Having an above-ground swimming pool installed in Kissimmee, Florida? Not sure of the cost, how long it takes, or what’s involved?
Kissimmee is a very well-established area of Central Florida just south of Orlando. Although much of it has older homes, a lot of the outer areas are growing with new neighborhoods.
KISSIMMEE IS BIG AND DIVERSE
In the 36 years of installing above-ground pools out of Orlando, I have installed pools in every area of Kissimmee.
Some areas have older homes with different-sized lots having old big oak trees and some are new with neighborhoods that start out bare. This matters when installing an above-ground pool.
Kissimmee is a big area stretching from Hunter’s Creek alllll the way down to Poinciana. And it starts west from Disney World property to St Cloud.
The central part of Kissimmee is older with older homes and established landscaping. Installing a pool in this area can have big roots to deal with and maybe a surprise or two buried in the ground from long ago.
Areas south towards Poinciana and Intercession City have a lot of new growth. The homes in this area of Kissimmee are newer with more fenced yards and fewer old trees.
There is a lot of growth to the west to Celebration and then far east approaching St. Cloud. These areas have more neighborhoods with varied earth, lots of vinyl fencing, and HOAs.
KISSIMMEE IS MOSTLY HIGH AND DRY BUT THERE ARE SOME WET AREAS TOO
Out of all the areas and towns around Orlando, Kissimmee has the most diverse ground/earth.
When I schedule an installation in this area, there’s no telling what issues I’m going to encounter. Many areas of Kissimmee can get wet at times. Most of those areas were farmlands, but even Poinciana can have wet yards. You just never know.
ISSUES YOU MAY ENCOUNTER WHEN INSTALLING AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN KISSIMMEE
About the only thing I can expect in the Kissimmee area (South of Orlando) is that the yard will be flat. Some yards aren’t, but as a general rule, south of Orlando is flat.
Here are some variations with installs in Kissimmee.
1 Yard could have vinyl fencing
Vinyl fences are nice and clean looking, but they don’t come apart easily. This can be an issue if you have a pool installed by a guy with a machine like me. New neighborhoods in Kissimmee usually have vinyl fencing.
My machine needs at least 4.5ft wide of access. Many standard-sized vinyl gates aren’t wide enough. Many are at 5ft wide too, which is nice.
Wood fencing has the advantage of a section being taken down fairly easily to allow a machine in the yard. Older homes in Kissimmee mostly have wood fences.
2 Big and old trees
I love big trees, but they can be an issue if you install a pool too close to one. Even though it’s called an “above-ground” pool, you still have to go into the ground some. And there are big roots in the ground next to big trees.
Some established areas of Kissimmee have big trees in the yards.
3 Very hard earth
The natural ground in Kissimmee is not hard at all. It’s usually made up of sand or soil with very little clay. The problem comes when a developer uses poor fill to raise an area for a neighborhood.
Most neighborhoods around Orlando will be raised with fill dirt to make them high and dry. Where a developer gets the fill and what it’s made of can vary greatly.
Some of the hardest earth I have ever worked with was in a couple of neighborhoods in Kissimmee. If you have a hard time digging in your yard, then you may have a lot of clay in the earth, which can be a pain to level a pool on.
4 Buried construction trash
Sometime in the late 1980s, they stopped allowing home builders to just bury their construction trash in the yard of the newly built home. So, if your home was built before the mid-1980s, then there can be pieces of broken tile, shingles, glass, nails, metal, and beer cans buried in your yard.
So when you dig to level the yard for the pool install, you can run into this construction trash, which sucks.
Kissimmee has a lot of older homes, so this is always a possibility when installing in this area.
5 Old drain field
Some homes in Kissimmee that were built in the 50s, 60s, and even 1970s can have existing drain fields that are no longer used. The house is either now connected to the sewerage system or has a new drain field in use somewhere else in the yard.
Running into an old drain field sucks when installing an above-ground pool. There are tons of rocks that either mostly have to be removed OR a thick layer of clean earth has to be put down on top of them.
With all the older homes in Kissimmee, running into an old drain field is always a possibility.
KISSIMMEE HAS A FAIR AMOUNT OF NUTGRASS
Nutgrass can be in any yard. I have seen nutgrass in the areas south of Orlando often. I always recommend putting down (and do with my installs) granular nutgrass killer and maybe a ground pad to help prevent it from damaging your pool liner.
POINCIANA IS CONSIDERED KISSIMMEE, BUT IT IS FAR FROM ORLANDO
When I install an above-ground pool in Poinciana, I usually charge a travel fee. This is because it’s about an hour away from Orlando and there’s no fast or easy way to get to Poinciana.
And taking the toll road is very expensive, especially when pulling a machine trailer.