Gonna tackle a self installation and need some opinions

Been throwing around the idea of a swimming pool ever since we built our house in 2004.

Seems the time has come.

Like many, I love the idea of an inground but just cant swing the kind of money it would take to make that happen. So ... looking at ab AG with a twist.

My basic idea is this:

I have a backyard with a slope of around 5' over the length of a 16x32 oval pool. I intend to dig out the hill. Pour concrete footers and a U-shaped block retaining wall that matches the contour of the pool and will be 4' from the pool walls. Pool footprint will be 6" higher than the footer itself with a slope from the pool to the footer. A perimeter drain laid on the footer and pea-gravel over the drain. One end of the pool will be ground level with about 2/3rds of the sides being ground level. Starting 2/3rds down the pool the ground will drop and the opposite end of the pool will be ground level. Will provide access and drainage with nothing touching the walls.

The 4' gap between the block wall and the pool would be bridged with a wooden deck and from there out would be concrete.

Thoughts on my idea?

If Im crazy you can tell me.

Also, looking to buy the best quality AG pool that I can. Opinions on brands and on-line suppliers?

Hi swilk and welcome to the Pool Forum! I'm gonna let one of our builder types answer most of your post. But just wanted to welcome you and let you know that your post had been read. Once your registration is completed and your post is moved out into the classified areas of the forum, you'll get more views and hopefully some good advice. You're gonna love having a pool! And, AG pools are every bit as fun as an inground.

Hi, no, not crazy. Not even insane. And you've done some good thinking about it. I BELIEVE the general rule is when you build up, you must build out. I think if you go up 5' with your retaining, your pool must be at least 10' from the edge, or you need to get it engineered. Anything you build up should be filled with QP ("quarry product"), essentially dirty gravel. But QP has a very high friction coefficient, packs really well, and drains almost as well as gravel. It's usually cheaper than gravel, too, and you can put sand on it. But you still need pea gravel for the French Drains.

But, unless you do all the work yourself or with buddies who work for beer, it's going to be very expensive. I went through this. My platform goes from level ground to 2 1/2 feet of rise at the lowest point. Retaining wall block, QP, and an engineer (couldn't get the 5' around the edges), it cost $5,000 for a base to support a 16'x40' AG structure (rectangular, not oval or round.) I laid out all the lines myself, too. (I have an old yard-sale transit that still works).

Carl

Something might have gotten lost in translation. I will not be building it up .... instead I will be cutting into the side of the hill and installing the pool flush with the ground on one end. The retaining wall would do nothing other than allow the pool to be "sunk" in the ground without the ground actually touching it.

Wish I was good with a drawing program ... pictures are worth a few words or something like that.

Oh, OK. I thought I read retaining wall.... You want to only dig down, not build up. Much, MUCH easier and cheaper.

Carl

There would be a retaining wall .... but the pool would be on the non load side of it. The wall would do nothing but hold earth away from the pool edge.

The top of the block wall would have a salt treated plate and I would build the 4' spanning desk that goes to the pool off that top plate.

A concrete patio would be poured that leads to the deck that then leads to the pool.

This wont be a cheap way to build it but it will hopefully get me close to the look and feel of an inground pool without the problems that actually burying and back filling to an above ground pool can create.

I have a bad slope in my back yard and had to do a retaing wall. Installed it last August and i am very happy with the out come.

I am getting the "you do not have permission" warning when I try and view your pictures.

They sure do take security serious on this site.

Anyway, I am still kicking around several ideas .... decisions, decisions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by swilk

They sure do take security serious on this site.

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Yes, I do, though the picture issue has as much to do with not having had time to wrestle with the hidden-9-layers-deep settings in a new version of vBulletin, as it does with security. But having just 5 minutes ago removed two newly registered users who were wannabe spammers, yes, security is always on my mind.

You probably should check out this site by a former PoolForum user:
http://www.howibuiltmyownpool.com/

If nothing else, it will give you a clear picture of how a really careful and systematic engineer might approach a DIY pool.