diy IG pools

[ReddyK]

I'm thinking of installing a 20' x 40' rectangle pool next year, vinyl liner with several upgrades. I'm just starting to look into this on the internet, I haven't even contacted any contractors. I consider myself fairly handy and want to save money by getting a diy kit and doing this myself. Besides all of the obvious pitfalls, I'd like to hear from other people who have done this themselves, and any complications or triumphs, would you do this again? I have no space concerns and the soil is mostly sand. Thanks for any input.

[borrott]

am in process of building my pool 15x30 ig have used indipendant contractors have had no problems and wil save about 10K, so go ahead and do it. But dont be afraid to get advice and ask stupid questions if you ask a competant person he will give you advice and not think you are an idiot. rember if you ask he will think you are an idiot . if you screw up he will know you are one happy building.

[adillenal]

We built a DIY IG vinyl liner pool summer before last. 25'x44' We hired a man to dig the hole, an electrician and a concrete man to pour our decking. The rest we did oursleves as in myself, hubby and a co-worker and a 16 year old son. It took all summer but that is because we hit rock at 4 feet. Sand would have been nice.
I have never regretted doing the DIY. We built a large pool and maintain it with BBB for more than 1/2 what we would have had to pay someone else to do it. We have a salt water system with a spill over spa, diving board, solar heat and 8 foot fiberglass steps. We bought a Hydra pool kit with the resin type sides. Nothing fancy but we love it.
Was not "hard" just time consuming and very physical. Luckily 16 year is a math wiz so he figured all of the angles etc and I was very surprised when the liner fit like a glove. So much for doubting a teenager.
Luckily we also found an electrician (we are in the country) that had just moved into the area and had past experience working with pools. We knew nothing about that part of the process. We did the plumbing ourselves.
Go for it. None of us were exactly the do it yourselfer types and we managed.

[Isshin]

I built a 16x32 inground myself. I used a contractor to excavate (the more precise the hole the less hand digging later!) I also used a contractor to do the vermiculite on the bottom and it is the best money I ever spent. Working with that stuff is trying to whistle with mouth full of peanut butter!

A few tips
- overdig slightly if you're doing a vinyl liner, it stretches for a worry free fit.
- know your local zoning codes backwards and forwards before you start
- make your deck larger than you think you'll want, its cheaper the first time
- use schedule 80 around your heater. some will tell you don't need it but it's a lot less aggrivation in the long run
- invest in extra (and wide mouth) skimmers
- bury some cheap wire with your lines so you can find them with a metal detector later
- label EVERYTHING!!! do not assume you will remember what's what
- when you plumb your returns plumb them on a 90 degree angle straight down to the footer. This will prevent settling from tearing your lines out.
- doing it yourself is very time consuming - plan on burning at least a month or two. I worked until midnight every night by flood light and every weekend. Plus a lot of days off in between.
- if you have specific questions please feel free to email me at romansone16@gmail.com.

[Isshin]

I built a 16x32 inground myself. I used a contractor to excavate (the more precise the hole the less hand digging later!) I also used a contractor to do the vermiculite on the bottom and it is the best money I ever spent. Working with that stuff is like trying to whistle with mouth full of peanut butter!

A few tips
- overdig slightly if you're doing a vinyl liner, it stretches for a worry free fit.
- know your local zoning codes backwards and forwards before you start
- make your deck larger than you think you'll want, its cheaper the first time
- use schedule 80 around your heater. some will tell you don't need it but it's a lot less aggrivation in the long run
- invest in extra (and wide mouth) skimmers
- bury some cheap wire with your lines so you can find them with a metal detector later
- label EVERYTHING!!! do not assume you will remember what's what
- when you plumb your returns plumb them on a 90 degree angle straight down to the footer. This will prevent settling from tearing your lines out.
- doing it yourself is very time consuming - plan on burning at least a month or two. I worked until midnight every night by flood light and every weekend. Plus a lot of days off in between.
- if you have specific questions please feel free to email me at romansone16@gmail.com.