Helllpp Fassssssssttttttt!

[Pontiadict]

Thanks for your help Dennis.

John

[hrsdennis]

Hey John, we have gone a bit off topic but this is what it's all about.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3435

[matt4x4]

You can do a couple of other things to build a cove that are relatively cost effective.
1. As Dennis had stated, tape plastic (vapor barrier) about 6" up the wall, letting it hang down and out on the floor. If there are gaps, make sure to push the plastic into them using a putty knife. You can build a sand cove on this plastic, the sand will then fill the space where you pushed the plastic in and it likely won't ever wash out.
2. As your hubby allready suggested, make the cove out of left over styrofoam, it will be a bit tedious to get a good fit for the bends, but once you make 1 or 2 templates, things should progress nicely - nothing wrong with using the styrofoam.

[hoffmans]

Denanbob
Love this thread.
I know it is a pain in the rear, but please keep taking pictures of the progress. I think you are really helping other people more than you realize. I am learning by watching you. The more you post in this thread, the less we will have to beg hrsdennis for help when our time comes! .

Hard work makes life worthwhile.
~Hoffmans

[denanbob]

Thanks Hoffmans! Here are some more pictures........we are actually filling the pool!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! Now I hope I don't have to drain it like I've heard several other people have noticed problems as the pool was filling and had to drain it. The liner went in a little too smoothly for my liking. LOL. The liner was the easiest part of it all! We laid it out, picked a starting point, hooked the bead in all the way around and we were done! There are still quite a few wrinkles in the bottom that we couldn't seem to smooth out, but it's ok with me. I will comment (or ask a question) under each picture:

Here is a picture of the styrofoam coving that we built using our leftover styrofoam. It's not 6 inches high (more like 3 inches), but I think it worked out perfectly. It's completely covered in duct tape, so that's why you can't see the foam

Here's a close-up of the homemade cove

Here's a picture of where I was concerned about the liner because it's not sitting flush against the wall at the bottom (near the cove). If I push hard with my foot, I can barely get it to touch the corner so I was thinking the liner was too small and wasn't fitting. As the pool filled about 2 inches, it seems to have flattened out some and now looks ok (although I haven't been in the pool to see it closely). I am keeping an eye on it.

Here's the (almost) finished product! I plan on running the hose about 6 hours today and 6 hours tomorrow and then having the rest of the water brought in by truck. We also just put the limestone gravel in last night and you can see it in this picture.

I'll keep everyone updated! Thanks for everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am started to see a light at the end of the tunnel!

[zephans]

Beautiful thread. Thank you so much for the details and follow-up posts. Pictures are awesome too.

How long has it taken you to construct this pool so far?
Can you break down by rough activity? for example:
__ hrs Digging
__ hrs pool frame construction
__ hrs bottom prep (including __ hrs for custom cove molding)
__ hrs liner preparation
__ hrs filling
-----------
___ hrs total

I'm sure I've forgotten a major step, but this gives a general idea.


I'm still busy reading up on which make/model 24'x12' AG pool to buy (will post my thoughts and questions in separate thread shortly). I'm seriously considering installing myself to save the $1000 quoted by AquaQuip dealer. However I have tight time budget. I probably have 3 days (27hrs) available over 1 weekend plus one day (perhaps in next weekend) to go from mostly level grass lawn to fully installed pool (and hopefully install the solar panels too!). The AquaQuip dealer said a full weekend should be enough to install. I would love independent confirmation of this estimate.

[matt4x4]

That turned out excellent!
Nice cove - certainly big enough due to the base you're using.
Those wrinkles will be gone, the liner will stretch into place nicely - almost a perfect fit.
Congratulations on a great pool and a job well done.

[denanbob]

How long has it taken you to construct this pool so far?
Can you break down by rough activity? for example:
__ hrs Digging
__ hrs pool frame construction
__ hrs bottom prep (including __ hrs for custom cove molding)
__ hrs liner preparation
__ hrs filling
-----------
___ hrs total

I'm sure I've forgotten a major step, but this gives a general idea.

Ok, at this point I cannot honestly recommend installing yourself. It REALLY was a lot more involved than we had anticipated. However, know that we had to dig 40" down to get level ground. In one of my pictures you can see the outline of the railroad ties that we used to hold the earth back because that's how much we had to dig out to get level ground. We rented a bobcat to do this and it took probably 4-6 hours I guess. The longest part of the install was installing the patio blocks and trying to get all of that level. We had a HECK of a time with this. This took us one WHOLE day (I know that's not typical because I've heard people construct a pool from start to finish in 4 hours). So you're probably asking the wrong person the above questions because it took us soooooo much longer than we thought. The pool wall went in pretty quick, the liner went in SUPER quick. The styrofoam took awhile to cut to fit and then duct tape. This took us probably 4 hours alone. I will tell you right now $1000 would have been worth it for us to have someone else do this for us. However, nobody would dig 40" included in that price. The excavation, leveling, and the patio blocks were the absolute worst part. Building the actual pool was not hard at all.

However, I can tell you that we will NEVER do this again. )

I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear. I'm sure someone else can tell you that they breezed right through it and it all went up without a hitch in 6-8 hours. That just wasn't the case for us. Best of luck with whatever you decide. )

[NWMNMom]

How long has it taken you to construct this pool so far?
Can you break down by rough activity? for example:
__ hrs Digging
__ hrs pool frame construction
__ hrs bottom prep (including __ hrs for custom cove molding)
__ hrs liner preparation
__ hrs filling
-----------
___ hrs total

....The AquaQuip dealer said a full weekend should be enough to install. I would love independent confirmation of this estimate.

Well we started May 16 on actual yard/digging work (fill delivery) and I believe we were done/filled and had one kid in the pool trying it out the just around the first weekend of June or shortly thereafter. That was working on it 4-6 hours per night, all weekends long and a couple of vacation days from work used. Our situation may be different due to have to fill and compact the ENTIRE yard area (it was too low and no drainage). Once that part was done the construction was steady as you go, with mostly just the two of us (DH and I) and occassional help from our teenagers when heavy lifting or team work was required. I think it can be done more quickly if you are very practiced and experienced but for newbies, 2 days is really wishfull thinking unless you have a crew of people to help you.

If you are time pressed, you may rush, try shortcuts and make mistakes which you will kick yourself over later, and may have to spend money to fix- then it would be worth it to hire someone or wait until you have enough time and help to do it right and not fast.