Partial In Ground and Above Ground

[hornerdon]

Great references. The "On Ground" system by Champlain is offered for precisely my needs - partially in ground.

I also spoke to a rep from Hydra Pools, makers of Hydra, Cornerstone and Pinnacle in ground pools. He said that if I was able to use a berm of dirt for backfill, sloping away from the pool 15' to 20', that would be sufficient without retaining walls I forgot to mention in my first message that we have plenty of room; the property is 5 acres.

Which leads to another question: The Champlain pools are steel walls and the Hydra pools are polymer walls. This pool will be located in sub-tropical Central South Florida, and anything put in the ground is liable to rot. I think I would prefer the plastic panels, but I'm open to being convinced one way or the other.

[Waterworks]

For On Ground Pools we use the Champlain pools by Technican, as well as the Eternity Pool by RP Industries (Located in Quebec Canada, but currently owned by SCP). The nice thing about the Eternity is the 48" walls, as opposed to 42", as well as the extra shapes that are available.

www.industriesrp.com

Brad

[waste]

I've seen 2 of these attempts, and neither of them worked (in the long 5-7yrs run). The panals are there to hold the liner, not to keep the pool's shape. The previous post was right in that you'd need at least 5' of backfill around it. Perhaps a few more steps are in order so that you have an inground pool. If you want an A/G pool, put one up and surround it with a deck, but trying to hybrid it won't last

[hornerdon]

I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to construct some sort of retaining wall. I don't want the deck to look like it's built on a wall, but the deck will be at least 8' wide all around, so a retaining wall about 5' from the pool will be OK. The wall will also provide excellent support for the deck.

From a longevity point of view, I'd rather have an in-ground that needs a retaining wall than an above-ground which is partially buried. I don't think most above ground pools could take the underground environment. Also, I see that the variety if shapes is much, much greater for the in-ground. After more research, I definitely think the polymer panels are better for Florida.

Anyone want to take a shot at convincing me that a gunite pool would be so much better than a liner pool that it's worth the extra money? Remember, I've had a couple of concrete pools and have had to refinish the interior about as often as a liner has to be replaced, and I've had losts of experience battling the calcium loss problems.

[CarlD]

There are two options:
1) an I/G pool with steel walls that can be completely A/G safely--they are sold
2) A/Gs that follow the old red-wood pool style of the late 60's and 70's. These are Fanta-Seas and Kayaks and both can use plastic aluminum honeycomb walls with lifetime warranties.