Oval Above Ground Pool Installation
Tips For Installing An Oval Pool
Today we installed an 18' x 33' Gilbralter Cantar pool by Wilbar and sold by Leslies Pools online and I thought to take a few photos. I started taking photos after the grass was removed and the ground completely level.
The photo below shows the massive strength of the buttress free design. An extremely heavy U-channel is used for both the vertical and horizontal brace supports. My wife had made the comment to the customer about each assembly being so heavy it took two men and an ape just to move them. As I was carrying one to the pool area I asked where my two men helpers were. They are heavy.
The next two photos in this oval installation are the brace assemblies installed. I start by laying the entire brace system out on top of the ground. I then mark where the trenches will go and move everything out of the way. When the trenches are dug I set a 12" patio block in the rear. At this point I use a laser level and level the trench and the block. The brace channel measures 3" deep. If the ground you leveled reads a 6 on the level stick the trenches and blocks should be set at a 9. When the trenches are all level the braces can be set back into place. I recheck all the all measurements to make sure the assembly is square. I then recheck the level at the front and rear of the channel. This time I measure from the top of the channel, ground level, so my number would be 6, front and rear.
The side braces below have been set on one side. I lay this side out and set the braces up against a string line. They are perfectly straight and perfectly level front and back. I will then attach the straps and connect to the braces on the other side. Measuring from corner brace, across to opposing corner brace, in both directions, until the measure is the same will square the sides. I then mark for the trenches, unbolt the straps on the side I am working on and move the brace assemblies. With the trenches dug and the blocks set I will set the brace assemblies in place and bolt them to the straps. I will do one more check for square and one more check for level front and rear and then backfill and pack. Only when this is done should you proceed with the curved end rails.
This photo shows the pool ready for sand. The end footplates have been leveled and the ground treated with grass killer. And when I say end rails leveled I mean laser leveled to within an 1/8 of an inch. Here in Arizona I am seldom concerned with the ground settling but placing patio blocks under the end footplates is never a bad idea.
We have moved about 7 tons of sand and started to unroll the side wall. Notice the sand is in the center of the pool area, no where near the bottom rails. The last thing I want is to be filling up the track with sand as I am putting the wall in. The biggest problems people have installing a sidewall are 1. The wind blowing it over. 2. Trying to install the wall in bottom rails that are not level or do not have firm soil packed between the footplates. 3. Installing a pool on a layer of sand, that never works out well. The sand fills the track and the wall has no place to go.
Here you can see the interlocking rods getting installed and taped. They keep the wall from blowing over and also allow an adequate structure to stretch the liner over. With the sand out of the way and the ground level and the end footplates perfectly level, unrolling the wall and putting it in the bottom rails is an easy one man, or maybe a two man job. I can do it alone but I guess I just have the touch. My recommendation is not too many hands on the wall.
Here the wall has been installed and a lot of duck tape used to hold the wall tight to the side braces and to protect the liner from getting torn by the braces. Be very careful when doing an oval installation not to let the side of the pool blow down. This is one of the few pools I would do with just the interlocking rods for support. The majority of my oval installations involve building the entire frame of the pool before installing the liner as I discuss down the page a little. My expertise tells me the sides well be perfectly straight and all the braces and end posts perfectly level.
In this photo the sand has been spread and smoothed. I do my final smoothing with a soft push broom. Once I climb out of the pool I do not get back in to install the liner. The sand base on this pool will always stay this smooth, or close to it. A note about wall foam, pool cove and a pool pad. I installed for a good 35 - 40 years without any of that stuff with seldom a problem. Wall foam, here in Arizona I have know idea if it does anything for the life of a pool or the insulation properties. As thin as it is I doubt it does much. I do know when moving a pool that has had wall foam glued onto the sidewall it is a mess to deal with. When it comes with the pool I do still install it. As seen in this photo if I were to install a liner pad over this sand I would just make a mess. They are so thin and compress so much I see no pint in them over the sand, I would rather keep it this nice and smooth. Since they come with so many pools these days I use them under the sand as some sort of vegetation prevention and maybe rodent deterrent. Pool cove I do see as useful, I will use it under the sand and it is great to prevent any washouts in the cove area.
We install the liner from the outside of the pool. We pull it over the rods to where the bottom is perfectly smooth and the overhang on the outside is the same all the way around. At this pint I want to add an important note, and it is important. I recommend on all pool installations the entire frame, uprights and top rails, be installed before the sand is spread and the liner installed. This allows you to make sure every thing is correct. Is the pool square from side to side? Is it level? Are the sides straight? Do all the top rails fit correctly? Are all the posts straight up and down? There are so many ways to go wrong only to find out later when you have water in the pool. We can get buy with doing it this way on only a few occasions. The pool needs to have a retaining rod system that interlocks and can be taped into place. The liner can be most anything besides a Doughboy. The Doughboy liner is thicker and heavier and folded differently that other liners and needs the strength of an entire frame work to get it installed with a smooth bottom. That and we have the many years experience to know exactly how the pool will turn out, fist time builders do not, so build the pool complete before the liner and check everything. Then you can prepare the pool base, do all the inside work without a worry as to whether the pool will blow down or not. And when it comes time to put the pool back together you know you have all the parts and everything fits.
This is how the liner looks from the outside of the pool just as we start the hose running. Having the liner overhang even on the outside assures the liner is properly centered. This is critical with an oval installation.
After a long day the pool is done. Although this photo does not show it, the steel side brace uprights have been capped with the same uprights that are used on the ends.
There are many correct ways to build a pool. This is just my way. I hope it will give you some ideas for your own install. It is impossible to go into every detail without writing a book. There are also many different makes and models and they all install in there own unique way. But I hope this helps some.
We do pool and liner installations all over the state of Arizona. Check Pool and Liner Installations for prices.
Below are some more of my illustrated installation pages with plenty of help and advice.
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