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I really want a pool, but do not want the big upfront expense or permanent fixture of a pool in my yard. Still, I have a bad back and just need a small pool filled with water that's 3' or more in order to do water aerobics and swim in place. Plus I live in Florida, and living in Florida without a body of water or close access to a beach is poo poo during the summer. Kiddie pools are too small and shallow, above ground pools are too big and permanent, so I was looking at those $200-300 dollar 48" Intex metal frame pools. I know they won't last the ages and would expect 3-5 years out of them, if done right. I'd also replace its garbage filter with a better one and MAKE SURE the land is completely level first. Has anyone used these things and had success with them past one summer season? Do they jack up your utilities (outside of obviously the nasty water bill from first filling the pool)? Overall, are they worth it? Most Amazon reviews for a variety of pools say they are but I've heard horror stories of them falling apart in a month. An example of what I mean: http://www.walmart.com/ip/40720867?...0274592&veh=sem
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May 13, 2015 14:21
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 02:11 |
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Growing up in the Midwest these were pretty common since people generally didn't want to shell out for a permanent pool that had to be emptied for 2/3 of the year. They were generally pretty decent within certain parameters, basically about what you've figured for them. Our dad prepared the gently caress out of it and it lasted for 7+ summers of use by a bunch of kids although it was getting kinda gross by the end. Some other families around the neighborhood just plopped them down on a roughly level spot in the backyard and only got 2-3 summers out of it.
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May 13, 2015 21:54
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I'd also be interested--I'm in Georgia and I have a 2-year lease, so I don't want anything permanent or outrageous, but something to wade around in would be nice (of course the landlord's cool as long as the lawn people can still get around it and it's not right up next to the basement).
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May 13, 2015 22:40
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Joining a gym that has a pool will be cheaper and less hassle. My parents had a permanent above ground pool for about 20 years. I liked it when I was 8, because I didn't have to take part in the maintenance. Granted we're in Wisconsin and the pool was only open for 3 months a year, but it seemed like we were at the pool store every other week getting new chemicals, the water tested, or some supplies for the pump. You have to treat the water every week. Before swimming you're netting and vacuuming the floor and walls for close to an hour. If it rains too much you have to drain it. If it doesn't rain enough you have to keep topping it off. The shape of the pool doesn't make it very easy to swim laps either. Wildlife falls in and drowns, you have to use the net to retrieve their bloated corpses. It's a lot of work for very little payoff. My parents got rid of their pool this spring and I've never seen my father more happy.
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May 14, 2015 21:10
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Yeah but I want to be able to drink beer in it. This ain't no fruity exercisin' pool.
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May 15, 2015 01:40
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Cuckoo posted:I really want a pool, but do not want the big upfront expense or permanent fixture of a pool in my yard. Still, I have a bad back and just need a small pool filled with water that's 3' or more in order to do water aerobics and swim in place. Plus I live in Florida, and living in Florida without a body of water or close access to a beach is poo poo during the summer. Kiddie pools are too small and shallow, above ground pools are too big and permanent, so I was looking at those $200-300 dollar 48" Intex metal frame pools. I know they won't last the ages and would expect 3-5 years out of them, if done right. I'd also replace its garbage filter with a better one and MAKE SURE the land is completely level first. We went 2 of these when I was growing up. Lasted a total of at least ten years all together. One rusted through after a few years and exploded one night. One we took down after a tree fell in it after three hurricanes came through. There wasn't really that much upkeep involved, except when we first opened it up for the season.
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May 15, 2015 15:02
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Robo Boogie Bot posted:Before swimming you're netting and vacuuming the floor and walls for close to an hour. If it rains too much you have to drain it. If it doesn't rain enough you have to keep topping it off. Wildlife falls in and drowns, you have to use the net to retrieve their bloated corpses. It's a lot of work for very little payoff. It sounds to me like a decent pool cover would have solved 90% of your problems.
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May 17, 2015 04:34
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Above ground pools are the trashiest poo poo ever your neighbors will hate you
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May 18, 2015 01:34
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We had one, end up with huge dead spot with bonus mold on your yard 9 months of the year!
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May 18, 2015 17:07
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I bought this pool 4 years ago. Aside from the pool, the other things I bought were the chemicals (chlorine, something for the pH, water testing strips, probably others), a pool cover, and a net for scooping out leaves/grass/bugs. Also, floating toys, water wings, beach balls, noodles, etc. We had this pool up in our backyard over 2 summers. I never ran the pump 24/7. The manufacturer suggested to run the pump X hours per day, but the number escapes me now. Anyway, the first 2 years we had this pool, I was home with the kids. I had plenty of time to clean it and to maintain the water quality. The first year, we put it in a spot that was too shady. As a result, the water was always too chilly to really enjoy. The second year, we put it in a place that was always sunny. This made a huge difference, and the water was more than warm enough to enjoy. When I started working in the 3rd year, I didn't have the time to maintain the pool. Raising 2 kids, commuting to/from work, spending all day at work, it was the right decision. We might put it up this year, but more than likely we won't. Would I recommend a pool like this to someone? Sure, with some caveats. Expect to maintain it every day. Even with a pool cover, leaves make their way into the water and you have to clear branches and whatever else from the cover itself. Next, you must check the chemicals. If you aren't on top of the chemicals, you'll get algae in your pool and nobody will go in it. If you don't run your pump enough, you'll also get growth. If you run the pump too much, it will burn out and will cost more money in electricity. If you have small kids, I wouldn't recommend the pool. First of all, it's a huge drowning risk. It's literally a big death trap to toddlers, and you would have to be watching them every second they're in the yard with it (as I said, I was a stay at home dad with my kids when I had the pool. They were also 1&3 and didn't do much of anything on their own. Now they are much faster and could easily get into the pool). More importantly, though, you just don't have the time to keep it up. As I said, you should expect to do some sort of maintenance daily - whether its scooping out leaves/bugs/grass or loving with chlorine or topping it off with more water. Actually I think I always had to drain water, as rain water would cause it to overfill. Lastly, it left a massive dead spot in the yard each time. I got grass to return to the dead spots by de-thatching and aerating the areas, and generously applying grass seed (which is not cheap). Oh, the other thing about the pool. I had a 'landing' area where we stepped into the pool. There was a water bucket and a tarp to walk on where we would dip our feet to get rid of grass clippings. Even doing this, grass clippings make their way into the pool. Long story short, even with everyone trying their best, grass and other poo poo gets in the water. While in the pool, I would spend as much time with the net, clearing out vegetation as I did enjoying the pool. johnny sack fucked around with this message at 03:42 on May 19, 2015 |
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May 19, 2015 03:34
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Robo Boogie Bot posted:Joining a gym that has a pool will be cheaper and less hassle. Tried that already. I'm in a rural area at the moment and the nearest gym with a pool is 20 minutes away, 40 minutes if I went straight there from work because it's in the opposite direction. The water is also dark green.  I'm used to pool maintenance, having helped with my family's pool as a kid and took care of my own pool while renting a home. I'm no stranger to playing balance-the-PH and scooping poo poo out of the water every day. It's really not that bad if you stay on top of it and do it daily. I can't imagine a smaller pool taking close to an hour to vacuum if you're careful to scoop the debris out every single day and leave it covered otherwise. The decently-sized inground pool at my rental place took about 15 minutes. And yeah there's never a dull moment with wildlife, rescued a still living ring-necked snake once. I have no kids, with no plans on getting kids, and a decently-sized fence to keep out everyone else's kids. As for the ugly sod spot, I was considering never taking it down at all. It's Florida, so the winters are usually pretty mild. We plan on laying out a tarp and a small dunking tray for your feet right next to the ladder so you don't track dirty poo poo into the pool. Generally the pool maintenance part doesn't bother me because I've been there, done that, and know what to expect. My real worry is the durability of the pool itself and making sure all of that effort/money isn't wasted. I'd rather save and spend the $2k for a real pool than spend $400 dollars 4 times because the Intex ones keep falling apart, but if the Intex ones are viable then it would be great to skip the investment of a real pool.
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May 20, 2015 17:52
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They last about 1 season before it gets a hole. Good for kids. If you're an adult you'll want a gym. If you really want to swim laps you need a big pool or open water.
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May 26, 2015 02:11
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indoflaven posted:They last about 1 season before it gets a hole. Good for kids. If you're an adult you'll want a gym. If you really want to swim laps you need a big pool or open water. Get one of those ones that's just an inflatable upper ring that's self supporting because of the design. They're super cheap, and you could buy a new one every year for the next ten years before you hit the cost of a cheapy metal framer (which won't last ten years).
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May 27, 2015 11:37
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Sorry to necro this but I went through this. 1. Check with your town.. my area anything with water > 24 inches = permit. So a blow up or metal ring 48" deep pool means permits and codes. 2. Chemicals and supplies are going to cost you close to $100 I bought a $49 10' 30in pool from walmart. Ive spent > $100 so far after sales tax and still need the ph balance stuff and a skimmer. Pool 49.00 Cover 13.00 Test kit 7 Shock $13 Chlorine tabs $13 Missing Ph balance 8 for+ 8 for - Cheap screen skimmer $13. Regular chlorine ($8) Thats about a seasons worth of supplies for my 1300 gallon pool.. if you go up from there then adjust accordingly. For smallwr pools you can skip out on the ph probably but im using it as practice for getting a real pool next year.
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Jul 9, 2015 14:28
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These things are fun as kids and gross and trashy as hell as adults.
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Jul 9, 2015 15:01
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GunChicka posted:These things are fun as kids and gross and trashy as hell as adults. When your income is in the trash bracket, you make due  Not everyone can drop $2.5k on a real pool, and if you want a nice one and don't want to do labor yourself you're easily looking at $3k. I'm actually planning on getting a larger aboveground saltwater resin pool in a few years, when this one dies, but realistically that will require months of saving. Since this thread got necroed anyway I might as well post the aftermath: it was/is awesome. We got an Intex ultra frame 16' round, leveled the ground ourselves (expensive in supplies even though we did the labor ourselves), and set it up. The pool itself was easy to set up, but leveling was a massive pain in the rear end. It's about an inch off, but otherwise there has been zero problems. We also replaced the cheap garbage filter with a much better one, 2500 power. We vacuum it every few days, scoop it every couple of days, and monitor its Ph/chlorine. It's sturdy and roomy, but this is for two adults who aren't splashing around like assholes or bouncing off the pool's walls like kids would. It could be easily disassembled, but I have no plans on doing so because the climate means it'll be in use at least half the year. As someone who's swam in poor-tier pool, real aboveground pools, and inground pools I can say that this Intex is pretty much exactly like a real aboveground on the inside, even if its exterior isn't pretty. Zero regrets, 10/10, would do again. Definitely recommended for people who are either too poor for a real pool, or live in an area where having a real pool up most of the year would be a pointless expense/maintenance chore. I honestly don't know if the comparatively fragile liner/siding would hold up to a relentless beating from kids like a real pool would, but it's great for adults. EDIT to add in regards to utilities: My water bill literally only went up 10 dollars, surprisingly, on the month it was filled. However, our electric jumped 20 bucks probably because we leave the monster filter running almost all the time to keep it clean. Chlorine tabs and testing kits have been the only regular expense. 
Mr. Creakle fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jul 9, 2015 |
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Jul 9, 2015 16:13
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Water cost depends where you live. My water is about $1/350 gallons. Folks in AZ said their water bill went up by $50 when they filled a 1300 gal pool. That 1 hour setup on thr box doesn't talk about the day you spend leveling the ground. Everywhere I read said 1 inch is okay over that you need to scrape earth.. no sand to level you need to remove earth. I was lucky that I found an area (after checking for 30 min at various spots where my ground was within an inch acorss the 8 feet of the pool. tater_salad fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Jul 9, 2015 |
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Jul 9, 2015 18:04
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tater_salad posted:Water cost depends where you live. My water is about $1/350 gallons. Folks in AZ said their water bill went up by $50 when they filled a 1300 gal pool. Yeah, the Intex instruction video is a loving joke the way they lay it on a perfectly flat lawn over a tarp. Even the pool in the video looks uneven as hell. You can't do that. You HAVE to level. Anyone wanting to do this had better either have the money to hire people or a strong back to do it themselves. And even under good circumstances that's easily an 8+ hour job, because each step has to be done over and over until it's just right. Also the tarp these pools come with is about as protective as a Hefty garbage bag; anyone serious about keeping their pool's bottom layer protected needs to invest in a good Gorilla tarp or something. Yeah, I didn't use sand either because A) This is FL, the ground IS sand and B) I got really lucky and had a part of the lawn that was both really flat and had -zero- rocks after about 2 inches of digging and releveling in the entire area.
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Jul 10, 2015 13:51
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Get a sand filter. We have a 18 by 9 foot by 48 inch deep. Had a problem keeping it clean. The pump and filter that comes with them are way to underpowered. On 3000 gallon a hour sand filter later and one of those electric things that turns salt into chlorine and the pool has been clean for 2 months. Just have to net out the bugs and add salt. No more using chemicals.
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Jul 12, 2015 01:06
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One of my friends in college had one of these (in a college neighborhood where pools were forbidden) in his yard. It only lasted one summer but holy gently caress it was the coolest thing ever. I think somebody put their foot through the tarp/rubber side whilst tripping balls or something. Seriously it would get so goddamned gross but we'd dump it out and then refill it. Girls would flock to it. We put deck chairs in it and would sit there all day with a keg right next to it.
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Jul 12, 2015 15:03
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If I might commit the sin of linking to Reddit, here is something for you Cuckoo: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/3eme8o/summertime_above_ground_pools_i_ama_former_csr/
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Jul 27, 2015 05:27
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wilfredmerriweathr posted:One of my friends in college had one of these (in a college neighborhood where pools were forbidden) in his yard. Sounds classy
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Jul 28, 2015 03:47
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Just so everyone understands, one of those lovely above ground pools that everyone keeps posting pictures of is about the most culturally southern thing you can have in your yard besides a confederate flag/burning cross. For that reason alone I wouldn't recommend them. These things were loving everywhere when I was working in Orlando. And if there is one thing I learned from living and working in Orlando for a year, its that you don't want to be like Those People in any way.
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Jul 28, 2015 13:57
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Nathilus posted:Just so everyone understands, one of those lovely above ground pools that everyone keeps posting pictures of is about the most culturally southern thing you can have in your yard besides a confederate flag/burning cross. For that reason alone I wouldn't recommend them. I almost never see them in Florida, and I've lived here for years. Every place with a pool I've seen so far has been a real pool except for one which had an Intex inflatable  Maybe you were in the wrong neighborhoods or something? I'd assume they'd be more popular up north because the single advantage of these pools over more permanent ones is that you can take them down for the winter. In Florida, you might as well get a real pool (if you're not poor) because the weather stays so mild that taking it down is pointless.
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Jul 28, 2015 14:18
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Did you consider going saltwater?
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Jul 28, 2015 15:57
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Oh yeah. My hair and skin hate chlorine, so I'd love to. However, I've heard horror stories of the pipes that hold uupthe pool rusting out in months because the intex materials weren't made to handle saltwater.
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Jul 28, 2015 17:11
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I see plenty of above ground pools in NY. You guys are weird.
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Jul 28, 2015 22:21
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 02:11 |
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The only above-ground pool I remember seeing was from a friend's backyard when I was kid. They had a huge plot of land it was bordered by thick bushes so you wouldn't have seen it from the street anyway. They later replaced it with an in-ground pool, though. Saw lots of confederate flags, pick-up trucks, "four-wheelers", dirt-bikes, and confederate-flag-bearing pick-up trucks bearing confederate-flag-bearing four-wheelers and confederate-flag-bearing dirt-bikes, but very few above-ground pools. Had never seen them as a redneck thing before this thread.
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Jul 28, 2015 22:40
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