Looking to install an above-ground swimming pool in Clermont, Florida? Here’s some basic information.
Installing an above-ground pool in Clermont usually requires more grading than average. The earth in Clermont is often very sandy and clean, which can make for a nice bottom.
SOME HISTORY OF CLERMONT AND ABOVE-GROUND POOLS
Coming from a guy who has been installing above grounds out of Orlando for 36 years, I remember there not being many homes in Clermont back in the day.
Clermont used to be an area with nothing but orange groves. When you drove through Clermont, all that you could see were hills of orange trees. During the 1980s and as the world started connecting better, the orange industry in Florida began to lose its market to other countries.
Groves were lost due to things like freezes and diseases ( and who knows how true most of that was) and Clermont turned into an area of not much but rolling hills of open land.
Despite Central Florida needing a lot of new housing, Clermont stayed free of rapid growth through the 1980s and into the 1990s. This was because of the added cost to developers having to level out the land to make neighborhoods fit a lot of houses.
Eventually, the local government changed its building restrictions which enabled builders to buy large parcels and work the earth enough (level it out) to build thousands of homes.
By the 2000s, Clermont was growing faster than a Chinaberry tree (which is considered a weed tree). This is when I started installing a lot of above-ground swimming pools in Clermont, Oakland, Montverde, Ferndale, and Minneola.
Before I bought and started using a skid/steer machine, installing an above-ground pool in Clermont meant we were going to be getting our “dig” on.
Clermont is notorious for having yards with severe slopes to them, so since a pool has to be level, we would know that a lot of earth moving was going to happen. With only shovels, this makes for a bigger install job.
Currently, when I have a pool to install in Clermont, I have the pool owner send pics of the yard to help me determine the potential slope. With a machine though, big slopes aren’t as much of an issue.
10 RANDOM THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT INSTALLING AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN CLERMONT
Each area around Orlando has unique characteristics about its ground. This is what I know about the Clermont area
1 The earth is very sandy
In most parts of Clermont, the earth is very loose and sandy. This is good for digging and mostly for making a nice pool bottom. It’s also usually very clean earth, meaning not a lot of rocks, roots, or hard clay.
2 Clermont has a lot of elevation and grade
The area with the most elevation in all of Central Florida is Clermont and some surrounding areas into Lake County. This makes the area very unique as most of Florida is very flat.
Above-ground pools installed in Clermont will often be partially buried in the ground some as pools have to be level.
NOTE: Since there is some much grade in Clermont, the price to install a pool can be more.
3 Older homes may have septic tanks. New homes do not.
There are some “old Florida” parts of Clermont. And in those areas, most of the homes have septic tanks. This matters when getting an above-ground pool as you don’t want to get too close to the tank or its drain field.
Most homes in Clermont are newer, and the newer homes mostly do not have septic tanks.
4 Semi-inground pools in Clermont need special backfilling
When you install an above-ground pool in the ground, a much bigger hole is dug and the pool is built in the middle of the hole.
After the pool is filled with water, the bigger hole around the pool is backfilled which brings earth right up and next to the outside of the pool.
Since the earth is so sandy and loose in the Clermont area, you usually have to fortify the earth going back in around the pool OR build a retaining wall for it.
5 West Orange County and up through Lake county is very high and dry
Since Clermont has elevation AND is very sand based, there is rarely any wet ground. This is good for installing pools as you don’t want wet ground.
6 Clermont pool installs very rarely need added sand
The earth in some areas can be hard and dirty, which makes it tough to create a nice pool bottom. Since Clermont’s earth is already clean sand-based, it doesn’t need added sand.
NOTE: Adding sand to an already soft earth will result in a too soft and “footprinty” pool bottom.
7 Below average incidence of nutgrass
Nutgrass can be present in any yard, but some areas have more of it than others. I have noticed fewer occurrences of nutgrass damage to pool liners in the Clermont area.
I still recommend using a granular nutgrass/nutsedge killer when installing a pool anywhere.
8 Most new home lots are big enough to have a decent-sized pool
There aren’t as many “zero lot line” neighborhoods in the Clermont area. This is good if you want a nice-sized pool in your yard.
9 Some yards will have to address possible future erosion
If your yard has a severe slope to it, then the pool will be going in the hillside. Whenever there is an elevation difference next to where a pool is, there’s a possibility of erosion.
Many yards on Clermont have severe slopes to them.
10 There are a decent amount of pool stores in the area
Clermont has its fair share of pool supply stores. This is good for pool owners.
PinchAPenny 1778 E Highway 50
Clermont, FL 34711
South Clermont Pinch A Penny 17445 US Hwy 192
Ste 5
Clermont, FL 34714
Pool Doctor
4383 S Highway 27
Clermont, Florida 34711
Leslie’s Pool Supplies 2670 E HIGHWAY 50 UNIT H CLERMONT, FL 34711-6038