Above ground swimming pool.

PTL

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Considering purchasing an above ground pool, looking for feedback from those who may have one or had one. The good, bad and ugly. :)
 
We have one. The good is its a pool in our backyard and we use it all the time. It was given to us, so our initial investment was nothing. And we were already building a deck so we were able to incorporate it into our look and I actually like the way it looks.

The bad is it takes maintenance. Getting the chemicals right is like being in charge of a giant science experiment. It's very hard and I'm not sure I've ever been successful at it and we've had it ten years. When it rains, the chemicals change. When there is pollen the chemicals change. When it's hot... You get the idea. Also, it has a filter and a motor which are kinda tricky and take my husbands knowledge. And it does cost money. We bought a new liner this year (you only have to do this every 5-10 years) and reprinted ours. Then refilled it up. I don't feel like normally we spend a ton of money, but it does cost money

The ugly is up to you. If you don't mind the look, they don't have to look ugly.
 
Considering purchasing an above ground pool, looking for feedback from those who may have one or had one. The good, bad and ugly. :)

We have had pools since I was a little kid and when my daughter was 2 I had one put in. Its really not that big of a deal. Once you get it opened and the ph/alkalinity etc set you just need to maintain it. Toss Chlorine in every few days, shock once a week, check water balance, backwash the filter (depending on the type you have). Two years ago mine got a little tricky because I went away for 2 weeks and no one notice that the timer had blown so I came back to a mess but in a few days it was cleared up. I tend to run my filter a lot just because I like to- I opened the pool 2 weeks ago and haven't shut off the filter since- next weekend I will put it on a time to run a few hours during the day and then 10 hours at night. I find it gives me less trouble maintaining the water if I leave the filter on more. My neighbor only runs theirs 4 hours a day and always have trouble with balancing it.
 
We have had pools since I was a little kid and when my daughter was 2 I had one put in. Its really not that big of a deal. Once you get it opened and the ph/alkalinity etc set you just need to maintain it. Toss Chlorine in every few days, shock once a week, check water balance, backwash the filter (depending on the type you have). Two years ago mine got a little tricky because I went away for 2 weeks and no one notice that the timer had blown so I came back to a mess but in a few days it was cleared up. I tend to run my filter a lot just because I like to- I opened the pool 2 weeks ago and haven't shut off the filter since- next weekend I will put it on a time to run a few hours during the day and then 10 hours at night. I find it gives me less trouble maintaining the water if I leave the filter on more. My neighbor only runs theirs 4 hours a day and always have trouble with balancing it.

I agree, its not really a big deal to maintain the chemicals. We just plop some chlorine tabs in the filter basket, shock it once a week and run the filter about 8 hours a day. We did spend a lot of time skimming out leaves but had a bunch of trees taken down so it has made it so much better. We vacuum regularly so that the debris/junk doesn't build up and make us go through chlorine faster.
As far as ugly, there is no uglier AG pool than mine, it came with the house so its older and I didn't pick it out. I just replaced the liner from plain blue to a more decorative one. I plan on landscaping around it to make it look better, but its on the bottom of long list of other things to do. Truth is, once its opened and we are enjoying it on those hot summer days, I don't care so much about the ugly :laughing:
 


luvmy3 said:
I agree, its not really a big deal to maintain the chemicals. We just plop some chlorine tabs in the filter basket, shock it once a week and run the filter about 8 hours a day. We did spend a lot of time skimming out leaves but had a bunch of trees taken down so it has made it so much better. We vacuum regularly so that the debris/junk doesn't build up and make us go through chlorine faster.
:

I had ONE tree growing over mine all through the years but after superstorm Sandy my neighbors had it removed so nothing but full sun now and no crap dropping initial! I usually keep a solar cover on it anyway since I am happiest when the water is at least 88 degrees when I go in!
 
We had one for about 10 years or so. It was only an 18 foot round, but it did the job. Luckily, it went right up to the deck, so we could walk out back door, thru a little gate, and hop in, no walking on the grass or dirt to get in I mean.

I did the chemicals, and after a little awhile, you get in the groove. I had a DE filter, not sand, so no backwashing. But yes, I shocked it once a week, then vacuumed.I kept that pool crystal clear, lol. With the DE, I would break filter down and change the DE monthly as well. (I could do this very quickly).

What is so nice about those pools, they are not that expensive, and when kids are grown, you can remove it like I did. Grass growing again in that area, and no more dealing with it now.
 
Considering purchasing an above ground pool, looking for feedback from those who may have one or had one. The good, bad and ugly. :)
The good thing is that you have summer recreation right outside of your back door.

The bad news is that you have to maintain it with chemicals, filtering, vacuuming and skimming.

The ugly is that everyone will want to hang out at your place, which means that you're providing snacks for the neighborhood, not to mention having to keep a close eye on somebody's kids all summer.

And then there's the effect on your homeowner's insurance, the electric bill for running the filter, the cost of the pool chemicals, possible cost to install a fence around the pool if your town requires one, and dealing with your homeowners association if your community has one.
 


We have had pools since I was a little kid and when my daughter was 2 I had one put in. Its really not that big of a deal. Once you get it opened and the ph/alkalinity etc set you just need to maintain it. Toss Chlorine in every few days, shock once a week, check water balance, backwash the filter (depending on the type you have). Two years ago mine got a little tricky because I went away for 2 weeks and no one notice that the timer had blown so I came back to a mess but in a few days it was cleared up. I tend to run my filter a lot just because I like to- I opened the pool 2 weeks ago and haven't shut off the filter since- next weekend I will put it on a time to run a few hours during the day and then 10 hours at night. I find it gives me less trouble maintaining the water if I leave the filter on more. My neighbor only runs theirs 4 hours a day and always have trouble with balancing it.

Last year we got a solar heater and used those liquid solor cover things and our pool was like bath water. Once we had the trees taken down, it gets sun almost all day and it got so warm that some days we actually spent the whole day in it. Of course this year, the heater has some leaks and dh is recovering from knee surgery so he cant get up the ladder to fix them yet. The water was cold yesterday!
 
We just installed our 21 ft with a aquapro heat pump. Love it. lots of hard work but worth it. the kiddies are almost as happy as they are at disney!!
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Last year we got a solar heater and used those liquid solor cover things and our pool was like bath water. Once we had the trees taken down, it gets sun almost all day and it got so warm that some days we actually spent the whole day in it. Of course this year, the heater has some leaks and dh is recovering from knee surgery so he cant get up the ladder to fix them yet. The water was cold yesterday!

What type of solar heater did you get? I have seen so many mixed reviews on them that I don't know if user error is making for negative reviews or if the units don't actually work. We were looking to get the 2X10 panel type that goes on a roof. Are you also referring to the new (well, I think it's new) chemical that you can put in the pool and it stays on the surface and keeps the water warm? Do you add that after you get your water up to temp? We live in MI so I need a heater that will raise the temp a few degrees, not just one or two like I have read some reviews say.
 
We have one in our Florida home (near Pensacola). I highly suggest you get a salt system. Its SO MUCH EASIER than chlorine. I also suggest a solar blanket. Last year we swam from March - October. Between the solar blanket and our home-made solar heater system the water was always nice and warm. We prefer to swim at night due to the harsh FL sun, so high 80's is heaven for us.

I am stomping my feet like a crazy woman for having to move to VA and going an entire summer without a pool, and honestly don't know how to remedy the situation other than maybe get a hot tub because its just not warm here! BLECH!

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What type of solar heater did you get? I have seen so many mixed reviews on them that I don't know if user error is making for negative reviews or if the units don't actually work. We were looking to get the 2X10 panel type that goes on a roof. Are you also referring to the new (well, I think it's new) chemical that you can put in the pool and it stays on the surface and keeps the water warm? Do you add that after you get your water up to temp? We live in MI so I need a heater that will raise the temp a few degrees, not just one or two like I have read some reviews say.

Do you have a solar blanket? It will hold the heat in at night, which is key to keeping the water warm, even if you have an external heater, nighttime heat loss is the biggest issue.
 
We've had an above ground pool about 18 years now. We have only replaced it once & when we did it was with a used pool we purchased...so they have a long lifetime.

Expenses run maybe $25 to $30 a week for us. That includes the chemicals & the extra electricity & water. Pretty cheap summertime entertainment!

We use liquid shock & Ag 60 & cholrine tablets. Is easy to keep sparkly clean & I rarely have a problem with the water. I shock every 10 days & add 5 oz of the ag60 at the same time & keep the floater full of tablets. We run the filter on & off /12 hrs on & 12 off usually. I also shock after a heavy swimday...especially if tots were swimming.

It does take vacumming, skimming & correct chemicals & filter running to keep it clean, but it is easy to do. We are supposed to do the chemicals every 2 weeks. I found by practice thst every 10 days works better. Is easier to stay on top of it than to correct a water problem!

We love it. We built a deck on the side of our house & the door on the deck connects to our master bathroom. We fenced in that little area & I have a flowerbed with a fishpond, porchswing & pincic table & lots of hanging baskets & it looks cute & cheery & fun out there...definitely not an eyesore! This used to be my kiddos hangout spot & now is a grandkiddo haven!

Only 2 things I dislike about it. Taking the cover off each spring. I dislike that job...but it sure keeps it clean all winter under our trees. And I totally dislike installing a pool. We put up both of ours & it is difficult!! Ours is a 24 foot round, 4 foot deep. Next pool, somebody else is installing it!
 
What type of solar heater did you get? I have seen so many mixed reviews on them that I don't know if user error is making for negative reviews or if the units don't actually work. We were looking to get the 2X10 panel type that goes on a roof. Are you also referring to the new (well, I think it's new) chemical that you can put in the pool and it stays on the surface and keeps the water warm? Do you add that after you get your water up to temp? We live in MI so I need a heater that will raise the temp a few degrees, not just one or two like I have read some reviews say.

That is the heater that we have and it really worked well, and I was pretty surprised that it did. We have it on our shed roof and dh trenched under the ground to the pool and laid out PVC pipe. It does get sun all day, and that is important since if its not in the sun and you run the water through it will cool the pool. He put in a shut off valve so we can run the filter and bypass the heater. On the hot humid days it, the water was really warm, due to the lack of evaporation. I did use the liquid solar cover (fish that you throw in ad they sink to the bottom), its just alcohol so its safe. I swear it worked, but we do have humid summers here so that may have helped. We kept tabs on our temp and it did get over 90 degrees on really hot days, it was just like bath water. Before the heater, it was no where near that, probably not even 80 degrees.

It is kind of cheesy, its hard plastic consisting of tubes that the water flows through, and ours came with leaks at some of the seams. Dh used a marine epoxy to seal it since it was easier than taking it down, boxing it up and returning it.
We left it up over the winter and it did spring some more leaks. I assume there was water left in it and it froze and split the seams. Dh did pump out the water, but its possible it didn't all get out. He is just going to use the epoxy again, so hopefully it will do the trick.

ETA When installing, they expect you to actually drill into your roof. Dh did not want to do that so he constructed a holder for the panels and it hangs over the ridge line of the roof (we have panels on both sides of the roof).

I have a pic but I have no idea how to post it!
 
We love our above ground pool. I would suggest to avoid a sand filter and go with diatomaceaous earth. Once we switched, we had cleaner water and less algae. Having your water tested at the beginning of the swim season will help get the chemicals right. The people at the pool place we go to really seem to know what they are doing.

As for being the "host" to the neighborhood kids all summer. We allow our children to invite their friends to swim pretty much anytime. I am usually in the pool with the kids or on the deck with a book. I will provide popsicles and water because they are cheap. I do not feed anyone lunch except my own kids. If the kids are hungry, go home and eat and then you may come back. If children appear who are not close friends with my children and want to swim I tell them they may swim but their mom or dad must come over and watch them. Usually, they don't come back. I don't want to be responsible for people's children when I don't really know the parents. I've never had a problem with my neighbors being upset over my rules. We absolutely do not allow anyone to use our pool when we are not home.
 
If children appear who are not close friends with my children and want to swim I tell them they may swim but their mom or dad must come over and watch them. Usually, they don't come back. I don't want to be responsible for people's children when I don't really know the parents. I've never had a problem with my neighbors being upset over my rules. We absolutely do not allow anyone to use our pool when we are not home.


I've never had kids just appear that wanted to go swimming- the years of just knocking on someones door to see if the kid is home has been over here for a long while.
My neighbors use my pool when I am not here with my full blessing! Its there in the yard, might as well make use of it even if we are not home! One neighbor on one side is an older couple (60) and on the other side is a mom, dad and 5 year old who may also use the pool when they want.
 
That is the heater that we have and it really worked well, and I was pretty surprised that it did. We have it on our shed roof and dh trenched under the ground to the pool and laid out PVC pipe. It does get sun all day, and that is important since if its not in the sun and you run the water through it will cool the pool. He put in a shut off valve so we can run the filter and bypass the heater. On the hot humid days it, the water was really warm, due to the lack of evaporation. I did use the liquid solar cover (fish that you throw in ad they sink to the bottom), its just alcohol so its safe. I swear it worked, but we do have humid summers here so that may have helped. We kept tabs on our temp and it did get over 90 degrees on really hot days, it was just like bath water. Before the heater, it was no where near that, probably not even 80 degrees.

It is kind of cheesy, its hard plastic consisting of tubes that the water flows through, and ours came with leaks at some of the seams. Dh used a marine epoxy to seal it since it was easier than taking it down, boxing it up and returning it.
We left it up over the winter and it did spring some more leaks. I assume there was water left in it and it froze and split the seams. Dh did pump out the water, but its possible it didn't all get out. He is just going to use the epoxy again, so hopefully it will do the trick.

ETA When installing, they expect you to actually drill into your roof. Dh did not want to do that so he constructed a holder for the panels and it hangs over the ridge line of the roof (we have panels on both sides of the roof).

I have a pic but I have no idea how to post it!

I think maybe we should make one like Lucigo's so that it will fit on my shed roof instead of my house (shed roof is only 8 ft long and is in direct sun). I know dh won't want to drill holes in our roof to install the solar heater either. Our pool is in shade until 3-4 pm due to the trees in our back yard, so we really need a heater this year. We bumped up from 13x39 pool to 14x48 and it seems so much bigger!
 
Thanks for all the replies. They are very helpful. I love the pics as well. Price of pool will be a big factor and also the placement. Our septic tank is in an awkward place in yard :(

Never the less, I am going to keep looking. My daugher saw the pic with deck and was like, that's what we need, lol. Baby steps.:)
 
It's great to see so many folks loving their pools.
My perspective is a little different, and my experience as well.

We bought our rural home with the above ground pool (24 foot, 4 feet deep) already there, moving in during June so the pool was already going for the summer.

We did enjoy it that summer, and learned the ins and outs of all the chemicals (Baquacil).

One thing we noticed was how much water we kept having to add, even though we kept the pool covered when we were not using it.

Also, it's like the pool was a leaf and bug magnet, covered or not the junk got in.
I really blame that on where the prev. owners chose to locate it- downwind of every tree and bush on the place. :lmao:

We tend to have dry summers here in southern Virginia (though this season has been wet so far- unusual for us), so by the time we had been here a year and a half, we were putting a lot of water into the pool every week and were concerned for the long term life of our well.


Some years we haven't had to mow from June - September because of lack of rain, so due to concern for running our well dry, (and the cost of chemicals) we gave away our pool.

We honestly did not use it that much. :confused3
We live on a farm and there's lots to do- I'd rather water my garden then a puddle wrapped in plastic/metal any day :rotfl:

It was such a relief when it was finally gone!

So for me the formula for pool happiness needs to involve not just the cost of chemicals and time to clean and care for the pool,
but also the cost of the water, your lifestyle and how much free time you actually have to enjoy said pool.

Lots of people really love their pools- maybe we're just odd :upsidedow :rotfl2:
 

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