I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that in addition to finally purchasing a second car for our household, that we also bought an above-ground pool.
I’ve always loved to swim, but prefer not to do it in public pools. They just kind of gross me out and aren’t very private and relaxing.
Swimming is great exercise, you can burn tons of calories and it’s perfect for people with bad knees, hips or backs. Since I’ve been trying to get back in shape and we finally have a house, I thought buying an above-ground pool would be an inexpensive option to add some fun and exercise into our lives.
So I paid a ton of money for a huge Intex above-ground pool and all the other stuff that needed to be done to put it up.
We decided to put it right in the center of our backyard because the grass never really grew back right after we removed the large magnolia tree. The ground still had some roots, lots of rocks and was completely uneven. Our whole yard is uneven, so that’s not too strange.
We had to remove as much of the roots as possible, along with the rocks. Then came the leveling (or more like digging) and tampering. We thought it looked pretty level after all the work.
Then we had to get sand delivered (which the pool manufacturer advises against) to help level it out and create more of a barrier from our rocky yard.
Oh, but shouldn’t we put some heavy duty tarps underneath the thin one they gave us? You know to protect the pool liner from getting damaged and leading to leaks later on. Sure, lets go spend a ton of money on tarps. We also had to purchase some Gorilla Tape (love that stuff, much stronger than duct tape) to tape the tarps together.
Finally the pool could be assembled. It looked level, so we started filling it up. After about 6 or so hours, we noticed water puddling up on the tarp from underneath the pool liner. We decided to just keep on going and the weight of the water pressure would fix it. We didn’t want to leave the water on overnight, so over two days we spent 18 hours filling up the pool.
After the pool was all filled and ready to use, we inspected for leaks and saw that the metal pool legs were really bowing out on one side and where nowhere near level (same with the water level in the pool). So much so that we were concerned the pool would collapse and flood our yard and house. Crap!
So we drained the pool, all 10 billion gallons of it—did I mention water is really expensive out here and that they just figure our sewer bill by how much water we use. Not sure if it’s like that everywhere, but our sewer bill is about twice of what our water bill is.
Back to the pool, we finally got it all drained. Dug out some dirt from under the pool legs in strategic spots, leveled all the pool legs and started filling it up again.
This time, we kept fixing the pool legs to keep them level about every hour. We didn’t want to deal with the same thing happening again and inflating our water/sewer bill anymore than we already had.
The pool wasn’t really this lopsided, I just took a really bad photo.
After the pool was filled, for the second time, the legs were not bowing out like before and we didn’t detect a single water leak. But…the pool wasn’t level. It was absolutely frustrating and we just decided it was good enough.
Other Expenses beside the pool itself
- Sand for leveling $95.00
- Heavy duty tarps & gorilla tape $120.00
- Pool chemicals to last for summer $110.00
- Chemical checking sticks $20.00
- Floating devices (ring, kick-board, air mattress) $40.00
- Goggles for the 3 of us $40.00
- Water and Sewer to fill the pool twice $210.00
- Extension cord for the pool pump $40.00
- Electricity to run the pump ???
If you’re ever seriously considering buying an above-ground pool, just remember that the pool itself is only one of the many costs associated with it. Really, it’s the only straight forward cost there is.
In reality, it would be so much easier to just purchase a gym membership and deal with a non-private pool. You don’t have to spend time brushing the pool, vacuuming the pool, netting the pool, checking and maintaining chemicals, winterizing, troubleshooting, replacing or cleaning the pool filters and emptying the skimmer basket.
We haven’t used the pool anywhere near how much I thought we would, I had planned to swim for 3 hours everyday. But when you have all the cleaning to do before you can go in, it just isn’t as enticing.
If I could go back, I would skip getting the pool. Now we’re just kind of stuck with it and out tons of money.
Great post Jen, Its hard to realize the true cost of pool ownership when you calculate all the necessities and time involved in maintaining it. Then of course there is the fact that, at least where I live, you can only swim for 3, maybe 4 months out of the year. I am an avid swimmer, but a gym membership is such a better value for my situation. As Warren Buffett says, its better to have friends with pools!
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Coming from a country that’s not exactly famous for it’s summers and houses that have no pools, I found this very interesting. I had always wondered what the draw was with above ground pools. Seeing the price difference between that and an in-ground is one draw if your serious about having a pool. I’m assuming that it all boils down to how much use your going to get out of it to justify the cost and maintenance.
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Holy Molly…I fancy a above ground pool, didn’t know it could be that expensive setting them up. At those rates I’d have to contend with the public pools and perhaps choose a time there arent so many people.
That said, since you have the pool, I’d say take the time to enjoy it, swim some more, relax some more in the pool and if all else fails, you can dismantle and sell it…
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We don’t have a pool but I ran into the same frustration in regards to the water and sewer bill, but for us it was with our in ground sprinkler system. We were paying for sewer costs even though that water doesn’t go into the sewer. The city has an option where you can have a second meter installed, and the water used by your sprinkler system goes through it, and the sewer costs are backed out. I didn’t do it for the first two years we lived there because of the up front cost (around $450 total, most of which was for the cost of the meter and the permits), but finally had it done. It took a little over two years to recoup the costs, but now it saves us a couple hundred bucks each year. If your city has something like that where it could back out the usage on your hose bibs, it will probably end up being worth it.
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There are really a lot of factors to consider when installing a pool. Be it an in-ground or above-ground pool. I guess the cost is the major drawback but if you think of the privacy, comfort and the cleanliness of the water compared to a public pool, it’s worth it. Private pools, be it in-ground or above-ground is way better than public pools.
1. Choose the best place for the pool diameter. Remember to leave room for the ladder and for the pump equipment. Keep in mind that leaving a pool out for a few months will kill the grass underneath. 2. Level, level, level the ground. Every single review I read online said that the ground must be level or you will have problems. My boyfriend told me that our chosen spot was level, so we went to work on assembly. By the time we filled the pool, we could tell that the side toward the east sat about 2-3 inches lower than the west side. No big deal, right? Well, the water level wasn’t high enough to cover the return valve, so filtered water was jetting out across the top of the pool surface. Then the sides won’t stand straight up. We ended up using a jack to raise the droopy end of the pool, stick some sand and pavers underneath, and straighten the pool legs vertically. 3. Have at least two people helping with pool setup. The installation guide is straightforward and easy to follow, but two people helped to speed up the time to completion. Having two people also made adjusting the pool location and straightening the sides easier. 4. Buy a bigger pump. We bought a large saltwater pump to integrate with the pump that came in the kit, but I still think we’re going to need some more power. It seems like we have to vacuum the pool every day. 5. Avoid trees if possible. Unless you don’t mind lots of leaves in the new above ground swimming pool.
We have two poles of our 15′ Intex frame pool sink nearly four inches due to ground wash out. We lowered the water level 4-5 inches, the higher hole is now the out flow from the pump and is above water level! This happened despite hard packing and a tarp. I would suggest lowering the water level and observing for a little bit, unless like Woody said, a collapse would be castastrophic (for me, one side would dump near the foundation of my house, so if this side was compromised I would have to drain immediately: as it is the wash out is opposite it).Good luck.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds extremely frustrating to say the least. Above ground pools can be a great thing, but they are not for everyone. We have not had any trouble with ours, but we have talked to others that had experiences like yours.
Hope you get yours worked out so that you can enjoy it after the hard work you’ve put into it!
Yes swimming is really very great excises as well as good to get relax with. You have shared great tips how we can get swimming pool at home. Thanks for sharing it J
I also love your ideas about how to choose above ground pools. Look nice 😉
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