Now the used above ground pool is up....

by Phil
(Inland Empire, Ca.)

Deck/pool at old location

Ok....now that I have the used 18" X38" Secard pool up and full of water, I have to establish how to put the deck up to it. Main problem is that the pool is a long oval and the deck is 15'X 6' rectangle. It IS in 3 sections though. Do I have to cut it out or??

Also, I'm trying to avoid putting the filter pump under the deck. The way these Hesperia guys set the skimmer was closer to the end of the pool whereas I needed it on the side. Was thinking of getting longer hoses for it, but don�t no if that'd be bad or not? It came with six footers and I'm wanting to get more 10 foot and 12 footers,etc. I've been told to leave the six footers but don�t know.

Thanks, Phil

Hi Phil, I find that putting a deck over a filter is awkward. Many people feel that it helps to protect the filter and hoses by putting it under the deck. As long as you have plenty of access to work on the filter either way is OK. Cutting an access door in the deck so that you can remove the skimmer lid and basket is pretty easy to do.

Moving the filter is easy also. If you are going to go any longer than six or eight foot with the hoses I would switch to Flexible PVC Pipe. It is very easy to convert a filter to PVC and then you can install the filer any place you want.

It seems to me that a 15� deck would fit along the straight side of the pool just perfect. I�m not sure why you would have to do any cutting but it is wood, and wood is very easy to work with. It can be custom fit easily by cutting a little here and maybe adding a little there.

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Now the used above ground pool is up....

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Oct 19, 2008
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by: Phil

"Thanks, Phil

Hi Phil, I find that putting a deck over a filter is awkward. Many people feel that it helps to protect the filter and hoses by putting it under the deck. As long as you have plenty of access to work on the filter either way is OK. Cutting an access door in the deck so that you can remove the skimmer lid and basket is pretty easy to do."

Well...this is a DE filter with a big plastic dome to remove. Not enough room under the deck to be able to remove it for cleaning,etc.

"Moving the filter is easy also. If you are going to go any longer than six or eight foot with the hoses I would switch to Flexible PVC Pipe. It is very easy to convert a filter to PVC and then you can install the filer any place you want."

I've actually put 12' hoses on and moved the filter pump(emptied of water first of course) more away from the deck along the side of the pool. I did this to get it out of the way of the deck. Now that the deck is up I could possibly move it back closer but still the return hose would still have to be longer than 6'. The deck stairs too are also an obstacle to moving it back. The 12' hoses seem to work ok. I was considering flexbilbe PVC hose, but found that trying to clamp that would be futile as it's pretty stiff,etc. Dunno if there's a fitting for that or not. If I used PVC would it have to be blue glued to the skimmer and such?

"It seems to me that a 15? deck would fit along the straight side of the pool just perfect. I?m not sure why you would have to do any cutting but it is wood, and wood is very easy to work with. It can be custom fit easily by cutting a little here and maybe adding a little there."

Actually the original configuration WAS on the straight away side of the pool over the buttresses at the original site. But on my site I haven't got much room for it on either straight side plus even if I DID put it on the same side as it was, we'd have to walk all the way around the pool to get in it. Having the deck on the south end is better with the stair steps right next to the concrete sidewalk,etc. The boys I hired DID tweak the deck by cutting the large 6' X 8' center section into a wedge shape. Looks real nice now. I still have some latice work to finish and painting but I'm very happy with what they did. They only charged me like $225 plus I supplied the parts/supplies, so for under $300 I got my deck reconfigured to fit the oval pool end. Sweet! :)

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Oct 19, 2008
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Submitted by: Phil

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"Thanks, Phil Hi Phil, I find that putting a deck over a filter is awkward. Many people feel that it helps to protect the filter and hoses by putting it under the deck. As long as you have plenty of access to work on the filter either way is OK. Cutting an access door in the deck so that you can remove the skimmer lid and basket is pretty easy to do." Well...this is a DE filter with a big plastic dome to remove. Not enough room under the deck to be able to remove it for cleaning,etc. "Moving the filter is easy also. If you are going to go any longer than six or eight foot with the hoses I would switch to Flexible PVC Pipe. It is very easy to convert a filter to PVC and then you can install the filer any place you want." I've actually put 12' hoses on and moved the filter pump(emptied of water first of course) more away from the deck along the side of the pool. I did this to get it out of the way of the deck. Now that the deck is up I could possibly move it back closer but still the return hose would still have to be longer than 6'. The deck stairs too are also an obstacle to moving it back. The 12' hoses seem to work ok. I was considering flexbilbe PVC hose, but found that trying to clamp that would be futile as it's pretty stiff,etc. Dunno if there's a fitting for that or not. If I used PVC would it have to be blue glued to the skimmer and such? "It seems to me that a 15? deck would fit along the straight side of the pool just perfect. I?m not sure why you would have to do any cutting but it is wood, and wood is very easy to work with. It can be custom fit easily by cutting a little here and maybe adding a little there." Actually the original configuration WAS on the straight away side of the pool over the buttresses at the original site. But on my site I haven't got much room for it on either straight side plus even if I DID put it on the same side as it was, we'd have to walk all the way around the pool to get in it. Having the deck on the south end is better with the stair steps right next to the concrete sidewalk,etc. The boys I hired DID tweak the deck by cutting the large 6' X 8' center section into a wedge shape. Looks real nice now. I still have some latice work to finish and painting but I'm very happy with what they did. They only charged me like $225 plus I supplied the parts/supplies, so for under $300 I got my deck reconfigured to fit the oval pool end. Sweet! :)

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Oct 19, 2008
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Filter stuff and "conditioner" granuals
by: Phil

OK.... btw, I had gotten a couple chemicals from my local pool store. One was "conditioner" supposed to be to condition the water to prevent chlorine loss. The other is Leslie's "Chlor Brite" chlorine,etc. Before messing around with the chemicals I went and cleaned the DE filters with the hose and put 3-4 scoops of fresh DE in it. I actually took the filter apart completely cleaning all the filter fins very well. I haven't put the chlorine in yet, but tried to do the conditioner first. This stuff is little white granuals one is supposed to mix in a bucket of warm water first before dumping in the skimmer. Well...did all that and even tho there were many granuals left at the bottom of the bucket I was advised to dump it all in the skimmer anyway. What I got then was these white granuals going straight thru the filter and out the return. A whole layer of them on the bottom of the pool. Vacuuming didn't help either cuz they just kept circulating back into the pool. I finally today got some paint strainer material and rubber banded it around the return to catch any/all granuals shooting thru. I've already dumped maybe 5 large scoops of DE into the skimmer, is this too much or not enough after thoroughly cleaning the filter screens? I'm "fairly" sure I put the filter screens back together right? Why are things shooting out the return? heh.

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Oct 19, 2008
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Submitted by: Phil

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OK.... btw, I had gotten a couple chemicals from my local pool store. One was "conditioner" supposed to be to condition the water to prevent chlorine loss. The other is Leslie's "Chlor Brite" chlorine,etc. Before messing around with the chemicals I went and cleaned the DE filters with the hose and put 3-4 scoops of fresh DE in it. I actually took the filter apart completely cleaning all the filter fins very well. I haven't put the chlorine in yet, but tried to do the conditioner first. This stuff is little white granuals one is supposed to mix in a bucket of warm water first before dumping in the skimmer. Well...did all that and even tho there were many granuals left at the bottom of the bucket I was advised to dump it all in the skimmer anyway. What I got then was these white granuals going straight thru the filter and out the return. A whole layer of them on the bottom of the pool. Vacuuming didn't help either cuz they just kept circulating back into the pool. I finally today got some paint strainer material and rubber banded it around the return to catch any/all granuals shooting thru. I've already dumped maybe 5 large scoops of DE into the skimmer, is this too much or not enough after thoroughly cleaning the filter screens? I'm "fairly" sure I put the filter screens back together right? Why are things shooting out the return? heh.

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