19 Random Things you Should Know about Having an Above Ground Swimming Pool

So you’re thinking about getting an above-ground swimming pool. This can be a big decision especially if you’ve never had a pool before.

The experience of having an above-ground pool varies quite a bit. This is because some pools are very cheaply made with terrible pool equipment and are only made to last a season or two.

Other above grounds are more substantial lasting more than a decade and come with all good stuff, which differs in the experience.

Beyond the average metal-walled above-ground pool, there are some that are very expensive and made to go partially in the ground. These above ground pools will last decades and homeowners spend a lot adding decking, lighting, and making their yard an oasis.

Some things are constant no matter what type of above-ground swimming pool you get.

19 Random Things you Should Know about Having and Installing an Above-Ground Pool.

1. YOUR MUNICIPALITY MOST LIKELY WILL WANT YOU TO PULL A PERMIT FOR YOUR POOL

The reality of this is that the vast majority of people don’t get a permit for their above ground pool, but most of their local governments require one.

Depending on where your live, the experience of getting a permit can be anything from $30 and a quick trip to the building department all the way to hundreds of dollars and six months of absolute aggravation.

Learn more about permits and above ground pools here

2. THE GRASS WILL HAVE TO BE REMOVED AND THE EARTH LEVELED WELL

For some, the idea of having an above-ground pool is a temporary one. And because of that, they don’t want to spend much on it or make much effort installing it.

Regardless of how temporary your thinking is or how lazy you are, you are going to have to remove the grass where the pool is going and level the earth.

As you read this, take a glass or bottle of water and tilt it. Notice that the water continues to stay level regardless of how much you tilt its container.

Now, consider an above-ground pool to be a giant cup or water glass. If it’s tilted, the water will stay level. For your pool, this is bad. And it’s more than just visibly unpleasant. A pool off-level by just three inches or more will most likely not stay up for very long.

NOTE: Dumping a bunch of sand over your grass to level it out for an above-ground pool installation will most likely not work. The grass underneath will die, decompose, and the pool will become severely off-level.

If you’ve committed to getting a pool, then bite the bullet and get out there and remove the grass first. It may really suck to do this step for something that is temporary and that you don’t care much about, but if you don’t, you may be taking the pool down and reinstalling AFTER removing the grass the second time. And that sucks worse.

Learn about how much grade your yard has here

3. THE PUMP WILL NEED ELECTRICAL RUN TO IT

Reading this, you may be surprised at the number of people that don’t know a swimming pool needs a pump. And that that pump needs electricity to run.

In addition to your pump needing electricity, the electricity will have to go to the pump and not the pump to your receptacle. Above ground pool pumps are usually placed somewhere right next to the pool wall.

Learn the different ways people run electricity to their pool pumps here

4. YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO CHEMICAL MAINTENANCE EVERY WEEK DURING THE SUMMER

During the 35 years of my being in the swimming pool business, there have been a lot of equipment add-ons to help chemically maintaining a pool easier. But during the summer, you still have to service the pool once a week.

Depending on what kind of above-ground pool you get and what size it is, there’s at least a weekly time commitment to having one. Don’t think that buying an auto-cleaner and a salt-chlorine generator will remove your weekly pool maintenance routine.

The good news is that some find cleaning and maintaining their pool as therapeutic. It can be gratifying to keep your sanctuary in good order.

5. IT MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR SOME TO GET IN AND OUT OF THE POOL

Above ground swimming pools are usually above the ground. Duh! This means that people have to climb steps or a ladder up and over the wall when getting in and out of it.

Consider that those in your life who are heavy, elderly, or have special needs potentially having an issue getting in and out of the pool.

Some solve their pool access issues by buying upgraded steps with bigger weight ratings and/or railings to make things easier. Some will build a deck specifically for people to be able to easily access the pool.

6. HAVING A SWIMMING POOL IS AN ADDED LIABILITY FACTOR

Right now, your backyard may just have grass. It’s hard for anyone to get hurt on grass(although some do).

When you get a swimming pool, any small kid that comes over will be more of a liability factor for you. You’ll have to worry about it wandering in the yard and finding himself in the pool.

Also, if you have trees hanging over the pool or any situation that could damage the pool in some way, you’ll have that added liability.

I’m in no way suggesting that having an above-ground pool is a big liability and isn’t worth having. Just that, along with anything that you add to your life, there will be an added liability to it.

7. SMALL KIDS WILL WANT TO GO IN A LOT

One of the things that I love about being a part of the swimming pool industry is that kids still want to go swimming a lot.

You can buy a kid a really cool bicycle and he may look at it, say “Thanks” and then stick his head back in his phone.

Despite kids not being as physical, they still love to be in water. If you are considering a pool for your kids, you will be happy with how much they will want to get in it. When they get older, they will find other teenage things to do. But until then the pool will be used.

And small kids don’t care what the water temperature is.

8. LINERS HAVE TO BE REPLACED

Metal-walled above-ground pools will last on average between ten and twenty years. The liners in them will need replacing sooner.

Expect a good quality heavy gauge liner to last in the range of five to eight years. And when they get replaced, the pool will have to be drained and the top frame of the pool will have to come off.

It’s important to know this if you are planning on putting a deck around your pool. You want to make sure that the deck doesn’t get in the way of taking the top frame off.

Learn about having a deck with an above ground pool here

9. IF YOU DON’T TAKE CARE OF THE POOL RIGHT, IT WILL TURN GREEN

For me, there are two kinds of pools – those that have turned green and those that are going to turn green.

Think about a swimming pool as an environment. What we do as humans is make this environment one that certain algae can’t thrive in.

What a lot of people don’t understand is that in a swimming pool, algae is growing all the time. We just have chemicals in the water that we are constantly adding to kill it. And if we don’t have the correct amount of chemicals needed, algae will live and multiply very, very quickly.

This is what a green pool is. The green is hundreds of generations of multiplying algae. The pool is now so populated with microscopic living things, that we can see it.

So, unlike buying a cool watch or a nice car or a boat, a swimming pool can’t just be left alone. It needs to be taken care of.

It’s really not that hard to learn basic swimming pool chemistry. There are some really not too bright people out there that keep their pool water looking beautiful year-round. Just keep in mind that pools love consistency.

Learn about getting a green pool back to clear here

10. SOMETIMES THE WATER CAN BE TOO COLD OR TOO HOT

Just because you get a swimming pool, doesn’t mean the water will be to your liking. Some pools out in the open can get too hot from the summer sun. And other pools under a canopy of trees will stay too cold from not being able to heat up with the direct sun.

This is a real problem here in Central Florida with screened-in pools. Having a screen enclosure is great as everything stays cleaner and there are no bugs. But the water can stay too cold because the screen disallows the sun to heat up the pool.

The result is that most screened-in pools here either don’t get used much or have to be heated even in the hot summer.

Other above-ground pools that are situated in a yard with no trees will have so much direct sunlight that the pool will be like “bathwater” during the summer.

In reality, there is no perfect water temperature for everyone. Some like it hot and some like it on the colder side. Kids don’t care. They can be shivering with blue lips and keep jumping in (I love that).

If your pool’s water is too hot or too cold, you may want to do something about it because you won’t really ever enjoy the pool if it’s too hot/cold for you.

If too hot, some add shading from the sun which helps a lot. If too cold, some cut away overhanging tree branches to free up more direct sunlight which helps a lot.

If you are getting a pool, consider this when deciding where to put the pool in your yard. Read about pool placement here

11. MOST WILL WANT A DECK AREA NEXT TO THE POOL

Pools and decks go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you have a pool, you’ll probably want a deck. That is if you can afford it.

There’s a lot to consider when getting a deck. I suggest your read about decks and above grounds here

12. DOES NOT ADD ANY VALUE TO THE HOME

Installing an above-ground swimming pool, regardless of how much you spend, will not add any real estate value to the property.

For those who do things on a more mathematical or financial basis need to know this. That’s the bad news. The good news is that compared to an inground pool, it may be a better overall value.

This is because the average inground swimming pool add only about half of what you pay for it to the value of the property. And inground pools are really expensive.

At the end of the day, you are getting a swimming pool because you want one in your life and at your home. Period. They really don’t make financial sense otherwise (with an exception or two). Most things that we want don’t make financial sense though.

Read above ground versus inground pools here

13. AN ABOVE GROUND POOL WILL MOST LIKELY AFFECT YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

If you have a sprinkler system in your yard, it will be affected by the addition of a swimming pool.

Even though above-ground pools are mostly installed on top of the ground, the sod has to be removed and the ground has to be leveled. This means that if irrigation lines are running where the pool is going, you will run into them.

It’s usually not a big deal to cut out and re-route irrigation lines, but it is a consideration. And the way the sprinklers cover the yard may have to change some with an above-ground in the way.

Learn what to do when you run into irrigation during a pool install here

A good irrigation system should cover every inch of the grass in the yard. Having a big tall structure added to the yard may require you to change the location and type of sprinkler heads.

14. SOFT-SIDED POOLS LAST A COUPLE OF YEARS AND METAL-WALLED POOLS LAST MORE THAN 10 YEARS ON AVERAGE

It happens all the time. People call me to install a pool they bought. I ask where they bought it and who makes it. They tell me it’s an Intex or Bestway or Coleman pool. I say I don’t install those.

They ask why? I tell them what they bought is a soft-sided above-ground pool that won’t last very long and it’s not worth what I charge to install it.

They say “Oh I didn’t know. I thought I bought something that will last”.

All above-ground swimming pools are not made equal. Do some research (like you are right now) before pulling the trigger on something online. You may just pull the buy trigger on something because it’s available or much less expensive. Yeah, if you do that, it may not be what you really want.

Read the difference between soft-sided and metal-walled above ground pools here

15. THERE WILL BE AN ONGOING COST BOTH IN ELECTRICITY AND CHEMICALS

Depending on what you get, it can cost a lot to buy and set up your above-ground pool in the way you want it, but the cost doesn’t stop there.

Swimming pools take ongoing electricity and chemicals to operate and maintain. How much? Find out by reading this

16. MOST ARE HAPPY TO HAVE GOTTEN AN ABOVE GROUND POOL

In my 35 years of working on and being around above-ground swimming pools, I have noticed that most are happy with deciding to get one. Not all but the vast majority.

In addition to doing new pool installs, I also change the liners out. This gives me an opportunity to see how the pool I installed held up over the years which is great feedback.

It also lets me know how well people liked having a pool. And most are really happy with having one. I’m not just saying that either. If you (the reader) knew me, you’d know I wouldn’t lie about something like that or much anything else.

17. THE POOL CAN BECOME A PERSONAL REFUGE FOR SOME (NOT ALWAYS FOR GROUPS)

So many people decide to get a swimming pool for their family. What they discover is that the pool is a great place of solitude for them. I have heard this so many times that I have to mention it here.

There is something very peaceful about the inactivity of water. And for some, it’s their only opportunity to be both outside AND alone.

18. YOUR DOG MAY DIG AROUND IT

Dogs love to get cool when it’s hot out by digging into the cool earth. And there is no cooler earth than the ground next to the pool wall.

Yeah no, you don’t want your dog digging holes next to your above-ground pool. Learn about dogs and above grounds here

19. YOU WILL HAVE A HARD TIME WEIGHING DOWN THE INSIDE LADDER

Above ground pool ladders are made of plastic. And plastic floats in water.

Some will think that they just have to fill the ladder up with water to weigh it down. Yeah no. Water cannot weigh down things in water. This is because it has the same buoyancy.

Some also think that they can attach the top of the ladder to the top of the pool or deck to keep it in place in the pool. This is possible in theory, but not likely in the real world(your pool).

Weighing down steps or a ladder can be tricky. Follow the directions on adding weight, but don’t count on them. You may have to do something creative to keep your inside steps or ladder nicely weighted in place.