The correct above ground pool chemical target ranges are the same six numbers used for any residential pool, but the packaging that comes with most above ground kits does not always print them accurately. This guide lays out the six parameters that actually matter, free chlorine, pH, total alkalinity, cyanuric acid, calcium hardness, and combined … Read more
Sizing a pump for an above ground pool comes down to one number: how many gallons per hour it needs to move to turn over your entire pool volume in 8 hours. Horsepower doesn’t answer that question, GPH does. This walks through the exact calculation for the common above ground pool sizes, shows where the … Read more
If you are working out how to level ground for an above ground pool, the method most people default to, pushing the high dirt into the low spots, is the exact reason so many pools end up tilted within a season. The correct approach is the opposite: you dig down to the lowest point of … Read more
An inflatable above ground pool gets you in the water for under 300 dollars with about 20 minutes of setup and no tools. It also tops out at a 1 to 3 season lifespan, can’t support a deck, and on the larger models the pump that ships in the box is not sized for the … Read more
Above ground pool chemistry has one correct set of target ranges, but the guide that came in the box with your pool doesn’t always agree with it. This guide explains where that disagreement comes from, using pH as the clearest example, and routes you to the exact target numbers, the weekly routine for testing and … Read more
The pump and filter are the life support system of an above ground pool, and when they’re undersized, nothing else compensates, not chemicals, not vacuuming, not a better cover. This guide covers the three things that actually determine whether that system is doing its job: whether the pump is sized correctly for your pool’s volume, … Read more
Ground preparation is the phase of an above ground pool installation that takes the most time, causes the most arguments, and produces the most regret when it gets rushed. It isn’t one task, it’s three: leveling the ground, choosing and placing the base material, and setting the track and bottom cove correctly, done in that … Read more
Above ground pool types split into four tiers based on how permanent they are, not on price or brand. Getting this one decision right before you look at anything else saves you from the most expensive mistake in above ground pool buying: buying a temporary pool and expecting a permanent experience out of it. This … Read more
I have had the same conversation about solar covers and child safety more times than I can count, and it usually starts with a parent pointing at the cover floating on their above ground pool and telling me that is what keeps the kids out. It does not, and the reason matters more than most … Read more
A homeowner called me after their brand-new above ground pool turned from clear to rust-brown within ten minutes of adding chlorine shock, and they were convinced the pool itself was defective. It was not the pool. It was the well water they filled it with, and a mineral in that water that chlorine reveals the … Read more
The pool I took down last fall had been standing for 22 years, and the steel wall panels were still solid enough that I could have left them up another few seasons. In fifteen years of installing and replacing above ground pools, I have seen that same result maybe half a dozen times, and I … Read more
In fifteen years of installing above ground pools, I have found that ground preparation takes roughly twice as long as putting the pool itself together, and that ratio holds whether I am setting up a small round frame pool or a larger oval kit. A 15-foot pool that goes together in about 2 hours of … Read more