Tag Archives: Aboveground Pools

Above Ground And Inground Pool Information By Edwards Pools!!

If you are looking to purchase an above ground pool, you need to watch this video! This video shows the entire process for installing a round above ground pool, starting with unloading the truck and ending with the pool installed and the left over sod. You will see the main drain being installed as well as our process for packing the sand bottom. This is a long video, but take ten minutes and see what you can expect when we install your above ground pool.

Above Ground Pool, Main Drain Installation!!

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Main drains in above ground swimming pools. Should you install one, or not. We highlyEdwards Pools of Ohio, Main Drain recommend the installation of a main drain for a couple of reasons. Water circulation, and ease of cleaning. We have discussed these aspects in additional articles.

One of the big worries that people have with main drains is settling issues. We hear the stories about the drains that are sticking up a couple inches in the bottom of the pool, from improper installation. That can easily happen if the drain body and piping are not buried in the dirt and tamped in place. You can not use the sand that makes the base for the liner to set on, to install the drain in. If you do the sand will settle down and you will have the drain sticking up. That is what you do not want to happen.

This video shows how we set the drains we install completely down in the ground. We tamp the dirt back in tight around everything so that we have no issues.

Above Ground Swimming Pools! Packing The Sand Bottom.

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One of the most important parts of installing an above ground swimming pool, is making the bottom of the pool as flat and smooth as possible. Every above ground pool is usually installed using fine mason sand as the material for the bottom. You can use a vermiculite base, and some are installed with foam. The additional cost for these options is normally not worth it, so mason sand is the material of choice.

In dealing with sand one thing to remember is that the sand will shift and move over time. We stress to our above ground customers that even with compacting the bottom the way we do, and brooming the sand as flat as possible, you can still end up with depression spots and little imperfections.

One of the things we do see alot in doing liner changes on above grounds, is that the majority of installers do not get there bottom flat. Most times the sand has some pretty good high and low spots. This is due to the installer not taking time to do the bottom right. Remember the water weight will not flatten out the bottom of your pool. The water will help to finish compacting the bottom, but if there are high and low spots, that’s what you will have.

In this video you can watch how we do the bottom on an above ground pool. Make sure you ask the company you but your pool from how they do the bottom, and do they compact it? Very important!!

Above Ground Pool Filter System!!

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This is a video showing the pump and filter system we use on our above ground pools. We use a combo system from Hayward that is the pump and filter combined.

The pump is a 1 1/2 horsepower Power Flo LX pump. The filter is a 150 pound sand filter with a topmount multiport head. This system is one that we use on pools up to 27′ round and 15×30 ovals. If we do sell a pool bigger than that size (which we actually discourage) we bump the filter up to a 200 pound filter. You want to make sure that the filter system is sized right to be able to turn over the water volume in your pool in less than 8 hours time. I did a blog on this you can read here.

Take a look at this video and you can see exactly what type of filter system that you will get when buying a pool from Edwards Pools. You can switch to a cartridge or even a DE filter if you want. In our experience though sand is the easiest way to go for the least amount of headache.

You will notice the 3 way valve plumbed in the front of the pump. One side is plumbed for the main drain, with the other side pulling water from the skimmer. This is how we plumb all our systems.

Enjoy the video!!

24′ Above Ground Pool Liner Change!

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In this video you can watch the process for changing the liner in an above ground pool. We changed this liner in the early spring. It was raining every day at that point. You will notice the standing water in the yard because of it.

When there is alot of rain in the spring it will cause pool installations to be tough to do. It’s a little hard to build pools in mud. Service work like liner changes can still be done even if it is a little wet.

Enjoy the video!

Vinyl Liners Fading Over Time!

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We have posted articles talking about how vinyl liners fade. In this short video you can see exactly how a liner will start to fade. The water line is where you start to really see it go. Most liners will have a border pattern around the top. The water level in a pool will be right in the middle of that border. Because of this the bottom half of the border fades out, while the top half stays looking fairly good. The part of the liner that is under water will all fade the same, so it is sometimes hard to tell how bad that it is. Not so with the border.

Why do you guys talk about this issue so much? Glad you asked! We stress this issue with liners because the warranties can be confusing. All liners are only warrantied from the seams pulling apart. Their are no warranties for fading, tearing or shrinking. I have heard many times, “the other guys I talked to said their liners have a warranty of 20 years, you say yours will only last on average around 8 years. Why would I choose yours over the other guys.” Uh oh, somebody didn’t completely explain what the warranty was. Because we hear this more than we should, we like to talk and write about it.

Enjoy the video.

Above Ground Pool Liners. What Are The Differences?

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There really can’t be that much difference in above ground pool liners, right? Well you are right. The main difference in them is the way that they hang on the pool wall. Other than that they are pretty much the same. There are differences in pattern styles you can choose from but you are talking cosmetics now and not function.

There are three different ways that above ground pool liners are made to hang on the wall.

Overlap Liners!

This will be the most popular, and well known style of liner. These liners simply hang over the top of the wall. You use a plastic coping strip that pushes down over the wall and liner to hold it in place. This type of liner is the most economical way to go as far as cost goes. One complaint about this type is that you can see it on the outside of the pool wall. Yes you can and that is why I personally don’t care for them.

Beaded Liners!

Beaded liners are an option that is fairly well known. Most pool companies will sell beaded liners as an upgrade with a pool kit. These liners come with border patterns around the top, and usually a print pattern on the sides and bottom. When a beaded liner is installed you use a bead receiver. This is a track that snaps on top of the wall. It has a channel in it that the bead at the top of the liner snaps into. The downfall to this is, as your liner ages and shrinks over time it will have a tendency to pull out of the track. It then slips down the inside of the pool and can be a problem. A big thing we hear with beaded liners is, you don’t have to take the top of the pool apart to change them. We have done hundreds of liner changes on above ground pools, and we take the top off to change a beaded liner. Most times you do not have enough room under the topseats to get the new liner snapped into the track without a struggle. Easier to just take the top of the pool apart.

J-Bead or J-Hook Liners

This style liner came on the market around 12 years ago. You have the same thing as a beaded liner except for how it hooks to the wall. Instead of using a bead receiver track, there is an upside down J on the top of the liner that hooks on the wall. The advantage to this over the beaded liner is you have no issues with the liner slipping out of the bead receiver. This style liner is what we install on 90 percent of above ground pools.

There you have the three different options for liners on above ground pools.

Why Patience Is A Virtue, Even With Swimming Pools!!

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I recently received an email from a customer thanking us for the new equipment we installed on her pool and the advice I had given her. Here is what she said.

What type of problem are you experiencing? NONE!!! Nathan, I just wanted to let you know that this weekend we opened our pool to the kids in my family! The best advice you gave me a few months ago was to be patient. I did! And the pool looks beautiful! I never thought this would happen – esp. after seeing what looked like black tar coming out of our pool just a few months ago. I wish I could send you a picture! Thank you for your equipment and advice! Loretta

The reason I wanted to post her comment was because of the fact she mentioned being patient. One of the biggest problems I see in the pool business is everybody being in a hurry. I realize that we live in a world of instant gratification. I want it now and I want my problem fixed now. Some things though take time.

In the world of swimming pools if your water gets out of balance and your pool gets cloudy or the “dreaded” algae, it is not going to clean up in a few hours. You have to give the shock and algaecide you add time to work. Once the crud has settled to the bottom you can then vacuum it out. It will take time though.

In the above customers situation they had bought a house that set empty for a couple years. The pool had set for at least 2 years without being run. It was a sludge pit. We installed new pump and filter with a salt system and got everything up and running. From day one I told them they would need to be patient with it because it would take a lot of time for it to clean up. It took around six weeks with them vacuuming, checking chemical levels, and backwashing to get it cleaned up. It was that bad. If they would have tried to get the pool sparkling clean in a week or even two they would have been very frustrated. It wasn’t going to happen. With being patient, taking their time, and letting the pool equipment do its job, they went from a tar pit to a clean sparkling pool that they are now enjoying.

If your pool is out of balance chemically, or you can’t get it to clean up, be patient. I know it is a hard thing to do but if you realize that it will take some time you can save yourself some frustration.

Happy swimming and good luck on that being patient thing!