Above-ground pools with decking...

[Princesca]

Hey guys - I've been surfing the web looking for above ground pools that I like, but I'm having a really hard time. I have an acre plot, a small part of which is taken up by my house, and I want to put a pool in next spring. I have always wanted an inground pool, but I don't think I can justify the cost of that. My neighborhood is not very upscale, and putting in an inground pool would really price the house out of its market were I to resell. (I know you can't even depend on a pool adding to your home value and most of the time it decreases it.)

In any event, I'm trying to make my peace with an above-ground, saltwater pool with decking, but I have a deck configuration that doesn't lend itself very well to integration. My current deck is attached to my house and sits only about three steps up off the ground. It feels weird to me to think of having a deck that goes out, then down, then up... or even that just goes out and then up, so the pool decking is higher than the house decking. (Does this make any sense?)

And then I wonder if an above-ground pool with decking is going to run me nearly as much as an inground.

Has anyone installed an above-ground pool that would be higher than the existing deck? Usually when I see pics, the pool deck is lower than the existing house deck.

Any other general thoughts are also welcome...

Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hey guys - I've been surfing the web looking for above ground pools that I like, but I'm having a really hard time. I have an acre plot, a small part of which is taken up by my house, and I want to put a pool in next spring. I have always wanted an inground pool, but I don't think I can justify the cost of that. My neighborhood is not very upscale, and putting in an inground pool would really price the house out of its market were I to resell. (I know you can't even depend on a pool adding to your home value and most of the time it decreases it.)

In any event, I'm trying to make my peace with an above-ground, saltwater pool with decking, but I have a deck configuration that doesn't lend itself very well to integration. My current deck is attached to my house and sits only about three steps up off the ground. It feels weird to me to think of having a deck that goes out, then down, then up... or even that just goes out and then up, so the pool decking is higher than the house decking. (Does this make any sense?)

And then I wonder if an above-ground pool with decking is going to run me nearly as much as an inground.

Has anyone installed an above-ground pool that would be higher than the existing deck? Usually when I see pics, the pool deck is lower than the existing house deck.

Any other general thoughts are also welcome...

Thanks!

I don't see why the pool decking and your regular deck HAVE to be the same level. Lots of decks have multiple levels. I'd just add 2 or 3 steps from your regular deck up to the pool deck.

For example:

 

[nkereina]

What if you made a separate deck for the pool? Friends of ours have a deck off the side of their house. About 20 feet out from that, more in the middle of the yard, they have their above ground pool and have built a deck around it. You go up maybe 5-6 steps, and the deck is large enough that they have a table on it as well. It does not connect to their "main" deck where there's another table, gas grill, etc. My grandparents had a similar set up as well. I never thought either looked weird - the deck around the pool was for laying out or people who didn't want to go in the pool, and the "main" deck was for dinner or a non-pool night.

As to whether it would be the same price as an inground after all is said and done, I'm betting not. Our neighbors just had an inground pool installed. It cost them about $40K and we have pretty small yards. A co-worker is having an above ground pool installed and it's costing her $2500. I don't know how much additional the deck would be, but we paid $6600 for our PVC deck about two years ago which was in line with other estimates.

 

[Princesca]

Good to know, and I do like those pictures, too! The second one would be nice to make a little wooden "boardwalk" to party central. I wonder how much a deck like that would cost to build.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Those pictures are good examples of how nice it can be if you have the correct configuration in your yard to make it work that way.

We have an above ground pool with a deck separate from the house and we're happy with it too.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I don't know how flat your yard is, but I've seen many "above ground" pools recessed into the ground in order to level them and make the top flush with an existing deck. This only really works if you have a way to drain off the water that would puddle up around the outside of the pool.

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

We have a Kayak Pool. It is recessed in the ground half way. I wanted it recessed all the way in the ground, but it was already getting $$$.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I didn't build it (it came with the house) but my deck is that way, and I love it! Here is a pic taken from my back door:

 

[low-key]

decks around an above ground pool are so cool looking but Im a firm believer in pools should be patiently waited for a vacation

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

There are above-ground pool materials that can be put in the ground. It used to be that the panels were made of metal and weren't meant to be placed into the ground, but I think you'll find that if you go to a pool store that you have a lot more options. My neighbor has a similar setup to yours and they have their pool installed so that it's about halfway in the ground. The only weird thing is the filter, for some reason they have this weird hole cut out of the ground for the filter, it sits down in this little recess and there's even a couple steps going down into it.

 

[mom2travel]

Many years ago we had a 4' pool that was partially below ground (I believe it was 2' above and 2' under) with a deck around it. The pool store we used had contractors who did this type of thing. I'd suggest talking to someone who knows. Price will depend on how big the pool is, how much decking you want and what material for the decking. Also unless you are digging the hole yourself, there will be labor costs for the submersion that you wouldn't have for an above-ground pool.

Also, we had a large patio off the back of the house and used landscaping with pavers to create a path to the pool stairs. Having different elevations didn't look odd at all.

Good luck!

 

[Jim MN]

Hey guys - I've been surfing the web looking for above ground pools that I like, but I'm having a really hard time. I have an acre plot, a small part of which is taken up by my house, and I want to put a pool in next spring. I have always wanted an inground pool, but I don't think I can justify the cost of that. My neighborhood is not very upscale, and putting in an inground pool would really price the house out of its market were I to resell. (I know you can't even depend on a pool adding to your home value and most of the time it decreases it.)

In any event, I'm trying to make my peace with an above-ground, saltwater pool with decking, but I have a deck configuration that doesn't lend itself very well to integration. My current deck is attached to my house and sits only about three steps up off the ground. It feels weird to me to think of having a deck that goes out, then down, then up... or even that just goes out and then up, so the pool decking is higher than the house decking. (Does this make any sense?)

And then I wonder if an above-ground pool with decking is going to run me nearly as much as an inground.

Has anyone installed an above-ground pool that would be higher than the existing deck? Usually when I see pics, the pool deck is lower than the existing house deck.

Any other general thoughts are also welcome...

Hi there! Did you finished to build you pool? If so, would you please share your experience about that. I Prefer to have some of pictures of your pools, and some suggestion about the pools-building process. I tend to have a new pool in 2018 summer for my kids...and I realized that your ideas can make sense to me.

 

[rajak73]

I don't know how flat your yard is, but I've seen many "above ground" pools recessed into the ground in order to level them and make the top flush with an existing deck.

We just purchased a 24', 52" above ground pool and asked this exact question because we had already built a deck for a 48" pool we had, pool dealer said it could go 24" recessed. The pool company also did no excavating so I would have had to hire that done.