Above ground pool liner installation only gets one real shot at being wrinkle-free, because any wrinkle still there when water covers it gets molded permanently into the vinyl. There is no fixing it afterward short of draining the pool and starting over. This walks through why that happens, the drape-and-smooth sequence that keeps the liner … Read more
Above ground pool wall assembly is the physical part of the job, and it is where I see more setups go sideways than any other single step. A frame that goes together slightly out of round, or a steel wall joint that never gets tightened evenly, carries that mistake straight into the liner and the … Read more
Above ground pool assembly breaks down into three stages that behave nothing alike: getting the wall and frame standing, getting the liner into place without wrinkles, and getting the water in while the pump comes online. Most owners move through the frame quickly, then get stuck once the liner comes out of the box. This … Read more
Above ground pool base material has two jobs: protect the liner from whatever is in the ground underneath it, and give you a comfortable, stable surface to stand on once the pool is filled. Getting the material right is not complicated. Getting the amount and placement wrong is what causes problems later. This guide compares … 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
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