A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Above ground pool

We've been looking at a $200 above ground pool from walmart. It's a metal sided one, and it's only 3 1/2 feet deep---13 feet wide....so it's not huge, but big enough for us to get in it and cool down. It's just so miserable in the summer and we both love to swim and we didn't go once last year. Oh, we possibly might go for the $300 4 ft pool....just thought I'd throw that in.

So my question is, do you have one? And if so is it a LOT of maintenance....

Is it best to take it down in the fall, or can you leave it up all year round?

Seems like most of the neighbors and my friends have been getting them, and while I sit on the back porch we were saying how nice the neighbors pool looked and how we'd love to be able to get in and cool off.....

I don't love the look of an above ground pool, but I think I'll enjoy getting in it more than I'd dislike the look of it.

We had one 20 years ago and used it quite a bit. As I remember we had trouble keeping the water clear and it was a bit of work setting it up, but once we he got it set up, it was great. I would float on my back for HOURS with just my mouth and nose above water and a rag across my eyes like in an isolation tank. AMAZING!

I can see you doing that!

I think we'd both get a ton of use out of it and it would be nice to not have to go to the public pools around here.

When Amy was a toddler we had an above ground pool for her - not quite as large as you are talking about but it was about 3 feet deep. The problem that quickly came was tons of mosquitoes, and lots of algae growing in it - it was in full all day sun, just like the pond is now.

Would that also be the location for you, Loz?

this is our 3rd season having a 4 ft above ground walmart pool. we have gotten a LOT of use out of it. we just love it! we leave ours up year round. I read that if you try to store it critters will most likely get to it and chew holes in it. or if it gets too hot the plastic may somewhat melt and stick together. we replaced the little pump and filter that came with ours for a bigger and better one. the little one that comes with it worked ok for us as long as we kept it running constantly and only swam every other day or so. having kids and neighbor kids ect. keeping them out of it every other day caused more fighting than solving any kind of problem. ha ha. like i said this is our 3rd summer to have ours and the metal poles holding it up are rusting. I"m sure it will make it through this season as long as the kidos are respectful and gentle with it. but, I believe this will be the last year.

Lynne, I actually have a shady spot down at the bottom of the yard that I was thinking of putting it in. Should've put the pond there huh?

Cricket....thanks for the response....3 seasons out of it isn't too bad when you figure up the cost and divide it by 3 right? I mean it's not bad at all. I just think it would be so nice to be able to get in and cool down every night.

Our friends have one for their daughter..they said it was great but the taking it apart for winter was the worst. Mind you, you only get a bit of snow there. They also had to put a filter pump in it to keep it clean.

You can get a winterizing kit...I just found it on Walmart. The pools come with a pump and ladder and tarp and all that stuff so it's not a bad price for the use we'd get out of it.

My best friend said it's best to get a vacuum for it too.....

I would LOVE it! I love to swim.

Loz,
We had one for a couple yrs in Az- hardest part in setting it up was digging out the circle and placing sand in it for the liner not to get holes in- we did get a lot of use out of it and I agree the upgraded pump was a must- ours was in full sun too till late afternoon but didn't get alge in it - we did test the water everyday and added the clorine and stuff ... also get a net to get out the leaves and critters... we left it up yr round but no snow there at all of course- wind did ours in - took it right down one fall... no more pool-
I wouldn't mind having one here but would have to come down for winter and I don't think hubby would go for that at all.. need a place to store it too...
guess we'll stick with the kid's pools... have fun which ever one you end up with..
Nana

Mom & Dad bought my DB a pool when he was still home--it was/is 4 feet deep and ratehr large around---My sister has it now---BTW--my brother was 15 when they got it and he is now 42 with kids of his own. The only thing to be replaced tha I am aware of is someone had to get a new pump system once and when my sister took it over she bought a new liner---I cannot say if that was necessary then ot not.

Mom & dad kept it painted, and repaired. although the repair work amounted to very little. They also kept it up all year round---there was instructions on how to reduce the water and such to prepare it for winter. it has a pump and filter---and while keeping the PH balanced was sometimes difficult, I have never seen algea or such.---the trouble with putting it under shade is the leaves---but if you were diligent about cleaning it and removeing the leaves & such it would probably work.

loz ~ I too have had much experience with above ground pools and I am a big fan of them! I don't think you can go wrong getting one. And, as others have suggested, leaving it up year round is a good idea. Plus the filtering and vacuuming. You will love having one in your yard and get much benefit from it!

Merme

Thank you all for taking the time to post in here....I really appreciate it a lot! Mark might grumble a tad about it now, but he'll be the first one in it every night I bet!

Last night I told him that we could do what they're saying on the news and stuff...about people staying home and having a Staycation! I was joking with him and said I could put some sand down around the pool and buy one of those light up palm trees and we could just pretend we were at the beach.

we do a tent over our pool to help with the bugs (also keeps us from sun burning so easy. we have been doing the 3 foot, went to the 4 foot this year.

Well Loz, I'm pretty sure you have to put sand under those pools anyway...wouldn't hurt to spread it a bit more Staycation? geez I've been staycationing my whole life

Has it been a good staycation?

You know, it would be sort of cool to get one of those giant gazebo things and put it overtop of the pool....to keep it shaded and keep the bugs out..... Afterall, it wouldn't be gigantic...13 feet wide.

Never known any other kind of vacation Seems alright, saves money anyway.

Gee, and you wonder why Mark might grumble a tad?

He grumbles about everything. His middle name is grouchy I think.

If you could go on vacation anywhere where would you go?

And yes, I'm hijacking my own topic. Since it's my topic I say it's okay.

All men get grouchy at times....especially when we spend their money.

Not sure where I'd go, The sis-in-laws are planning a week end trip to Maine across the border next month, DH told me to go with them...sounds good, if I could leave them behind. Just what I want a vacation listening to sisters fight for 48 hours.

DH wants me to plan a week end trip for us this fall somewhere. I don't like to travel far so a week end would be best. I'd like to rent a cottage somewhere during hunting season. I like being in the woods.

Oooo, you should go to Maine---take earplugs!

Doesn't surprise me you like to be in the woods....afterall you live near the beach, and you are married to a hunter!

Tamara, if your going to try to rent a cabin during hunting season, you need to reserve one EARLY!! ....like ASAP. Those suckers go fast during hunting season!!

Loz, a friend of ours has an above ground and he doesn't seem to have a hard time keeping the water clear at all...I think if you just test the water often and keep up with the chemicals you'd be fine. Oh....make sure you catch leaves and stuff that might fall into the pool from your shade quickly. When they sink they get really slimy and GROSS! :)

I'd love to back up to Alaska for a vacation! ....but not right now! It would be too much work with both kids and wouldn't be a vacation at all!!! We are planning on going to California next May for a wedding and are going to make a vacation out of it......sooooo excited!...sure hope it doesn't fall into the ocean by then!

Ya, and I'm already surrounded by woods. We have this ugly little old cabin in the woods about 10 acres back...I love it there. I'd seriously would like to someday build a better and bigger one. After all we have plenty of wood we can cut to do it.

No problem renting a cabin in NB Jenn, there's more cabins than houses down south.

Loz ~ if money, time and health were no object and I could go anywhere in the world, I would choose to sail in a leisurely fashion around all the island paradise's in the world. The Greek Isles, the south Pacific, the Caribbean, etc. I'd take a few years and just go. I wouldn't want to miss a thing!


Merme

We just bought this pool!!!

It was the only one left in that size at our walmart. So while Mark went to get help I stood there practically hugging it.

I told Mark it may not be that big, but it's a pool..... I've always wanted a pool. When I was a kid all of my friends had pools.....

Merme, your dream trip sounds lovely by the way.

I'm as excited as I would've been when I was 7. I'm an eternal kid.

Wonderful Loz, wonderful!

I'm so glad you were able to get it and now you'll be able to enjoy it for the 4th as you hoped!



Merme

Cool, Loz, literally. You will be able to keep much cooler this summer.

It wasn't too bad either, with the shock it, the chlorine, the skimmer, and the water testing kit it came to $250.00. Not bad really for all the use I plan to get out of it.

I will stay cool, very cool! And flapping around in the pool will be a good form of exercise.

You got that right, loz!

I am at my strongest when I can work out in a pool regularly. It makes me stronger even than more frequent workouts on dry ground.

After the limb loss I did a couple years of intensive PT to learn the prosthesis and get strong. I could play ball, ride a bike, walk all over creation. But I kept saying "if I could get in a pool, I'll be free again. I'll be my old self and unhindered by the limits of this fake leg!"

Ha!

When I finally got the swim leg and signed up for PT, I was thrilled to pieces. I thought I'd jump right in and be Merme-Water-Rat all over again!

No way. My first assignment was to simply learn how to WALK in the shallow end without losing my balance! It was a massive effort, really. Walking past the jets for the filters would knock me right over.

And there I was, in the pool with all the college swim team working out. I felt silly! It took me weeks and weeks, going twice times a week to master that first task.

But oh man, did I get strong!

Gosh, I love to be in a pool. Any pool. Any time.

You are blessed, Loz.


Merme

When was the last time you got to go Merme? I couldn't imagine relearning how to do everything with only one leg and a prosthetic.

Loz--that is great!!!!! and it is plenty big to do the job!!!

Besides what better way to see if it is really something you both want after all.--if it is then down the road you can sell this one and buy one a bit larger.

But Loz----- ---a pool--- How Great is [color:#3333FF]THAT!!![/color]

I know, I'm so excited I can't stand it..... It's good enough for me. I'll just have to get used to checking the water levels and skimming it out and stuff.....

I remember when I was younger and I'd swim for hours in the pool, how tired and worn out I'd be afterwards. That was some of the best sleep those nights. AH......

I was lucky growing up....My best friend had an Olympic sized inground pool with a diving board and slide...and we were in there all the time, like fish. And my cousin had an above ground 4 foot pool.....So I swam a lot.

At home my pool was the sprinkler. Dad would turn it on and we'd run thru it.

yea the sprinkler---when I was young, it was that way at my house too. Well except for the time my grandma bought a pool for all the grandkids and then gave it to mom & dad for my sister & I.it disapeared after one year though----

My brother was like 16 when they got their above ground pool & --I am 14 years older than he is.

I didn't get to swim last summer, Loz, but I'm hoping to this summer.

Oh, you would have laughed at me, too. After weeks of walking up and down the shallow end and doing millions of exercises, my PT finally gave me a flat board flotation device. The assignment was to simply hold onto it and kick and hopefully move up and down the lane.

So there I was, sharing the pool with college competitive swimmers. I grabbed the float and began kicking with all my might!

Guess what happened?

I was moving backwards! Much to the surprise of the two PT's and all the students! And, uh, much to my own surprise as well!

We figured out that the problem was the difference in weight between my leg and the prosthesis plus the difference in width... I could displace much more water with my natural leg.

My prosthetist resolved the issue for me, thank goodness! I really didn't want to spend the rest of my days swimming in circles or only backwards!

The students were as generous and supportive as they could be, too. They'd notice my efforts and make positive remarks on all progress shown. They never made me feel awkward being the nearly-50-year-old-one-legged-woman-with-a-bad-heart.

I actually became quite bold enough to take my swim leg along on trips so I could swim in the hotel pools.

I AM SO DELIGHTED YOU HAVE A POOL OF YOUR VERY OWN!


Merme

Wow, that's a great deal Loz. The pool looks awesome.

Can you get a fill up from your fire department? here they charge $50 to $100 to fill a pool(depending on distance travelled). They can do it in minutes.

I haven't went swimming in 10 years...not into the 'wearing of a bathing suit' anymore

Carol, I call the sprinkler the "poor mans pool".

And Merme, who would've ever thought you'd go backwards? I'm glad though that you took it upon yourself to get in there and do something you really enjoy, even with all of those competitive swimmers in there. I hope you get to swim this summer.

Tam, we don't have a water meter. So I can use cold water til the cows come home and only pay one set price each month.

that's almost the same pool we got, we got the 18ft by 48 inches

here it is, this big rain we got help fill it up too

So loz ~ when is your pool going up? I can't wait to see pictures and hear all about it!


Merme

Well, Mark has to really level a spot out good. We live on a hill and our yard is sloped, not steeply sloped but sloped enough that it needs a good leveling.

He might start on that tonight.

On the box it says, ready for water in 45 minutes. My best friend just got a pool too, and she said yeah right.... Theirs is up, but it didn't take 45 minutes.

Our weather here this week is cool, so it will be good to get it up now. 60's today and tomorrow, then into the 70's. Nice break from that 90 plus weather we had.

Belinda....love your pool, guess you get a lot of use out it! Do you get in it a lot?

Loz---in the directions does it say you need to have down a layer of sand for the bottom of the pool liner to 'sit' on?? I think it helps protect the liner ??/