Above ground pools

Does any1 own one? Im not talking about the 300,400 from walmart plastic ones. Im talking about the wood frames or aluminum. Our plans of building a pool got put aside as 40k is a little 2 much for us at the moment. My question is are they worth it? Reliability? Any problems? Would you buy another one ? Well please share ur pros and cons. Pictures would be great also

 

I've got a 24' round Esther Williams Carousel pool that was put up in 1989 and it's still standing after 29 New England winters. It's the extruded aluminum interlocking wall slat design and not a rolled wall setup. Other than a few replacement liners and replacing the carpet on the deck it's been hassle free.

 

@Sean266 needs one in his backyard

 

thanks for the info. If you dont mind me asking how much are the liners? and about how often did you have to replace?

 

I know you said not "walmart" pools, but I had a rectangle Intex pool that was 18 foot x 36 foot x 52 inches deep. kept it up 4 years year round. Only drained it halfway in the winter. That was awesome. Only like 6-7 hundred $$$. I spent more getting the ground leveled. Was very sturdy and easy to clean. Only suggestions are, make sure the land is flat, put Styrofoam underneath, and use a saltwater system. With the saltwater system all you ever have to do is vacuum.

 

I usually average 8-10 years per liner. I redid mine in 2016 for around $550 total (liner, wall foam, foam wall coves,etc)

 

We installed a 28' high end above-ground in August 2016. Love it! Would do it all over again.
Put a huge deck on it last spring. We are in Northwest Indiana and use it daily during pool season.

We used The Great Escape and the process was painless. The pool was about 4K out the door (end of season sale. we saved about $1800) and we took advantage of 36 month 0% financing. We could have paid for it up front I guess, but 0% is free money. The cost of 0% financing though is the hassle of a monthly payment. We considered paying it off immediately, but decided to keep our lump sum money in our bank and give them THEIR money little by little. That being said, it'll be paid off this June just because the payment schedule we put ourselves on worked out that way.

The deck was done by a local contractor and was 4k. It's a pretty good size. Paid cash for that up front to get a better price.

Several of my friends installed in-ground pools within the last few years. Their's were in the 40-70K price range and they are very nice. I would love to have one....but not enough to pay 5-10 times more than I did. Mine is paid for (almost)...theirs are not.

If you do get a pool, be sure to check out the website www.troublefreepool.com Methods developed and preached there make pool ownership sooooooo easy and VERY cheap. I literally use 2 chemicals in my pool and it is crystal clear. Liquid chlorine (Daily) and muriatic acid (occasionally).

 

Thanks for the info. Looks like we dont have any of those stores out in southern cali. What brand pool did u get?

 

We had a 20' round KD (now Zodiac, I think) for 19 years in the hot AZ sun. Had the liner replaced once under warranty. Other than that, no real issues.

I would recommend ditching the cartridge filter is it comes with one. Huge PITA. Find a nice big sand filter on CL and you'll never have to worry about it.

 

Thanks for the info

 

By tomorrow afternoon!!!

 

Mine is a 27' round by 52" deep. We had them make a 3' section all the way around the edges flat and then taper deeper to the center so that the center is a little over 5' deep. Added a deck that come off the exsiting deck of the house....love it.

 

That is..............

 

Yep sand is only way to go. I have had my 24' round for about 15 years. 3 liners but last one failing after some critter burrowed under it. Above takes a little more maintenance than in ground because it is harder to run a automatic sweep full time. I recommend the foam cove versus dirt. Dirt can shift especially here in N. TX.

 

what is foam cove?

 

seems like this might work for me. Hearing a lot of good things about above ground pools.

 

nice pool and deck. looks Bad ass, The way u had them do 3' sections down to 5' doesn't affect the way the vinyl lay out?

 

F'n BA!!!

 

That looks amazing! So

 

Managed and work horsed one of the busiest pool stores and maintenance outlets in Florida through college...

Liners only need replacing if they're not taken care of. Maintain a good chemical balance and you won't have this as a re-occurring problem where a lot of people do. Even though it's relatively cheap to replace, is still a pain in the ass.

Liners have the tendancy to be very delicate when it comes to chems, so air on the side of caution when it does come to adding them. Plus its a pretty small body of water, assuming 5k gallons on the smaller side. They'll be more on the acidic side (usually from over chlorinating) so you'll need to maintain a higher alkalinity, once you get a solid base established (hopefully right after the first fill) you shouldn't have to worry about this too too much.

If you really want something that takes care of itself and want to get rid of the need for chlorine tabs and comstant attention, get a salt system for it. I can't recommend this enough. You don't want to have to worry about the pool turning on you when you forget about it over a crazy hot week. Plus it'll be more gentle on the liner let alone you (and your kids?) skin.

Also what're you getting for 40K.

We used to build in grounds for starting around 30k (20's if smaller) and they were good quality.

 

@speckmon thanks one again for all the helpfull info. I wasnt getting anything fancy. Pool was 35k plus we wanted to do some extra concrete work so it was around 40

 

About ten years ago we wanted a pool (in Ground) but $40-50K or more was insane. Pools only recoup about (maybe) half the investment on home resale in our area. We had some other needs and wants with our house; long story short - We found a newer home that fit our needs with an inground pool.

I would have considered an above ground pool, but the wife couldn't be persuaded.

The salt water system is nice.

 

It all depends on if you are in your "forever home". If you aren't moving then in ground is the way to go. You should be able to get a decent sized one without a hot tub for 30k-35k (hot tubs are EXPENSIVE....ask me how i know).

Here was a preliminary rendering


During:


Done:


After everything was done (pool, turf, landscape and patio cover): $60k

 

I could see that

 

@speckmon any particular brand you recomend? Looks like doughboy is pretty popular name? But trying to see other options

 

X2 on the salt. We bought a house with an inground in August. By the time we opened the pool for the second season I had added a salt system. A world of difference, not just in water quality, but in annual expenses for chemicals also. Just know up front that the salt cell has a lifespan of about 5 years, depending on length of season and how long it generates each day. The one I have for up to 40K gals is $550. It should be less for the smaller sizes. Just for reference, I've only replaced it twice in 12 years, so a little longer than the advertised average.

 

You can create quite a backyard oasis for less than $10k if you are handy.

 

https://youtu.be/rnLofBkLaAA

 

I know its not above ground, but for price comparison this was $20k. Nothing fancy, 28’ x 15’, 12,500 gallon, plaster, self cleaning, with a smart filter. Very easy to care for. I have to add the water feature, but it is already plumbed in, so about $2500-3000 doing it myself. Pool companies want 3x that for the water feature.

 

Ur in Az tho cali wants alot more. If u see the drawing i attached mines real simple pool and they wanted alot more. I even asked what if its just a rectangle the guy said it would be the same price