Bear23 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 This is our second year in Virginia area and these summers get hot. It's not even spring yet and we have already been to a handful of friend's homes for swimming plus a few trips to the beach. Most of my friends have inground pools and are really nice and beautiful. My husband refuses to have an inground pool put in. We have the space for it but he really likes our open area for our tween/teen kids to play ball. Plus we have cats, dogs and chickens. So above pool it is. No problem, growing up back home in the midwest, everyone had above ground pools. Again most had a nice landscaping with or without a deck around them. My BIL bought one of those $400-$500 ones from Walmart or similar store and absolutely loves it. Easy set up and tear down. They just put it back up and says it's still good to go. They are currently in the northeast and rent. Last month my friend bought one and she loves it and she will take it down again come fall. While spending $500 is doable I would like to have an above ground pool that is up year round like my friends down in south of us. I have no desire to set it all up just to tear down in a few months time. Plus we own our home and the place we would put it will tie in nicely with the patio/deck we plan to build next year. The area is behind the house, not seen from the street which is was I like, it will have quite a bit a shade with sun scattered about when is passes among the pines. We don't even want a huge one just something for a family of five with friends who come now and then. I So I want to hear everyone's pool stories. What do you like or dislike about the above ground pool? Care of pool, easy or pain in the butt? Do you install or pay someone to install? How long has it last? Did you just set it up or did you landscape or build a deck around it? If you could do it all over again, would you have gone in ground instead of above ground? Did you have an above and then decide to put install an in ground pool? Also what pool to get? I know you get what you pay for, cheaper ones not as good as expensive ones but I know my husband would perfer not to spend thousands on a pool, another reason for above ground. What kind/brand did you or currently have? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 We have an in-ground pool it my friend has an above ground pool (due to the slope of their yard) but the deck was completely built around it to make it look more in-ground. The previous owner built it all. They do pay a weekly pool guy to service it ($100-125 typically), and they did have to get a new liner once (I think $3500 or something?) she does wish it was in-ground, it's not that deep, and it isn't heated (ours is solar heated). That's about all I know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 We had a 24 foot diameter above ground pool as a kid. My mom took it down and gave it away maybe ten years ago. She was tired of paying $40 per month to run the pool filter part-time. I'm guessing to run it all the time would be $100 per month or more. Don't forget to find out how much your homeowner's insurance will go up before you buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 In Virginia, I would guess an above ground would freeze in the winter. Is that why everyone takes them down? I have only had in ground pools. I would be working on hubby to reconsider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I enjoy our above ground pool. It costs under 1000 bucks as opposed to an inground pool which would cost 30K. So above ground it is. We have an Intex pool we bought from Wally world. We put it up in the spring and take it down in the fall....why? because it makes the pool vinyl last longer, we like having an open view during the winter, and because we were young and strong. lol We are older now and I expect one of these days we will decide leave it up all year. It takes a day to put up and one to take it down. We use Bacquicil (sp?!) which is now known as Aquasilk, I think. We put in shock, sanitizer, and algaecide weekly and run the pump 4-6 hours a day. We have a nice sized sand filter which is awesome. There are several tarps under our pool to protect the bottom vinyl. I'm in Texas....our pool water warms up when the night temps stay at least 70 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Also don't forget depending on where you live and the size of the pool, you may need a city permit. My neighbors found out the hard way after getting a strongly worded letter from the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datgh Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 We have an above ground pool. A few things to consider: Above grounds heat up a lot more than in ground so it might not be all that cool and refreshing in the heat of the summer. I would check with people who do and find out what their water is like in VA. Pools are not cheap to maintain whether they are above ground or in ground so know your expenses going in including the cost of filling it. We have a 30 foot round and it was going to be over $800 to have water brought in. We filled it slowly off our well and it worked but it is not an option for many folks. Above ground pools are shallower so that means no diving. It is one things that my kids wish they could do in ours. Yes, you can put up a pool by yourself but you will need a lot of help from your friends. We had our first one installed and it was done by 2 guys. I don't know how they did it by themselves. The original pool was demolished by ice and snow two years ago (we live in NH so we get a lot.) We bought one used off Craig's List and put it up ourselves but it took about 9 of us to get the liner in it correctly. I did a lot of research before we bought it. If you can find a used pool that is under 5 years old and do it yourself, it can save you thousands. Make sure though that you are the ones taking it down so you know your have all the parts. You do need a good, level base to sit it on. Anything older then 5 years my research showed wasn't going to be a great investment. Once an above ground pool is empty of water, you need to replace the liner because it shrinks when dry so plan on replacing the liner if you buy a used one. Remember that kids grow. When our pool was put up six years ago I couldn't believe we had bought such a big one. What where we thinking? Now it is not unusual for me to have 10 big teens in our pool at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Having had both, much prefer an inground pool. But considering the cost difference, above the ground is probably your best way to go. I'm guessing you know you need to level the ground. Seems like that would be a given, but one of my kids recently showed me some YouTube videos of pools collapsing, and those pools had been set up on uneven ground. If you have nutgrass in your area, you need to make sure that stuff is dead dead dead before you set up the pool. That demon weed will grow through a pool liner! Contact the water company when you are ready to fill the pool. This may vary by area, but ime they will take a meter reading before and after the filling process. Then you will be charged for the amount of water used, but not for the typically associated sewerage fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 We belong to a swim club. It works for us. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 We belong to a swim club. It works for us. I've never lived beyond walking distance to a pool. It's great neighborhood bonding. There's often playmates already there. I dont have to clean or maintain. I DON'T HAVE THE LIABILITY. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 We keep an Intex blow up 12' diameter one "30" or so deep) for cooling off. We don't want the expense - home owner's insurance will go through the roof - of having one. I sometimes do a little water aerobics type thing in it. It had a filter, and we use diatomaceous earth along with salt tablets for keeping the algae and bacteria out of it. We bought a drawstring pool cover for it, and it works well. The whole thing costs less than $200, and it is cheap to maintain from year to year. That said, they do wear out and begin leaking air after three seasons. However, we can do this every three years for a very long time before we would be out any serious money compared to having any other kind of pool. In an ideal world, I would have a lap swimming pool. But I don't see that happening. Maybe someday at our Alabama house since there is more room for one, and the insurance to cover one is better priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Zombie thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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