Installing an Oval Above Ground Pool in Orlando

Oval above-ground swimming pools aren’t easy to install. And in Orlando, there aren’t many installers with a lot of experience with them.

Although somewhat popular with wanting one in the greater Orlando area, oval-shaped AG pools are much fewer in number than round pools.

DURING THE SUMMER IN ORLANDO, GETTING AN INSTALLER FOR AN OVAL MAY BE TOUGH

Above-ground pool installers get very busy during the hot months in Orlando, which is typically about 8 months out of the year. And with round-shaped pools being easier to assemble, installers will choose to do those over ovals when busy.

DIY INSTALLATION OF AN OVAL ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN ORLANDO WON’T BE EASY

In many cases, pool owners choose to self-install their metal-walled oval pool. This is either to save the higher cost of having one installed OR they can’t find anyone in the Central Florida area to do it.

This will be a difficult DIY project for anyone regardless of construction experience. Especially if attempted during the hot summer.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT INSTALLING AN OVAL ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN ORLANDO

1 Engineering is not great

With now 37 years of pool installation experience, I can tell you that oval pools are not at all designed or engineered well.

It’s important to know this if you are self-installing one OR paying someone to install one. No part of an oval will go together perfectly and often they won’t look perfect when done regardless of who installs it.

2 Ovals have buttresses

You may buy an oval model that says “buttress-free” or “yardmore” in the description. But if the shape of the pool has straight sides, then it must have buttresses.

And buttresses take more space in the yard and have to be assembled.

3 The buttress structure goes in the ground some

If DIYing, don’t spend a lot of time smoothing out your earth before setting your bottom track. The buttresses usually have to be recessed some in the ground, so all of that work you do leveling and smoothing out the area will be a waste of a step.

4 Ovals can take more than a day to have installed

During the hot summer of Orlando, everything done outside (especially in direct sunlight) will take more time to do.

Although an experienced installation crew can usually get an oval done in a day, they may run into an issue and decide to finish it up the next day.

Do-it-yourselfers can expect to spend a few days installing an oval pool. Especially in the summer.

5 Semi-inground ovals need a bigger hole

15x26 Oval above ground pool semi-inground — This oval’s buttresses stuck out about 18″, so it needed a wider hole

Ovals have buttresses that stick out some on the straight sides of the pool. So, when installing an oval in a hole, extra space is needed to set and level these buttresses.

Finding out how far your model of oval buttresses stick out beyond the pool’s wall will allow you to dig the correct-sized hole for installation.

Depending on the model, buttresses can protrude out from the pool wall eight inches to three feet, three inches. This is a wide variation so it’s best to know before digging the hole.

NOTE: Most upgraded oval models for Wilbar pools need one foot, seven inches beyond the wall of the pool.

6 Ovals are easier to keep the wall up during the installation

One of the trickiest parts of installing an above-ground pool is rolling out and erecting the wall of the pool. Since oval-shaped pools have buttresses, they are already set in place and assembled together when the wall goes up.

So, when rolling out the wall in place, it can be secured well to the buttresses which will help it from falling down before you get it bolted together and completed.

7 Some will use extra sand

Since Orlando and Central Florida have mostly sand-based earth, additional sand is usually not recommended or required for an above-ground pool installation.

Since ovals have buttresses that are buried some in the ground, some will elect to have some extra sand to spread on top of the buttress structure and its water plates.

8 I recommend a liner guard with an oval-shaped pool

Since some metal parts lay directly underneath the floor of an oval pool, I recommend putting down a liner guard just in case something happens later with the pool’s floor.

A liner guard/pad isn’t much really, but it is a piece of cloth that can protect the liner from any of those metal parts if the earth between them and the liner moves or wash away.

Installing an Overlap-Type Liner for an Above Ground Pool in Orlando

Overlap-type liners are considered the “old type” of liner, but some still use them for their above-ground pools in Orlando.

With being an above-ground pool installer for 38 years, I remember when there were only overlap type liners for above grounds. Then the uni-bead and J-hook type came out and all but completely replaced the inferior overlap type.

Overlap liners would’ve drifted completely away (for standard above-ground pools) like the CD player, but Doughboy’s slow to grow with the times kept the overlap in play. They too eventually went almost entirely with unibead/j-hook types.

Overlaps have made a bit of a comeback though. This is because online retailers like Linerworld started selling a lot of liners made in China. And in the early years of China making liners for above-ground pools, they only made overlap-types

I’m not a fan of overlap-type liners to begin with, but with the market getting a bunch of these cheaply-made Chinese overlap-type liners that would only last a year or two, I was especially annoyed.

Chinese-made liners have gotten a little better over the years, but I still never recommend getting one as they don’t last nearly as long as one made in North America.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT INSTALLING AN OVERLAP-TYPE LINER IN ORLANDO

1 Overlap liners need coping strips

This type of liner is set on the inside of the pool and then the excess of liner is pulled over the wall and hangs over the outside. This is why it’s called an “overlap” liner.

The part of the liner that hangs over the top of the wall must be secured by long plastic strips called “coping strips”.

Coping strips can dry out and get brittle. When that happens, you will need new strips when replacing an overlap liner.

NOTE: You will not find coping strips for sale in Orlando. You will have to order them online.

2 Overlap liners can be used for 48”,52”, and 54” height walls

A standard overlap liner made in the US or Canada will have 60 inches (or five feet) of material that makes up the sides of the liner. (Chinese-made overlaps can have less)

This means that you can use the same liner for all above-ground pool wall heights.

3 If the liner has a pattern, you should make it consistent at the top

Since an overlap liner is adjustable (how much excess liner can go over the wall), if it has a pattern, then the liner should go over the wall the same amount all the way around the pool.

By doing this, the pattern in the liner will be consistent with the waterline when you fill the pool.

NOTE: If the pool was poorly installed and severely out of shape (exp. egg-shaped instead of round), then you may not be able to have a consistent liner pattern at the waterline.

4 You will see the liner on the outside wall of the pool

Since overlap-type liners are designed for its excess wall material to hang over the wall, you will see it on the outside hanging behind the uprights.

Depending on the model of the pool, you can roll the excess liner up and hide it under the top rails. Not all models will have room for that though.

5 Overlap-type liners are not ideal for semi-inground pools

If your pool is partially in the ground, then overlap liners are not recommended.

WHY? Because overlap liners require you to have more space between the top of the wall and the pool’s uprights. And when a pool is buried some, the uprights push tightly against the wall (because they are buried in the ground) and cannot move outward.

Also, since there is always a potential for a cave-in (outside earth pushing the wall inward) during a liner changeout of a semi-inground pool, you want to move the wall as little as possible and not disturb its position.

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.

Orlando Above Ground Pool Installations

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