Like most areas around Orlando, Winter Garden is growing rapidly. And many buying new homes there are deciding to get an above-ground swimming pool.
The main concerns for installing an above-ground pool in Winter Garden are having too small of a yard, having a vinyl-type fence with too small of a gate, and potentially being backed up to a retention area.
THERE ARE A LOT OF HOAs IN WINTER GARDEN, SOME DON’T ALLOW ABOVE GROUND POOLS
I’m not a fan of homeowner’s associations at all. They can be corrupt, run by power-hungry, small people, accumulate large debt, and worst of all, control and fine homeowners on things that have to do with their own homes.
Winter Garden has a lot of new housing growth and unfortunately, many are neighborhoods with HOAs attached to them.
This can be bad if you want an above-ground pool because some don’t allow them.
There are a couple of ways that people get around this law made up by who knows, but some bigger HOAs have become too powerful to get around any of their rules.
A great example of this is the HOA of Stoneybrook West in Winter Garden. This vicious HOA has become more and more powerful even though they couldn’t even manage to keep their golf course running. They would never allow for an above-ground swimming pool.
POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH HOMES IN A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD IN WINTER GARDEN
As mentioned earlier, Winter Garden has a lot of new neighborhoods. And a lot of them have small lots. Here are some potential issues with installing an above-ground pool.
1 Yard too small for a decent-sized pool
Pools take about a foot more than their size, plus there are easements to be concerned with and how close to the house the pool is.
With smaller lots, many have to get a smaller pool or a more expensive oval-shaped above-ground to make it fit in their yard.
2 Vinyl fence
This is a concern if you are having someone like me install your pool. I use a machine that needs at least 4.5ft wide access.
A vinyl fence doesn’t come apart easily like wood fencing does, so you have to have a wide enough gate to get the machine in for the install.
3 Where to put the grass
Newer homes can have planted St Augustine-type grass and a sprinkler system. This can mean the yard has very thick sod. When installing an above-ground pool, the sod has to come out.
Pool installers don’t take the sod with them(and I don’t either), so you will be left with a pile of heavy grass with nowhere to put it.
4 If the yard has a retention area
Newer neighborhoods have water retention areas that can back up OR partially be in the backyards of some homes.
These retention areas are designed to temporarily handle a lot of rainwater, so they cannot be filled or have anything (like an above-ground pool) installed on them.
5 HOA doesn’t allow an above-ground pool
Most if not all of the newer neighborhoods of Winter Garden have homeowner’s associations attached to them. Many of these HOAs won’t allow you have an above-ground pool in your own (privacy fenced-in) backyard.
THE EARTH/GROUND IN WINTER GARDEN
What the earth is made up of in backyards varies more than some think. It can be very hard, very soft(sandy), have a lot of grade, or have lots of rocks and roots in it.
The earth in the area of Winter Garden and surrounding areas is typically good for installing an above-ground pool. West of Orlando in general has a lot of clean sand-based ground as much of it was orange groves in the past.
There are a couple of new neighborhoods that were built up with very hard earth with a lot of poor-quality clay in it. If you have a hard time digging in your yard, you may be living in one of these developments.
WEST OF ORLANDO HAS A POTENTIAL FOR NUTGRASS
Nutgrass is the only thing that can grow through your pool’s liner and damage it. Yards in the Winter Garden area can have nutgrass.
I always use a quality granular nutgrass killer for my installs and do in this area of Central Florida.
SEPTIC TANKS AND DRAIN FIELDS CAN GET IN THE WAY OF INSTALLING ABOVE-GROUND POOLS
The newer growth part of Winter Garden won’t have too many homes with septic tanks, so there’s no worry there.
Older areas like Tildenville, Oakland, and near Ocoee can have older homes with septic tanks. And you can’t get too close to a septic tank or its drain field when installing an above-ground pool.
POOL STORES IN WINTER GARDEN
Pinch A Penny
13770 W Colonial Dr #150, Winter Garden, FL 34787
Leslie’s
2879 Maguire Rd, Windermere, FL 34786