Swimming Pool 18ft x 9ft x 52" Rectangular for £1095 in August 2020.
(Now £1495 and out of stock!! Glad my wife talked me into it).




After a quick unpack and getting excited I did some browsing and found TFP. Thankfully I quickly learnt my garden wasn’t level enough and my soil not compact enough (just had the lawn turfed with an inch of new soil laid on top of old). So began a week of digging by hand in 35-38C (95-100F) temps. It nearly killed me but I lost 6lb in weight so not all bad. A quick few (well lots) of 100m each way trips with the wheelbarrow 2.5 tonnes of sand had made its way to the correct spot.


Finally some 50mm (2”) pavers from Selco provided the leg supports and the pool was filled


I used the standard pump (1200GPH) and sand filter (10”) which was ok but needed backwashing frequently as it’s probably a little undersized.

A 500micron solar cover (SolGuard Geo) from Swimming Pool Covers | Solar Pool Covers | Pool Supplies UK | Pool Equipment Suppliers was added to help retain some heat.
I only used the pool a handful of times before it got cold. My daughter and friends used it for the last time in late September with the water at a chilly 19C (66F).
It was then taken down and packed up ready for this year.
Next post will be my many winter purchases...

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hello BoringDamo Welcome to TFP posting. Glad to have you here-

Thank you for sharing the pics of your lovely garden and details of the pool build (congrats on saving money buying last year!). Since you'll be putting the pool back up again this year I just want to share some best practices for the legs of your pool, from our WIKI articles:

• Each ‘joint’ of the pool frame needs to be on a level surface overall. Get cement pavers for each joint or leg of the track/frame, and ensure they are level with each other and the surface of the top of the ground around it. You will have dig down to make the pavers level with the ground it. 8x8 inch or larger 4 inch thick cement pavers are the favored material for this. The cement pavers must be larger than the legs of the pool to compensate for any slight movements of the pool while filling it or at times when kids do cannonballs or make large waves in the pool.
• Intex recommends using 2x6 or 2x12 pressure treated boards instead of pavers to support the legs on their rectangular pools. The support for the legs needs to be large enough so the legs do not hang off the sides of the support, and so the legs have room to spread out as the pool is filled.

How to level above ground pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Cheers!

Maddie

 

[Newdude]

Ok so technically I had my pool up for a month at the end of last year but I thought I’d do a build thread for the full build for this year

That’s ok, I just pretended it was now. Sweet job. Welcome to TFP.

 

[BoringDamo]

New purchases still to come in this thread but needed to widen the base slightly from last year based upon Intex 9'x18' Support Pad Dimensions.
A bit more digging and also needed to put a small concrete edging to hold the sides up. Nearly there but close to freezing today so no go on the concrete.

 

[BoringDamo]

Slightly warmer today so half done on the edging and started the extension of the pad.

 

[kellyfair]

Curious about the edging - are the legs butting up against it?

 

[BoringDamo]

Curious about the edging - are the legs butting up against it?

No they won’t be. The pavers will be put back down and the legs will sit in the middle of the pavers.
The grass is between 3 and 9 inches higher than the pool base. I needed something to stop that collapsing in so decided on that edging.
I’ve also got 40mm (1.5”) XPS insulation board to sit under the pool. That will bring the bottom of the pool level with the top of the pavers.

 

[kellyfair]

No they won’t be. The pavers will be put back down and the legs will sit in the middle of the pavers.
The grass is between 3 and 9 inches higher than the pool base. I needed something to stop that collapsing in so decided on that edging.
I’ve also got 40mm (1.5”) XPS insulation board to sit under the pool. That will bring the bottom of the pool level with the top of the pavers.

Very nice job on the edging!

I would sink the pavers into the ground (top edge even with ground surface). That foam is going to compress over time.

 

[BoringDamo]

A few of the winter purchases.
1. Pump and filter combo - upgrade intex 1200gph to 0.75hp / 18” sand filter. Also needed because I got a pool heat pump

Remora FS Above Ground Swimming Pool Filter Set - AES

The Remora FS swimming pool filter set is exclusive to AES and offers a choice of six matched filter and pump combinations suitable for above ground pools

www.automatedenvironmentalsystems.co.uk

Pool heat pump - 15.8Kw on/off - Remora On/Off Swimming Pool Heat Pump with Built-in Wi-Fi - AES

Pump bypass valve

2. A pool cover reel (The intex one - had ok reviews and was only £80 from Amazon)

3. Skimmer (Ergh it’s beige. Completely missed that when I ordered. I wouldn’t order from the same place again)

4. Intex robot vac (£70 from Auto Pool Cleaner - looks like price has already gone up).

5. Boxer patch repair kit (just in case).
6. Skimmer socks (technically free because they took me over the free delivery threshold!)

 

[kellyfair]

Nice haul!

 

[BoringDamo]

Edging and pad finished yesterday. Next up is building a little shed thing for my pump.

 

[kellyfair]

Nice job!

 

[BoringDamo]

Small shed / cupboard built for the pump this weekend. The most over engineered pump shed of all time as I only had some larger timber left from my old house which got knocked down (some 5x2 old roof timbers!)


Taking shape early on ...

Finished for now (I’ll buy some feather edge timber cladding at some point to make it look nice)


But there is no room to work on your pump ... (reveal fanfare )

 

[BoringDamo]

More swag, unfortunately temps in UK are below average at the moment so don’t think the pool will be going up for 3 or 4 weeks yet.

Couldn’t find a FAS-dpd test anywhere, even after contacting all the main companies, and shipping a Taylor kit seemed to be a no no. Stumbled upon Water Treatment Products | Speciality Chemicals and Technical Solutions who offer a titration high range chlorine test (based on sodium carbonate and xylene cyanol, don’t ask, I’m just hoping it works).
I spoke to them and they offered to create a pool test kit for me with the relevant tests (well except CH but with an Intex pool I’m less worried about that).
I thought it was a good deal at £100 but when I went to pay that was ex VAT so came to £120 with tax and delivery. But I can buy the reagents separately so hopefully economical in the long run (they said there is enough reagents for 100-200 tests)


Next up a speed stir. Unfortunately the speed stir everyone in the US uses was going to be £80 ($110) to get in the UK which was way too much.
I found a cheapish alternative (£35) at Autoaqua Smart Stir
but didn’t spot it had sides where the vials go and there was only 28mm gap. This was too small for the mixing vials in my test kit so had to buy some more.
The right size was hard to find for a reasonable cost but eventually found some here 45mls clear round container
They are a tight squeeze but do fit but I also got some 25mm 30ml glass vials from the same site. (I only need 40mls vials for chlorine testing above 10ppm)

 

[kellyfair]

Be sure not to use glass vials around the pool!

I like the test kit case - I want a new one!

 

[BoringDamo]

Be sure not to use glass vials around the pool!e

I like the test kit case - I want a new one!

Yes good advice, safety first.

I plan on bringing a beaker of water into the utility room and doing all the tests there. I’ve got good storage for test kit stuff and a sink so easy cleaning up. The pool chemicals live in the shed at the bottom of the garden so I’ll just go back out once I know the daily changes required (go Pool Math app!)

 

[kellyfair]

Yes good advice, safety first.

I plan on bringing a beaker of water into the utility room and doing all the tests there. I’ve got good storage for test kit stuff and a sink so easy cleaning up. The pool chemicals live in the shed at the bottom of the garden so I’ll just go back out once I know the daily changes required (go Pool Math app!)

Perfect!

 

[BoringDamo]

Finally warm and dry enough to get the pool up. I think it’s going to be a long day...

The pool is starting it’s sunbathing for a few hours. I’ll start to unroll it as it warms up.



Next goes the foam, unfortunately we can’t get the big sheets like you can in the US.

 

[kellyfair]

Be sure to tape that foam together!

 

[BoringDamo]

Be sure to tape that foam together!

On the job