| Above ground pools are normally made from kits | | | | to reduce the visual obtrusiveness. |
| that come in a large box and cost a lot of money. | | | | The internal water facing side of the concrete block |
| There is a much cheaper way to install a small above | | | | wall should be pointed flush so that the pool sides are |
| ground pool than by buying an expensive steel | | | | smooth. Above ground pools do lose the heat |
| framed model that will eventually rust away - even if | | | | received from solar gain very quickly over-night and |
| it is galvanized to start with. The other problem with | | | | to counteract this effect, polystyrene panels can be |
| above ground pools that are made from kits is that | | | | glued onto the inner face of the pool walls. |
| the filtration and water sanitation systems are nearly | | | | An amateur brick layer can build one of these pools |
| always sub-standard because most of the money is | | | | quite quickly and easily but care does need to be |
| allocated to the steel framing and not to the care of | | | | taken to ensure the structural integrity of the walls |
| the pool water. Simple above ground pools can be | | | | and it may be easier and quicker to get a |
| built in more or less any shape using 150 mm wide | | | | professional involved. A skimmer and three water |
| concrete blocks from your local builder's merchant | | | | inlets that can be bought from the local pool shop |
| and waterproofed with a PVC liner and provided with | | | | also need to be installed through the pool walls. The |
| a water treatment system that really works and | | | | skimmer should be installed so that it maintains the |
| ensures that children can use the pool without getting | | | | design water level. Two of the water inlets should be |
| ill. | | | | installed about 400 mm below water level and the |
| Such a pool can be square, round or octagonal. If the | | | | third inlet (that actually works as a drain) should be |
| walls are about 4 feet or 1.2 metres high, the water | | | | installed just above the pool floor. All three should be |
| depth can be 40 inches or about 1.0m. The concrete | | | | on the side opposite the skimmer. |
| block walls will hold this height of water if they are | | | | The pool floor can then be leveled out and covered |
| propped externally by further concrete buttresses | | | | with sand. Skilled builders may prefer to put down |
| that are built at 2 metre intervals around the | | | | leveling concrete topped off with a sand-cement |
| periphery of the pool. These buttresses need only be | | | | screed. |
| 40 inches or about 1 meter wide and should always | | | | When the pool is built, measure it up (include the |
| be built at a right angle (on plan) to the main pool | | | | diagonal measurements at the top and bottom of |
| walls. | | | | the pools walls) and order the PVC liner and liner lock |
| The beauty of this structural system is that the | | | | from your local pool shop. Work out the volume of |
| buttresses can be used to support timber decking | | | | your pool and ask the pool shop to provide a pump, |
| around the pool perimeter. The pool walls and the | | | | sand filter and multi-port valve that will circulate the |
| buttress walls will need proper concrete foundations | | | | entire volume of the pool water in 4 hours and a |
| and these should be at least 16 inches or 400 mm | | | | circuit diagram. The filtration equipment and the pipes |
| wide and taken down through the topsoil onto | | | | can all be located, out of the way underneath the |
| reasonably hard sub-soil. The foundations should be at | | | | decking around the pool. |
| least 6 inches or 150mm thick. They can be stepped | | | | I will write another article about pool water care |
| if the pool is not being built on a level site. The pool | | | | because it is very important to get this right when |
| can also be set down into the ground if it is required | | | | the weather is hot. |