How Long Does an Above Ground Pool Liner Last in Orlando

The long and hot Orlando summer can be brutal on above-ground pool liners. And here, they may not last as long as areas in the north.

Over a span of 37 years, I have seen, installed, and changed thousands of above-ground swimming pool liners in Central Florida. Here are some of my long-term observations.

Above-ground pool liners in Orlando last on average 3-5 years for a standard gauge and 5-8 years for a heavy gauge. This is providing the liner was made in the US or Canada AND was properly installed.

4 MAIN FACTORS THAT DETERMINE HOW LONG AN AG POOL LINER WILL LAST IN ORLANDO

1 Quality of the liner

Installing a heavy gauge, fully printed, liner made in the USA or Canada is your best bet for a long-lasting liner.

2 Proper adding of chemicals

Adding granular chlorine directly to the pool without first diluting it will bleach out the liner and take life from it. Granulate chlorine sitting on the bottom of the pool makes the liner in contact with brittle and eventually prone to cracking (leaking).

If you can, use liquid chlorine instead of granular. Liquid chlorine will disperse quickly in the pool and not sit at the bottom and bleach out the liner.

NOTE: There is an above-ground pool retailer in Orlando that does not recommend using liquid chlorine in above-ground vinyl pools. For the life of me, I don’t understand why. My only explanation is that they are giving out bad advice because they just don’t know any better.

3 The amount of direct hot sunlight

Orlando gets a lot of direct sunlight. And although I have seen many liners that get a lot of direct sun last many years, as a general rule, it takes some life from the liner.

I’m not a big fan of covering above-ground pools. Only because it is such a pain to put them on and take them off. However I have noticed pools that are covered have longer-lasting liners.

4 How well they were installed

Vinyl liners made for above-ground pools can take a decent amount of abuse. They can stretch and be pulled out of shape more than you think and still hold water well.

I have noticed though that liners not installed well are more prone to leaks and don’t last as long as those installed well.

LINERS MAY LAST LONGER WITH LINER GUARDS, BUT IT DEPENDS

Liner guards(pads) are very popular for above-ground pools. And they do have their advantages, but allowing the liner to last longer isn’t necessarily one of them.

If the earth bottom of a pool has a lot of debris, has an oily base, or has a lot of nutgrass in it, then a liner pad can prolong the life of the liner.

This is only because the liner guard will prevent some leaks, which will help add time before the liner needs replacing.

THE LINER I RECOMMEND

I don’t sell liners and am not here to tell you where to buy one. So, this isn’t a sales directive. Just an observation as to which type of liner will last longer.

If you can, get a heavy gauge (usually described as 25), fully printed, unibead/J-hook type, liner ABSOLUTELY MADE IN THE US OR CANADA.

The above liner should last you 5-8 years in Orlando on average.

What is the Best Type of Filter for an Above Ground Pool in Orlando

Orlando has very long, hot, and humid swim seasons. This is the main reason why a cartridge-type filter is best here for an above-ground pool.

When I started my pool maintenance business in the late 1980s, most of the Inground swimming pools here in Orlando had sand-type filters. And almost all of the above-ground pools had them.

Over the sixteen-year span of my service business, cartridge-type filters all but replaced the sand-type in ingrounds AND more than half of above-ground pools came with cartridge filters.

THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF FILTERS FOR ABOVE-GROUND POOLS

1 Sand-type

This filter uses sand to clean pool water. Water is pumped through a tank of sand and particles get trapped in the sand with the cleaner water making its way back to the pool.

When the sand has trapped a lot of debris over a few weeks, it is cleaned by reversing the flow of water through the sand and sending the trapped debris out into the yard. This is called “backwashing”.

2 Cartridge-type

This kind of filter uses a pleated element made of a synthetic “denim-like” material. As water is pumped into the filter tank, it has to flow through this element to make it back to the pool. The element traps debris only allowing the water to get through.

When the element has trapped a lot of debris, it is pulled out of the tank and manually sprayed down with a pressure nozzle on a water hose cleaning off the trapped debris from the outside of the element.

3 DE-type

DE filters use grids framed in plastic and covered with the same synthetic type of material used with a cartridge filter element. Only it’s not pleated.

Those grids sit positioned in a tank and are evenly coated with DE (diatomaceous earth) powder. As pool water pumps through the tank, it has to pass through these DE-coated grids. The powder traps debris.

When the DE powder is full of debris, The flow of water in the tank is reversed and the now dirty DE powder comes off of the grids and is pumped out into the yard.

NOTE: The grids in a DE-type filter need to be taken out of the tank body and manually sprayed down with a pressure nozzle on a water hose at least once every 18 months.

WHY SAND-TYPE FILTERS AREN’T IDEAL FOR ABOVE-GROUND POOLS IN ORLANDO

The Central Florida climate is considered humid subtropical. You can look up what that means exactly but for your swimming pool, it means a long and brutally hot summer of high algae growth and chemistry affecting rains.

A sand filter does not trap as small of particles from the water as the other two filter types do, so it’s not as efficient.

Plus, a sand filter is a closed-type filter, which means it is not designed to open up. So, you are not able to look inside and see the status of the condition of the sand. Filter sand can get caked up and stop allowing water to flow through it.

Because a sand filter is closed, half of the sand inside may be caked up and not working and you will never know it. And with it being closed, you can never tell how well the sand got cleaned during backwashing.

They may be OK for a pool in the north where the extreme summer season is a couple of months long and 75% humidity is considered “very humid”.

The summer in Orlando is no joke. And the hotter it is and more humid, the more things like to grow in pool water. This is another big reason I’m not a fan of sand filters in Florida.

With our brutal summer climate and extreme afternoon thunderstorms (not to mention tropical storms), the likelihood of a pool turning green occasionally is much greater.

With their higher micron rating and unknown working status, it takes a lot longer to bring a swimming pool back to clean and clear with a sand-type filter in comparison to a cartridge or DE type.

WHY I AM NOT A FAN OF A DE-TYPE FILTER FOR ABOVE GROUND SWIMMING POOLS

While D.E. filters are the best kind of pool filter in terms of their micron rating (they trap the smallest particles from the water), there are three things that I don’t like about them.

1 They are expensive to buy

DE-type filters are more expensive (comparing same size/quality) than both cartridge and sand filters.

This may be okay for those affording a one hundred plus thousand dollar in-ground concrete pool, but most getting an above-ground pool are on a much smaller, tighter budget.

So, the extra $200-$300 for a DE filter is a much greater percentage increase with above-ground pools.

2 They break more

With my now 38 years of working with swimming pools, I can tell you that DE-type filters break more than the other two. They have grids or fingers inside of them that get holes or break, a manifold that can crack, and multi-port valves or pump handles that can leak or fail over time.

Again, if you have a big money in-ground pool with bells and whistles, you can expect and have a budget for repairs. A filter breaking may not be as impacting if you have a pool service guy who can stay on top of fixing things.

Most above-ground pools are maintained by the pool owner. And in most cases in Orlando, you cannot get a pool repair guy to come out and work on above grounds. So, having a filter that breaks can suck a lot more with an AG pool.

3 DE powder is very toxic

This isn’t something you will hear much. Diatomaceous earth, although harmless looking, is very toxic to your lungs.

During my early years of servicing pools here in Orlando, I didn’t know about DE powder. I would work with it as if it were as harmless as Goldmetal flour.

Then I got some in my eye one day, and it messed up my eye pretty good. I wondered how this harmless white powder could do that, so I researched DE powder.

Turns out that DE powder is such a good filter media because it adheres to and absorbs things well. Under a microscope, it looks like billions of tiny fishhooks. So yeah, whatever DE powder you breathe into your lungs is going to be staying there for a long while.

I want to mention one very positive thing about DE filters. There is no better filter for getting a green pool back to clear again. DE filters combined with someone experienced with turning a green pool around will get the job done days faster than pools with sand filters.

3 REASONS WHY I THINK A CARTRIDGE-TYPE FILTER IS BEST FOR ABOVE-GROUND POOLS IN ORLANDO

1 They work well

Over the last 30 years or so, the elements for cartridge-type filters have gotten better in terms of their micro rating. Cartridge filters are now pretty close to as good as DE filters at removing smaller particles from the pool water.

2 They are a simpler design and have fewer parts

Our current civilization is notorious for complicating just about everything supposedly for the better. Yeah sorry. I don’t buy it.

Cartridge filters are simple. This means they don’t have as many parts that can break or a complex design that can fail.

And they work well, so no need to try to over-improve them. (Ever tried to fix a Kuerig? What a complex joke.)

Simple means cheaper to buy and breaks less, which is great. Especially for above-ground pool owners.

3 They are an “open” system

When you clean a cartridge filter, you have to open up the tank and pull out the element, This allows you to see exactly what is going on inside. If something is clogged or broken or looks bad, you can see it.

With sand and DE-type filters, it’s a guessing game as to how well it’s filtering water inside. They are designed to either never be opened (sand-type) or opened every year and a half (DE-type).

HAVING VALVES FOR YOUR ABOVE-GROUND POOL WILL MAKE IT EASIER

For an above-ground pool, the pump and filter sit below the level of the pool water. This means that any time you have to open the pump basket, filter, chlorinator, etc., you will get a backflow of water coming from the pool.

Plumbing in two valves (1 each for the skimmer and return line) will allow you to turn the water off coming from the pool, which will make it easier when cleaning the cartridge filter.

Preventing Nutgrass Damage to Above Ground Pools in Orlando

As an above-ground pool installer in the Orlando area, I have seen nutgrass in every area of Central Florida.

Some areas around Orlando are worse than others for having nutgrass, but if you have a yard, then there’s always a chance that you have some nutgrass.

WHAT IS NUTGRASS?

Nutsedge or nutgrass is a weed that looks exactly like a regular blade of grass and grows in yards either with other grasses or by itself.

I could get into what it is exactly, but what you need to know about it in terms of having an above-ground swimming pool is that it can grow through your liner like it’s not even there AND there is no easy way to tell if you have it in your yard.

If you have been out driving and noticed some grass growing through black asphalt, then you have seen nutgrass.

HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE NUTGRASS/NUTSEDGE

Since a blade of nutgrass looks just like a blade of any other type of grass, it is very hard to identify just by looking at the yard.

The only way that I know it is nut grass is that there is a small brown, round nut that is attached to the blade of grass by a skinny root.

If you pull the blade of grass up, the root connecting the nut will break and you won’t know it’s nutgrass. You have to dig up the nut to keep it attached to the grass blade. This is the only way that I know of to tell if it is nutgrass.

BEST TO JUST ASSUME THAT YOU HAVE NUTGRASS WHERE YOUR ABOVE-GROUND POOL IS GOING

This is the best way to go when putting an above-ground pool up in an Orlando area yard. Assume that you might have nutgrass, then do the things to help prevent it from coming up and growing through the liner.

3 THINGS TO DO TO PREVENT NUTGRASS OR NUTSEDGE DAMAGE TO YOUR ABOVE-GROUND POOL LINER

1 Completely remove all of the root mass (sod) with the grass

Since I started using a machine to remove the grass for the pool installation, I noticed a big drop in incidences of nutgrass growing through the liners.

By using a machine, I am removing a greater (thicker) amount of the sod when I took the grass up. This also removes a lot of the nutgrass from the area too.

2 Apply a nutgrass killer (Granular Only)

When the pool wall is up, the coving is in place, and the bottom has been smoothed out, you are ready for the liner.

Just before that, apply a granular nutgrass killer. I have used liquid nutgrass/nutsedge killer and it’s not nearly as effective as granular. USE GRANULAR ONLY

Tip: Apply the nutgrass killer using a spreader. This gives an even layer of the chemical, which will cover the entire pool bottom.

3 OPTIONAL: Use a liner guard

Liner guards are called many things. They are gorilla pads, liner pads, floor pads, etc. They are all about the same BTW, so don’t think one is better than the other.

Using a liner guard by itself will only prevent some of the nutgrass from making it through the liner. BUT, if you combine the liner guard with the nutgrass killer, it works very well.

Nutgrass killer is a pre-emergent. This means it waits for the nutgrass baby to start growing, then kills it. This is done best when there is a layer of chemical that the nutgrass has to enter as it grows. When it hits this layer, it dies.

By applying nutgrass killer in a layer (using a spreader), and then placing the liner guard on top of that layer, it makes the chemical more effective.

This is because the nutgrass needs more time and energy to grow through the liner guard material, so while it’s trying to continue upward, it has to spend more time in the chemical zone, which gives the nutgrass killer more time to kill the grass.

NO ONE WILL GUARANTEE AGAINST NUTGRASS DAMAGE

Nutgrass damage is considered an “act of God”, which sounds overly dramatic and ominous, so manufacturers, retailers, and installers won’t do anything if it grows through your pool liner.

I have seen nutgrass grow through everything except a concrete floor, so don’t think that by spending a bunch on a foam bottom that it will guarantee no nutgrass damage.

IF GOING SEMI-INGROUND (2FT DOWN), THEN DON’T WORRY ABOUT NUTGRASS

Nutgrass can be present only about a foot down in the ground, so placing your pool in the ground two feet down will guarantee no nutgrass damage.

AREAS AROUND ORLANDO THAT HAVE EXCESS NUTGRASS

As stated earlier, I have seen nutgrass in every area of Central Florida. Some areas are worse than others though.

I have seen a lot of nutgrass in the ground north of Orlando. Deltona, Orange City, and Debary have an above-average incident with nutgrass damaging a pool liner.

Also, west of Orlando isn’t as bad as Deltona, but can have a lot of nutgrass. Clermont, Oakland, Minneola, etc. are areas with nutgrass. This is a sandy area and I always make sure and remove all of the grass root mass in these areas.

MY INSTALLATION INCLUDES NUTGRASS KILLER

If you considering me to install your above-ground pool, I provide a quality granular nutgrass killer with the install. There is no guarantee, but I do a good job helping to prevent nutgrass from growing through pool liners.

7 Best Options and Upgrades for an Above Ground Pool in Orlando

When buying a metal-walled above-ground swimming pool, there are about 20 decisions that you have to make. Deciding which options and upgrades work best for you is part of that process.

Orlando has a very long and brutally hot swim season. For this reason, there are some things that you can get with your pool that will help it a lot.

Above-ground pools in Orlando won’t last as long as in many other areas of the country. This is because we have extreme heat and humidity for about eight months out of the year.

Central Florida also gets a lot of rain and intense direct sunlight, which takes life from things out in the elements. Things like above-ground pools, their liners, and their equipment.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS FOR TRADITIONAL (HARD)METAL-WALLED ABOVE GROUND POOLS. SOFT-SIDED TYPE POOLS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, SO THESE OPTIONS DON’T APPLY TO THEM

BEST OPTIONS OR UPGRADES FOR ABOVE-GROUND SWIMMING POOLS IN ORLANDO

For the last 37 years, I have been in the pool business in Orlando. These are the things that I have noticed that helped make pools last longer and easier to maintain.

1 Heavy gauge liner

Heavier, thicker liners last longer no matter where the pool is. In Orlando though, you really want one because the direct sunlight here can be unrelenting. And hot, direct sunlight takes life from vinyl liners.

GUIDE: Get a heavy gauge (usually called 25ga/mil), fully printed, unibead/j-hook type, made only in the USA or Canada.

2 Resin-made top rails

Above-ground swimming pools can have top rails made of steel, aluminum, or resin. In Orlando, you want resin.

More and more models are now made with resin parts instead of metal, so chances are if you are getting a nicer pool model, it will have resin top rails.

Resin top rails aren’t nearly as hot in direct sunlight and will never rust. There are two reasons to get resin in Central Florida.

Comment: Resin is just a fancy name for plastic.

3 Cartridge-type filter

Many non-swimming pool professionals living somewhere more north than Florida will argue that a sand-type filter is better. This is only because a sand filter is really all that they’ve ever had AND/OR they have only maintained a swimming pool somewhere north where it only gets hot a couple of months a year.

For Orlando’s long, very hot, and humid swim season, a cartridge-type filter is the way to go. It traps smaller particles than a sand filter, has fewer parts, and since you can remove the element, you know the real status/condition of the filter.

In addition to installing thousands of above-ground pools, I also had a pool service business for 16 years. I learned then how to maintain pools and what is best for the Orlando area.

NOTE: There is a third option for filters. A D.E. type. Although DE filters are better than cartridge-type at cleaning the water, I don’t recommend them due to their cost and that DE powder is very toxic to breathe.

4 PVC Hardpiping the equipment

Above-ground pool equipment packs (pump/filter) come with 2 – 6-foot plastic flex hoses and hose clamps to connect the pump and filter to the pool.

These hoses are the weakest link in the entire pool and will be the first thing that you will have to replace.

Connecting your pump and filter with PVC instead will take away that weak link and will last for many years (most times as long as the pool).

Also, when you hard pipe the equipment to the pool, you can plumb in two valves so the water can be prevented from back flowing while you service the pump or filter or any other add-on chemical component.

NOTE: PVC hard piping is included with my install price.

5 Patio stones for under the pump/filter pack

Above above-ground pool pump and filter packs come with a plastic base. This plastic base is designed to sit right on the ground, but it’s much better if you put down some patio stones first.

This is not expensive and worth a trip to Home Depot or Lowes.

6 Stainless steel service panel

The wall of an above-ground swimming pool has only two openings – one for the skimmer and one for the return fitting. This is where you can have leaks.

Many, many AG pools die a premature deaths because the skimmer or return was leaking and didn’t get fixed before rusting out the wall underneath where they are attached.

Getting an above-ground pool that has a stainless steel wall panel where the skimmer and return attach will prevent the pool from rusting out if there is a leak at one of these openings.

Warning: Pinch-A-Penny sells Wilbar Pool models with service panels, but they are not made of stainless steel. This is a waste of money as ONLY A STAINLESS STEEL PANEL WILL PREVENT A LEAKING SKIMMER OR RETURN FROM RUSTING OUT THE WALL.

7 Main drain

Many don’t realize that you can have a main drain with an above-ground pool.

Although not cheap (I charge $500 complete), having a main drain is a wonderful option that helps circulate the water and keep the pool clean.

Learn more about main drains here.

What is Needed to Change the Liner in an Above Ground Pool in Orlando

Got an above-ground swimming pool in Orlando and need to change the liner in it? This article will give you some help in knowing what you need and what you need to do.

Whether changing out an above-ground pool liner is easy or not depends on who you ask. Some will say it’s easy and have no issues with doing it themselves.

Others will never attempt it again and always go with a professional liner changeout.

There aren’t many who change liners in abovegrounds in Orlando. Most who know what they are doing are AG pool installers also, so they get busy with that during the summer and don’t have time to change liners.

STEPS TO TAKE WHEN NEEDING TO CHANGE THE LINER IN YOUR ABOVE-GROUND POOL IF IN ORLANDO

1 Decide that you need a new liner

For some, this is a long process and some can pull the trigger quickly. Usually, people get tired of dealing with their pool leaking and/ them looking for and patching leaks or can’t find them at all.

Others will have a blow-out quickly losing all of their pool’s water with clear evidence of a giant, unrepairable hole in the bottom (by the wall).

Still, others will not like the faded look of their liner, are tired of the wrinkles in it, or just feel it’s time due to age.

Regardless, deciding it’s time for a new liner is step one for getting one. DUH.

2 Determine why you need one

This will help prevent the new liner that you are putting in from failing prematurely or prevent your pool from rusting out in the future.

IMPORTANT: Look for rust

The above-ground pool liners will leak when they get old. They will leak when someone or something rips or punctures holes in them. They will leak at the seam if a manufacturer’s defect. And they will leak at the skimmer or return line if something fails or if they weren’t installed properly.

If your pool leak was at the wall somewhere (usually under the skimmer or return fitting), then you want to address any rust it may have caused.

Other reasons a liner needs replacing are if the liner was installed poorly and/or the liner was cheap and/or made in China.

By determining why you need a new liner, you can make sure the one you are about to spend a lot of money and aggravation on will last a nice long time.

3 Find out the size of your pool

You will need the dimensions of your pool AND how tall the wall of it is.

EASIER: If you have access to the original purchase paperwork of the pool, you can find the pool’s size there.

To get the size of your pool, measure against the wall of the pool from inside to inside (where the liner meets the wall). Warning: measuring any part of the top rail will give you an inaccurate measurement. You MUST measure at the wall of the pool.

If you have an oval-shaped pool, measure inside wall to wall both the long and short sides.

You also will need the height of your pool’s wall. Not the wall plus the top rail. Not the wall where it meets your grass or decorative rocks/mulch. ONLY THE WALL

The three wall heights for above ground pools are 48″, 52″, and 54″.

Dig on the outside of the pool at the wall and find the bottom of it. It will be in the bottom track. Measure from that bottom track up to the top of the wall (under the top rail.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The actual measurements will not be exact. The number is rounded up or down to determine the size liner to buy.

As an example, if you measure your pool (from inside wall to inside wall across) and it reads 23ft, 11 inches, then you need a 24 ft round pool liner.

The same goes for the wall height. Giving another example, if your wall is 53.5 inches, then it is considered a 54-inch tall wall.

Measurements are very rarely perfect with above-ground pools

4 Order the liner

Most professional liner installers will have you buy the liner yourself, so whether you are self-installing this liner or not, chances are great that YOU will be the one ordering the liner.

In the last 20 years, most liners are bought online. Orlando has a couple of choices for buying a liner locally, but not much.

You can buy locally from select Pinch-A-Penny stores, maybe a Leslie’s store, and Unique Pool and Spa carries a limited inventory.

Buying locally has some advantages, but you will pay a lot more than online. This is why most find their liner online.

THE LINER I RECOMMEND YOU BUY

Heavy gauge, fully printed (no solid blue), unibead/j-hook type, made only in the USA or Canada. Make sure where it’s made. If it doesn’t say where it’s made ask. Currently, you don’t want a Chinese-made liner. They don’t last as long.

5 Order any needed parts

If your skimmer is leaking and shot, now is the time to replace it. Also, during a liner change is the time to replace any pool frame parts that are too rusty or broken.

If adding foam coving or adding/replacing a liner guard, order those for the liner change.

6 If you think additional sand is needed for repairing the pool’s bottom, buy some bags.

Since most of Central Florida and Orlando have sand-based earth, a professional pool installer will rarely need additional sand to redo a pool’s bottom during liner changeout.

If self-installing your liner though, you may want to have a few bags of sand handy to help with the bottom.

7 Access your pool deck to see if it is in the way

Decks are very popular with above-ground pools in Orlando and surrounding areas.

Some high decks will get in the way of taking the top of the pool apart (needed to change the liner). A pool’s top rails and top connectors need to be completely unobstructed to come off.

Determine if your deck is in the way and remove what you need to ahead of time. You don’t want to have to be figuring out how to get your pool apart on liner change day. The job will be stressful enough (especially if during the summer)

If you have your liner changed by a pool guy, then he will want to know ahead of time what your deck looks like.

I always ask to send me a couple of pics of the pool and deck so I know what I’m dealing with in terms of taking the top of the poo apart.

If the deck is in the way of the top of the pool, then it can cost more for the liner change.

8 If the pool is semi-inground, be aware of the dangers of that.

Pools in the ground some are very popular here in Orlando and in areas close by. And as long as the pool is full of water, there is no danger of the walls caving in.

When changing a liner though, the pool has to be drained. DUH! And when a semi-inground pool is drained, the wall portion that is in the ground can start caving in.

Having to take the top of the pool apart to remove and replace the liner is also a time for cave-ins.

Because of this, you want to drain your semi-inground pool, change the liner, and then refill it very quickly. The longer a pool stays drained, the greater the chance of a cave-in. And you don’t want that.

9 Make sure your yard/ground is not too wet

Changing an above-ground pool liner means redoing the pool’s bottom. And you can’t redo the bottom OR EVEN just change the liner if the ground is too wet.

There are some wet areas in Central Florida, but as you go east of Orlando towards the coast, the ground can get very wet. Areas east of SR 436 and towards Oviedo can have some wet ground. So can parts of Kissimmee.

Some will have to wait until a dry part of the year to change the pool liner.

Check your yard for standing water or “mushy” grass near the pool. If your yard gets or stays wet, you may have to wait to change the liner.

10 Wait for the new liner and any parts to come, then drain the pool

Once you have everything needed for either you or whoever you’ve hired to change the liner, you can now drain the pool (if it’s not already drained by then).

The pool needs to be “bone dry”. That doesn’t mean a couple of inches of water still in it. It doesn’t mean a half-inch of water in it. It doesn’t even mean there are a couple of puddles left in it.

If means no water in the pool at all. DRY.

This is ideally what you want the pool to be on liner change day.

WHEN NOT TO CHANGE A POOL LINER

There are two times when you shouldn’t change the liner in an above-ground pool in Orlando.

The first is when it’s very cold outside. Orlando gets maybe a few days a year of cold days that stay below 50 degrees all day. On one of these like three days a year, don’t change the liner.

Also, during the summer, Central Florida can have short but very severe afternoon thunderstorms. And we can have them every day for days.

I do not recommend changing a liner during the afternoon in the summer in Orlando. Getting caught in one of these gusty downpours while your pool is apart and the bottom is exposed is just not a good idea.

Cost to Install an Above Ground Pool in Orlando Yourself

This article will cover what it will cost to have an above-ground swimming pool installed if you do it yourself in Orlando.

Orlando and surrounding towns are home to a lot of above-ground pools. Unfortunately though, there aren’t many places here to buy them.

And there aren’t many installers with much experience here either.

IN ORLANDO, MOST ABOVE-GROUND POOLS ARE BOUGHT ONLINE

There is one above-ground pool retailer here in Orlando and you can buy them from a couple of select Pinch-A-Pennys that offer them, but considering the 2.7 million people that live in greater Orlando, that’s not much.

Both pools bought online AND most pools bought locally usually come without a pool installer. This means people in Orlando wanting to get an above-ground swimming pool have to either find an installer or put the pool in themselves.

METAL-WALLED VS SOFT-SIDED ABOVE-GROUND POOLS IN ORLANDO

Not all above-ground pools are the same. Not even close, actually.

The biggest difference is between the traditional metal-walled (Wilbar, Doughboy) type and the soft-sided (Intex, Coleman, Bestway) type.

Hard (mostly metal) walled pools cost more, are harder to assemble, and last much longer. Soft-sided pools are much cheaper, are much easier to assemble, and don’t last long at all.

Soft-sided above-ground pools are famously bought at Walmart and wholesale stores like Sam’s Club, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Costco. These stores are everywhere in and outside of Orlando.

Metal-walled above grounds are considered traditional AG pools and that is what professional installers put up.

NOTE: Above-ground pool installers typically don’t install soft-sided type pools. ONLY Metal-walled ones. I do offer a ground prep-only service for all pool types.

COST TO INSTALL AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL YOURSELF IN ORLANDO

Although not as many people install their own pool as they did back in the 1980s when I started installing, a lot still do.

Here’s a list of what installing an above-ground pool will cost you.

1 Any tools that you don’t already have for the job ($0- $300)

Whatever you don’t have like ground tools, cordless drill, level, clamps, tape measure, etc., you will have to get. Oh and do yourself a huge favor and grind a sharp edge on at least one of your shovels.

2 Rent for a skid/steer machine or sod cutter ($75 -$275)

Some won’t need this, but if you have any grass at all, you’ll want to rent at least a sod cutter.

3 Patio stones ($15-$50)

These are used for leveling the bottom track

4 Nutgrass killer ($40-$50)

Granular type works much better than liquid

5 Sand (Optional) ($50-$500)

A seasoned Orlando installer like me will rarely elect to bring sand in. For DIYers though, it can be a viable option.

Some yards that have a lot of clay, rocks (debris), or excessive roots can be really hard to level and smooth out for a nice pool bottom. For that, bringing in one, two, or three yards of sand can solve a lot of issues.

Caution: Don’t try to use a bunch of sand to level out the yard. That will make the pool’s bottom too soft and “foot printy”. Only use enough sand to have a nice, clean layer of earth that goes next to the liner.

6 Loss of work (from your job) (That’s personal to you)

Most will install on the weekends or days off from work. But if you take any time off from work to do this and lose some wages, then yes, it’s a cost.

7 General labor ( $150 per day)

Most will recruit friends or family to help with putting up a pool. For that, it won’t cost you. Or will it? Lol

Some will have to hire some help and pay them with money.

8 Water, beer, and food ($50-$150)

This is for your “free” help.

9 Personal time off ( You decide)

Installing an above-ground pool usually isn’t easy. Some may say it’s easy but it’s not. Watching football and grilling meat is easy. Installing a pool is not, especially during the summer (which is when almost everyone decides to install a pool).

You may love doing things yourself and may have a great feeling of accomplishment when the project is complete. But, your personal time and aggravation have a cost. Jus’ Sayin’.

10 Divorce (Expensive but sometimes worth it)

Over the years, if I got a dime every time I heard someone tell me how they almost got divorced over installing an above-ground pool with their spouse, I’d have about five dollars.

I’m being funny here. I’m also being serious.

OPTIONAL COSTS FOR INSTALLING AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL YOURSELF

A rent a laser level ($50)

This will make the job go easier AND you’ll have a pool that’s level.

B Buy a landscaper’s rake ($60-$70)

This is a wide rake that will really help get your pool bottom flat.

C Temporary shade ($$)

If you are self-installing during the summer (And I know that you are), then shade will help you more than you think.

The 10ft square tents are popular, but I use big commercial umbrellas.

D Big patio stones to set the pump/filter on ($20)

E Stakes and bungee cords ($20)

Use these to help keep the pool wall up if it’s windy (even if it’s not windy)

I COULD DO THE GROUNDWORK ONLY

Removing the sod and leveling the ground is about 50% of the overall job of installing a metal-walled pool. For a price that’s not cheap, I will do this part of the job.

Here is my ground-prep-only page. It has a price sheet on it. Take a look at it, decide it’s a lot of money, then go out and get started on your ground for the pool.

In an hour or two, you can decide whether that price is worth it to you.

Orlando Above Ground Pool Installations

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