Above Ground Pool Ebook

I have had folks asking me for years when this would be done.  At this point I really don't know.  I have finally started so that's a good sign.  I will be keeping parts of it available for you here on my site.  This is all rough draft and will go through many changes before it can be downloaded as an ebook.  Since I feel it is all important information that I want to get to you as quick as possible I have decided to post it here on my site.  For the time being it is yours for free.  This is, mind you, step by step, as I progress. It is also unedited and not in any kind of order.  I am writing about topics that occur to me on any given day.

Possible table of contents

1. Intro

2. Round Pools

3. Ground Prep

4. Bottom Rail

5. Pool Base

6. Side Wall

7. Frame assembly

8. Base Prep

9. Liner Installation

10. Skimmer Installation

11. Filter Assembly

12. Oval Pool Braces

13. Oval Pool Liners

14. Beaded Liners

15. V Bead Liners

16. Tools required

17. Case Studies

Intro

Hi, my name is Dennis and I have been building above ground swimming pools for over 35 years.  At this present time, my wife and I build them together.  When she has horse business to take care of I work alone.  Yes, it is that easy.  As long as you know exactly what you are doing every step of the way it is that easy.  Having all of the right tools is a big help also.  What I hope to teach you here is how a husband and wife team can assemble an above ground pool, without getting divorced before the pool is complete.  My wife is also my best friend so that helps.  It is important to consider your skills and and your ability to work together. 

In this book I will walk you through every phase of the assembly process.  I will also try to answer every question a first time pool owner might be asking.  Through the contact form on my site and the pool forums I post at I have been asked and have answered just about every question that could be asked about above ground pools.  I will share all of that with you here.

I will not be installing much longer but I do hope my knowledge lives on.  I hope you find this information more than worth the price.

Happy swimming, Dennis

Round Pools

Round pools are much easier to install than oval pools.  It is the perfect starting place for a beginning installer.  So many do it yourself installers start off with one of the hardest of oval pools on there first attempt and wonder why it came out all wrong.

There is nothing wrong in starting off with a small round pool.  Your family will enjoy the cool water much quicker than if you spent all summer trying to install an oval.  In a couple of years, if you are all still into enjoying the pool, sell it and install a large oval.  At least then you will have had some experience.

The most important things to keep in mind about above ground pools are they should be perfectly round and perfectly level.  If you take the time in the beginning stages to make these two things happen the rest is so much easier.

With that said let’s jump into the ground prep.

Ground Prep

 The keys to good ground preparation for an above ground pool are as follows.

• Firm level ground

• Treated ground free of any vegetation

That's pretty much it in a nutshell.  So what is firm level ground?  In Arizona that is pretty simple.  I use a sod cutter and remove all vegetation.  I use a laser level for checking grade and again the sod cutter for loosening the ground.  Shovels are used for moving the dirt.   The sod cutter is used again for packing the ground when it is level.  On many occasions when the ground gets to tough I will use my jack hammer to loosen the ground.  Most of Arizona has very firm hard packed soil.  Most conditions are suitable for filling in the low side with the dirt from the high side and firmly packing.

I learned long ago these conditions are not the norm across the states and in other countries.  I used to travel to Las Vegas once a month to install a few pools.  The soil conditions there were much different than what I was used to.  The sandy soil in Nevada required blocks under all of the uprights, something we do not do in Arizona.  This last summer I contributed to a pool forum helping out with installations around the states.  The one discussion I usually stayed out of was the ground prep area.  I quickly learned that Arizona is very unique with our ground conditions.  There were others in the forum with more experience than I in matters regarding clay and ground water.  I want to borrow some of that knowledge at this time.

Matt from The Pool Forum writes this "If you're having a really hard time getting the ground flat, then get several yards of screenings aka crusher run aka the stuff that falls out of the crusher when they make 3/4" gravel. (you'll have to do the calculations here to see exactly how much you need). I would go with 2-3" of it (compacted with a gas tamper and water - 40 dollar rental) make sure it goes approximately 2 feet beyond every edge of the pool, sink your blocks into that and build everything on it, it will give you a great highly compacted base that won't wash out, and is really easy to get level.
All you have to do is rake it out as level as you can, tamp it down and now detail rake the high spots down some, once it's good, dig in the patio blocks, tamp everything once more after they are in place."  He is talking about a crusher run.  In Arizona we would use crushed granite.  My guess is it is very similar.

Leveling the ground is the most important part of the pool installation.  Take your time and make sure you are as accurate as possible.  The leveling section shows the different ways to level in more detail.

Laying out the bottom rail

This is a good place to check your instruction manual.  Make sure you are using the the rails meant for the bottom and the correct number.  You may also find information as to the suggested gap between rails.  Many pools use the same rails for the top retaining rods and the bottom rails.

Lay out your bottom rails and bottom connectors in there approximate location.  The two keys to a good install are perfectly round and perfectly level.  Let's get it perfectly round first.  Find the center of the pool and insert a screw driver or spike through the open end of a crank type tape measure.  It is a good idea to start the rails at the filter location.  If you know where you want the filter located it is helpful to position the rails so that the skimmer and return holes wind up in that location.

With a Doughboy brand pool the skimmer and return holes are in different rail sections.  When doing a Doughboy pool I locate a rail connecter in the exact location of the filter assembly and start from there.  Most other pools will locate the skimmer and return openings in the same section.  In that case I will center a bottom rail at that location and start from there.  If filter placement is critical be very sure you know the exact location of skimmer and return holes.

Once a starting place is determined insert two rails into a foot plate.  At every connection use your tape measure and set the rail location.  A twenty four foot pool should be set at twelve foot all the way around.  I do this by setting each footplate at the exact radius.  When you reach the end, or the beginning as the case may be, you now have a decision to make.  The last connection needs to be made with the same gap space between rails or stop tabs and the same radius.  Don't cheat at this step.  If your last connection is made at the same gap and same radius everything is good.  If not you need to go back and make adjustments, do so uniformly around the entire pool.  You can either adjust the gap or the radius.  That is always a tough decision.

I will describe today's job to illustrate this point.  We were building a 24' pool.  The footplates had little marks in them that left the rails spaced at about a quarter of an inch at each plate.  When I reached the beginning I had about six inches of track overlapping.  I went back around the pool with my tape to make sure I was right at the twelve foot mark.  It was all correct.  At this point you have two ways to go.  You can move all of the rails out to about a twelve foot and one inch or you can close the gap on all of the footplate to keep the rails at the twelve foot radius and make the ends meet correctly.  Most of the time that is the correct move.  Today it worked out just about perfect.  The wall nut and bolt holes lined up very closely.  I had to back the wall up and make minor adjustments on about four connectors to make the wall meet.  So many times I have moved all of the rails out to keep the radius uniform because I felt the gap was correct only to find out I am six inches shy of the wall connecting. 

Leveling the Footplates

Here is the second part of perfectly level and perfectly round.  Let's make it perfectly level.  Level each footplate perfect.  Refer to the leveling section for the different methods but get them as perfectly level as possible.

Blocks under the posts can be a great help in this process.  I call them leveling aids.  If you level a patio block under each upright you have a much better chance of the pool coming out level.  You can use the 12" x 12" patio blocks or the 8" x 16" cap blocks.  They both work well.

The next thing would be to make sure the ground under the bottom rails, between connectors, is also level and firm.  The next step may be the hardest.  Finish the leveling of the area inside the pool area.  Sometimes the bottom rail leveling will leave the inside level a bit off.  now is the time to fix it.  Take your time, this does make a difference in the final result.

The most notable difference with the ground not being level is the way the liner installs.  Unleveled ground will make the water fill faster at one side of the pool.  This uneven filling will usually cause wrinkles in the liner.  Another noticeable difference would be walking across your pool and having the water go from your belly button to your chest.

Ground Treatment

With the bottom rails connected and everything level you need to consider ground treatment.  I personally use a product called Zap It.  It was made for the specific purpose of using under above ground pool liners.  It kills nut grass and most everything else as far as I am concerned.  It comes in a granular form and is non oil base.  It is spread over the pool area before the sand is brought in.  The sand is hosed lightly with water before the liner is installed.  The humidity under the liner causes the Zap It to release a gas that will kill just about anything.  Home Depot carries a product called Control that seems to have a very similar makeup and can also be used under vinyl liners.

Most of my installs are done in a several hour time frame.  More often than not I have had to remove vegetation, usually Bermuda grass.  Since I work on a short time frame I need a non oil base vegetation killer.  Oil base ground treatments can damage a liner if not used weeks in advance.  For me the granular killer works the best.  If you are planning this weeks in advance there is nothing wrong with using whatever your local garden shop recommends for treating whatever is growing in your yard.  Oil base chemicals just need a little time to air out.

Other considerations to keep in mind are ants, gophers and termites, just to name a few.  I have seen the damage they cause and it is not good.  Critters and vegetation are a location by location kind of thing.  Ask at your local pool stores, local nurseries and neighbors.  If gophers are a big problem in your area you may want to lay down several layers of plastic before the sand.  For gophers you may  consider a concrete slab or a 1" foam for a base.  With ants a little ant killer around the outside of the pool on a regular basis should do the trick.  Vegetation of any kind near the pool can cause problems in years to come if you do not take it into consideration at this time.

The options are many, Happy Bottom, Styrofoam,  concrete, layers of plastic or you name it.  See what people in your area have been doing.  Sometimes that's the best way to start.

Sand or no Sand

With the pool site level, the bottom rail in place and the ground treated the sand is my next step.  I prefer using sand as a base here in Arizona.  It just seems to be the perfect pool base.  I have used just about everything in my years but I always recommend sand.  I can work my magic with sand better than anything else.  Like ground treatment this is a location by location decision.  In Arizona our mortar sand is ideal for using under vinyl liners.  In other places it is not.  Seek local advice here also.

There are a few things to keep in mind about sand.  It is only to cushion the liner, not to level the ground.  The sand should be an even two to three inches across the base and about six inches at the cove.  The sand should be piled in the center of the pool area and spread out only after the pool wall has been installed and secured.  If your liner installation requires you on the inside of the pool the sand should be well packed.  I install my liners from outside the pool so the weight of the water does the packing.

If you are using other types of base and cove it is best to install the wall first and then toss into the pool your material.  When using sand always have it in the pool center before installing the side wall.  Keep it at least 3' from the bottom rails at all times.  You need that room to unroll the wall without the sand getting into the bottom rails or getting into the way of the wall.  Sidewalls are heavy and hard to unroll on anything but hard firm ground.

Installing the Side Wall

This is the part of the pool assembly that can spell disaster for most do it yourselfers.  Here is a list of the most common problems that could spell pool wall installation disaster.

• Bottom rail not level

• Bottom rail not on firm compacted foundation

• Incorrect gapping between bottom rails

• Incorrect rail placing on oval pools

• Not supporting the wall as you install it

So, lets take these one at a time.  Bottom rail not level.  Use a transit or laser level and level each upright post connector.  These are the upright bases that are used to connect the bottom rails   It is imperative that they are all perfectly level.  The bottom rail in between connectors should also be level and on firm ground.

With an oval pool, the fronts and backs of each brace assembly should be the same height as your end posts.  In some cases the brace channel will be set a couple of inches lower than the end plates. This should be obvious, just measure and set accordingly.  With your bottom rail connectors and your side braces all set at the same level and the bottom rail itself all on firm soil, the wall assembly will be much easier.

The bottom rail gapping is, and has always been, my biggest frustration.  The consistency, over the years and over the brands, well there is none.  Every year it is trial and error.  After a few installs of a particular model we can get it pretty close but seldom exact.  Some manufactures give helpful hints in their instructions but many do not.

I am talking about the gap between the bottom rails themselves or the gap between the bottom rails and the stop tab on the footplate.  Today we built an Atlantis pool where there are no stop taps on the foot plates.  I set the rails with about a 1/4" gap at the center of the footplate.  When the wall came around to the starting point it was a couple of inches shy of meeting.  All of my gaps needed to be changed.  It is very important at this point to back the wall up as far as needed to adjust all of the gaps uniformly.  Do not spread the last connections to where the rails are not in the footplate.  Do not cut the last rail to fit the wall.  Back up and adjust each the rail at each footplate.  Ninety nine percent of the time the wall will fit the rails if properly adjusted.  Most of the time when I reach the beginning I may be off by a half inch or so.  I simply back the wall up by a few rails and make a few small adjustments.  If I see that I am a good six inches from meeting or a good six inches overlapped the entire wall will get rolled back up and adjustments made.  It's just part of the process, but don't take shortcuts.  You will not like the results.

Most oval pools have end rails, side rails and transition rails.  If you place any of those in the wrong place you are headed for trouble.  A Doughboy Pool, for example, stamps an impression on the inside curve of each bottom rail.  They use s for side, tr for transition, the corners coming off a side.  The end rails are labeled with the size of the pool.  A 16' x 24' oval will have 16 stamped on the end rails.  Other companies color code the rails, today ours ways white paint, at one end of the bottom rail, blue paint or no paint.  Read the instructions very carefully when laying out the bottom rails on an oval pool  The same goes for top rails but that's for another page.

As for not supporting the wall while you install it, this is huge.  One of the most common pool installation disasters is the sidewall blowing over while you are trying to install it.  I never install a sidewall without a support system going up right behind me.  That support is usually the uprights and top rails.  I roll the wall out a few rails at a time and the frame gets built behind it.  The liner gets stretched in over the frame and when there is enough water in the pool the rails are taken off a few at a time and then put right back on.

When the pool uses round coping that installs over the stabilizing rods I will use the rods as wall support.  Stabilizing rods, taped firmly into place, act as a great wall stabilizer.  The liner can be stretched over the rods also.  It takes a little time and patience to pull the liner tight and even using this method but it does work.  A bead receiver can also stabilize a wall.  Tape them into place as you unroll the wall and they should keep the wall from blowing over.

Final Prep Before the Liner

With the wall up, connected and stabilized the sand can be spread or the foam installed.  When spreading sand I tend to go around in circles a few times.  I start with the cove, a nice even 6" cove the first time around.  I follow up with a secondary cove.  This would be a little smaller than the first time around.  I put the same amount of sand in my shovel, I just spread it a little farther.  On my third pass I am trying to lay down an even 2" of sand.  After the third, or maybe fourth pass, I just evenly distribute the remaining sand.

When the sand has been distributed I start the smoothing process with a rake.  I level the cove and then go over the entire area smoothing as best possible. 
At this point things are looking good but not good enough.  I then use a soft brush push broom and do the whole thing again.  Now the base is really smooth.  I find a place to hop out, touch up my footprints and install the liner from the outside of the pool.

If you are using a foam base such as 1 1/2" Styrofoam lay out as may full sheets as you can  into the center area and then carefully cut and place the rounded pieces around the edges.

Installing a Liner

My preferred method of installing a liner is stretching an overlap liner over the pool framework and letting the water pull the wrinkles out.  To do this the pool needs to be completely assembled.  Any sharp edges on the top rails or connection caps need to be taped with duct tape, you don't want to take any chances of tearing the liner.

Make sure the sand or pool base is as smooth as possible and then get out of the pool.  The rest can be done from the outside.  Find a driveway or a smooth grassy area and open up the liner.  You need to determine the top side and the bottom side.  Keep the top side up and open the liner as much as possible.  Now, with a person on each side of the liner pull it and then roll the sides in to make it look like a big, long cigar.  If three people are going to install the liner it should stay in this position.  For a two person install I would roll the liner from each end until it meets in the center.  The liner can now be lifted onto the top rails of the pool and then carefully set inside the pool.  Keep both ends over the top rails and start pulling the rest of the liner up and over.  Keep working your way around the pool pulling up a few inches at a time.  The idea is to evenly raise the liner until the bottom seam is just a few inches from the top rail.  The bottom of the liner should be just about completely off the ground.

Now is the time to start the water filling.  As the pool fills you will need to lower the liner, a little at a time, at each upright.  You need to keep the liner tight enough to pull out all of the wrinkles but not to over stretch it.  When the water is about three inches from the wall shut the hose off.  It's time to start taking the top rails off and setting the liner.

It is best to just remove a few rails at a time, set the liner, and reassemble the pool.  This way the pool wall can never be blown down by the wind or fall over from the weight of the water pulling down on the liner.  You will have your starting rail off until you get back around to it as well as the rail you are currently working on.  The rest should go back on as you work your way around.  My method of doing this is to tuck the excess liner back into the pool so that you have just and even two inches hanging over the outside.  I then use cloths pins to hold the liner in place until the coping is installed.

Installing the Skimmer and Return

Here comes the scary part.  You have spent hours, days or even weeks installing your pool and now you have to go and cut this big hole in your brand new liner.  Take a deep breath and let me walk you through it.  When your pool has a couple of feet of water in it it's time.

Let's start with the return, it's small and easy.  With your utility blade on the outside of the pool and your other hand on the inside applying a little pressure to the liner, but not getting in the way of the blade, cut the circle.  Install the return, tighten and hook up to filter.

The skimmer is a little different.  At the top right and top left poke a hole in the liner where the screws will be located.  Puncture the liner from the outside of the pool just to be on the safe side.  If you have a one piece gasket insert that over the wall at this time.  If the gasket is two pieces grab a gasket, the inside faceplate and two screws.  Insert the two top corner screws through the faceplate, gasket and then the the small holes you made by poking the liner.  The faceplate should now hang by itself on the inside of the pool.  If you have a two piece gasket, rest it over the exposed screws on the outside of the pool.  Hold the skimmer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other.  Position the screw driver firmly on one of the screws, hold the skimmer up to the screw and turn it just enough to get is started.  Go to the next screw and do the same.  The skimmer will hang by itself while you insert and start the two bottom corner screws.  Snug all four up a little and check the gaskets.  If everything looks good tighten them down.  Insert and tighten the rest.  Now is the time to very carefully, from the inside of the pool, cut the liner.  You will be inside of the faceplate so as long as you are careful everything will go just fine.  By cutting the hole last it is very difficult to get it wrong.

Filter Assembly

Filters are usually simple to install.  Follow the instructions step by step and you should have a leak free system.  I use both teflon tape and teflon T+2 on all of my fittings.  The T+2 gets brushed on the threads and the tape goes over that.  My fittings have never leaked since I started using the T+2.  A product called joint stick works just as well before the tape.

If you are using plastic hoses for the skimmer and return hookups it can be helpful to soak the ends in warm water before putting them on the fittings.  They will slide on a little farther this way and reduce the chance of leaks.

Be sure to grease the o-ring on the hair and lint pot lid.  These will usually leak if not lubricated.

When the pool is full the filter should prime by itself.  As the filter is filling with water start checking it for leaks.  Wait until the water is to the center of the skimmer before turning the pump on.  A sand filter needs to be backwashed before running in the filter position.  When the water is high enough, turn the valve to backwash and turn the filter on.  Cloudy water should be coming out of the backwash port.  When this water is clear shut the pump off and turn the valve to rinse.  Turn the pump on and let it run for about 10 seconds.  With the pump off turn the valve to the filter position.  Now turn the pump on and check the system for leaks again.  After a few minutes of running I would turn the system off and check for leaks one more time.

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