New to pools in general and have a lot to learn!

[tokmom]

Hello,
My husband and I just bought a doughboy above ground 24' with the deep end. It will be installed later this week. I have been trying to read a lot on pools, pool care and especially the liners.

Reading horror stories about liners leaks has me worried. How do you prevent them for the most part?

I read somewhere on this forum that maybe leaks were caused by removing the ladder incorrectly. I planned on removing it daily for safety reasons. Do I want to look at other options instead?

ANY help with pool maintenance would be much appreciated. :)

[PoolDoc]

There's not any single cause.

Keep in mind, most people do NOT experience liner leaks -- but then they don't come here and post, "We have no liner leaks -- just sayin'"

That said, removing the ladder daily is probably not a good idea. Try to find some other way to be safe. (What are you trying to protect against by removing the ladder?)

[tokmom]

Any kids climbing up and falling in. I really don't want to fence, but will if if needed. I heard there are gates for ladders, so I might look into something like that. I'm pretty sure our youngest will stay off the ladder, but I'm a mom and I worry.
Good to know about the liners. I feel a bit better about tears. I'm so anxious to do the right thing for maintenance, etc. We (like everyone else here) invested a lot of money into this pool and want it to last!

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Another thing, what is the best material to put around the pool on the outside? Husband was thinking decorate rock surrounding the pool, but my worry is one getting under the edge and then liner. Grass would require weeding/trimming. I thought of a beauty bark kind of material with natural plants (ferns) as we are in a wooded area.

[PoolDoc]

You didn't say what age your children are, but with small children you MUST have positive control over access. It sounds like that means a fence, in your location.

Regarding a latter, you probably want to keep in mind that it's not just a way IN to the pool, it's also a way OUT. I'd be afraid to remove a ladder for that reason, even more than for the sake of the liner.

You might want to look through the AG photo gallery -- it's far from comprehensive, but you might get some ideas. However, I don't really thing rock added AFTER the pool is up and filled is going to migrate under the liner.

[Watermom]

Perhaps a deck around your pool with a locking gate would solve your problem? I have a deck around about 1/3 of my AG pool with a rail around it and a self-closing gate. My ladder is the type that is attached to the top of the deck rather than one that sits on the lawn. Maybe something like that would be another option for you.

Also, I have always had stones around the perimeter of my AG pools with no problems.

EDIT: Take a look at the following thread, post #22 in particular. You can see my old pool and deck in it so you can have an idea of what I am talking about in regards to deck. That pool has been replaced and a new deck installed this spring so it is not my current setup, though. I'll be posting newer pictures shortly.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?14507-Watermom-s-New-Pool-Adventure

[BigDave]

I protect the liner under the ladder with a piece of 40 mil PVC cut to fit. This material can be found in the tile section of your big box home imporvement store and is sold as shower pan liner.

The walls of AG pools, when sufficiently high, are often acceptable by local codes as an effective barrier to small children accessing the pool when installed with an automatically closing gate on the ladder with a latching mechanism high enough to prevent use by a small child. These codes also usually specify that the pump/filter must be located such that they cannot be climbed to gain access to the pool.

[sunlove]

We have a safety ladder on our AGP where you always leave the in-pool half in, and you can remove the steps that are outside the pool, to prevent access. This might be a good solution for you to avoid wear/tear on the liner and also address the safety issue.

I have the Performance AG A-frame ladder and it is very well made, very solid, plus you can convert it for deck use if you ever build a deck. :)

We have rocks around our AG, so does my parents. Never had a problem and it looks nice. Don't plant grass or anything w/ spreading roots next to the pool. For more protection to your liner, you can get this foam pad thing to put between sand and liner...the name is escaping me right now, but my mom did that. Added benefit is it makes the bottom softer :)

[tokmom]

Thanks so much for the tips!
I will look into the safety ladder for sure. I really like that idea! My youngest kids are 10 and 8, so not small kids, and there are no kids around us as we are rural, so no sneaking neighbor kids. We have a plan B, with a large piece of board covering the stairs that the kids won't be able to move. Hard to explain what I mean. I would prefer the ladder though.
Watermom, we do plan on building a half deck like your picture showed, but next year, due to cost. I can't wait to have something nice like that.

Sunlove, I didn't want grass next to the pool, due to upkeep, but was thinking of ferns as they are wild around our property. I guess roots are a no-no. Good thought.

Once I gain access to see pictures I will look at what others did. I tried but I was denied. lol.

[Watermom]

I know what you mean about a large board covering the stairs. When my kids were younger, we had a treehouse. You had to climb about 5 steps if I am remembering correctly to reach the little deck on the treehouse. We blocked the steps with a big piece of plywood or something to keep the little ones from climbing up.

[PoolDoc]

Once I gain access to see pictures I will look at what others did. I tried but I was denied. lol.

I just checked with my test user ID -- you pretty much have access to all the pictures that can be seen. Most of the pictures you can't see, were handled by the vBulletin (forum software used here) attachment system. Unfortunately, the attachment system tends to 'lose' pictures at each major update. That is the reason I've switched to using Picasa, via the PoolForum Gmail account.