Orlando has great weather to install an above-ground swimming pool almost year around. There are better times to install a pool than others though.
In Orlando and surrounding areas, the best time to install an above-ground pool is during the “off season”, which is between October and February. This is because the weather isn’t hot, installers aren’t busy, and you have time to figure out pool water chemistry before it gets hot and more difficult.
MOST IMPORTANT THING TO READ FROM THIS ARTICLE
PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOU CAN BUY AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN THE SUMMER IN ORLANDO AND HAVE IT INSTALLED QUICKLY.
INSTALLING ABOVE GROUND POOLS IS A SEASONAL BUSINESS
People who have lived in and moved to Orlando experience almost year-round warm weather. To them, this equates to a year-round swimming pool season.
To be more accurate though, Central Florida rarely freezes, has mild weather during the colder seasons, and has a brutal, long-lasting hot summer.
So, the actual swim season for Orlando is around eight months long beginning anytime from March to May and ending between late September and early November depending on the year.
The peak of the swim season here is during the four hottest months, which are usually (but not always) May, June, July, and August.
This peak swim season, which is also the hottest season, is also the season for installing above-ground swimming pools.
WANT A POOL INSTALLED IN ORLANDO DURING THE HOTTEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR? YEAH, YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT FOR THAT
Every year without fail, I (the pool installer) go from a little work to some work to an overwhelming amount of work. And it all depends on when it gets hot.
During the spring, when it starts hitting over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, I go from a few jobs on the schedule to a full-blown rush.
Just so you know what to expect, I have been booked six weeks out during the summer for installations here in Orlando.
Now, if any of those new pool owners would’ve wanted me to do the job even a month earlier, I would’ve been able to get to them within a day or two. Instead, most everyone waits until it gets brutal out, then they act.
IT BECOMES PRETTY OBVIOUS – GET YOUR ABOVE-GROUND POOL INSTALLED DURING THE OFF SEASON
I’d love to say that people these days don’t like to wait for things, but it’s always been that way. Well, at least when it comes to having an above-ground pool installed.
For the last 36 years, I’ve installed pools in Orlando. And in the summer, nothing has changed.
I have heard the “We have planned a pool party this weekend” excuse in the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and still in the 2020s. For now five decades, I’ve felt a sense of urgency from people who make plans on something that they don’t have yet and didn’t secure someone to install it yet.
So sorry. Your gonna have to rent a pony for your daughter’s birthday instead. She and her friends can ride it in a hot, dusty circle in the yard because no one can come to install the pool you bought two days ago in June.
Installer’s observation: For best results, plan a pool party in the summer for a date well after you actually have a swimming pool, it is installed, and the water is balanced.
PROS TO INSTALLING AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL DURING THE OFF-SEASON IN ORLANDO
1 Scheduling is easier and you can get it done faster
The pool installer is much more flexible with install dates and days. For example, if you really want a Saturday install, your best chance for that is during the off-season.
2 You’ll be able to get a hold of the installer easier and more often
In the summer, it can be hard to get a good installer on the phone as he is very busy and each conversation takes a while.
During the off-season though, the installer has more time to explain things and wants the installation, so he will communicate better.
3 You may get a better installation job
Working outside during the off-season in Orlando is really pleasant. We have some of the best weather in the world here when it’s not summer.
Working in Orlando’s summer humidity under a direct Florida sun is brutal. I’ve been in that sun for more than three and a half decades and I can tell you – you can only get so used to it.
In addition to that, above-ground pool installers aren’t busy in the off-season, which means they may spend more time on each install.
It’s nice not having to finish a job in one day because you are so scheduled out that each pool must get done on its install date. In the off-season, if I run into an issue that should delay the job to the next day, I can do that.
Not to say that you can get a bad job during the hot, busy season, but some jobs have to get rushed then. In the off-season, there’s no rush.
4 You may get a better price
Pool installers rarely give a discount during the busy summer season when it’s super hot outside. During the off-season can be a different story.
As a professional installer for 36 years, I don’t give a discount on the base price at any time. BUT, I will sometimes do some of the extras of a job for less during the off-season.
Extras like travel charges (For sections of Lake, Volusia, and Osceola counties far from Orlando), Grading/leveling, or excessive roots can be reduced when it’s nice out.
5 You’ll be able to learn pool water chemistry much easier
Chemically maintaining a swimming pool in Orlando during the cooler months is a whole lot easier than during the brutal summer. This is a great time to learn how to maintain your pool before the long, hot Florida summer comes calling.
CONS TO HAVING AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL INSTALLED DURING THE SUMMER IN ORLANDO
1 Can be harder to communicate with the installer
Installers are super busy during the summer. Plus, a good installer will be doing the work himself, which means he won’t want to answer the phone when working out in the hot, mind-numbing Central Florida sun.
2 You may have to wait weeks for the install
In the last two years, things haven’t been as crazy as usual, so I’ve only been scheduled out a couple of weeks during the summer. There have been summers where I get backed up by as many as six weeks.
3 Hot summer = No discounts
In the summer here in Orlando, installers really earn their money. Discounts are rarely given when we are hot and busy.
4 First-time pool owners have to learn pool chemistry more as a “trial by fire”.
I had a pool service business here in Orlando for sixteen years. Here’s a fact that you can adhere to:
The warmer the water, the more algae grows
Central Florida is easily one of the hardest areas of the country to maintain a swimming pool in during the summer. Knowing nothing about pool chemistry and having to maintain a pool starting in June will be a challenge.
5 You may not be able to get an oval-shaped pool installed
I’ve been installing every type of above-ground pool for 36 years. I’m not afraid of work, not afraid of a challenge, am as used to the Florida sun and humidity as humanly possible, and I’m extremely knowledgeable on oval-shaped pools.
Even with all of the above, I will no longer install larger oval pools during the summer. It’s just too hot and not worth it.
BEST TIME OF YEAR TO DIY AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL INSTALLATION IN ORLANDO
It doesn’t matter how good of a do-it-yourselfer you are, installing an above-ground pool is a challenge. These things don’t go together well, need to be put on very level ground, and are very typically installed outside in an area of the yard open to the sun (not a DIY job in air conditioning).
Because of this, the best time to put your own pool up is clearly when it’s not brutally hot outside. For Orlando, this is between October and March.
Many who self-install their pools won’t take this advice and do it during the peak summer season. To those, I say “Well, at least you’ll sleep well on those nights”.
Also, in Orlando during the summer, there is a daily threat of afternoon storms. These storms usually don’t last long, but they almost always have strong winds initially. And high winds are not good when installing an above-ground pool.
During the more pleasant time of year in O-Town, it doesn’t rain every day. This is good when trying to keep a pool wall up before it can get secured.
HAVE AN OVAL AND WANT ME TO INSTALL IT? GREAT! SEE YOU WHEN IT’S COOLER OUT
I used to install big ovals during the summer. Then I got older, smarter, and the experience of my help diminished.
Now I like to spend two days to make sure and install an oval correctly. In the off-season, I can take two days to do it. During the summer, I cannot.