Uncategorized – Page 3 – Central Florida Above Ground Pools

Leveling the ground to install an above-ground pool in Orlando is easier to do than in most areas of the country. This is mainly because the Orlando area is fairly flat and mostly sand based. Leveling the ground for an above-ground pool in Orlando requires completely removing the grass/sod and then transferring some of the earth from the high side of the pool site to the low side. This is done to level the area so the pool will have an even waterline. The site of removed sod should be level to within one inch or less. MOST OF THE YARDS IN ORLANDO HAVE GRASS, WHICH WILL HAVE TO GO IF INSTALLING ANY TYPE OF ABOVE-GROUND POOL Orlando and all of Central Florida are considered humid subtropical. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I can tell you things here grow like crazy, especially grass. In order to properly install an above-ground swimming pool, you must remove all the grass and its sod from the pool site. This will allow you to properly level the earth AND prevent a poor and bumpy pool bottom later on. THE BIGGEST MISTAKE SOFT-SIDED (INTEX) TYPE POOL DIYers MAKE Soft-side above-ground pools don’t cost much and usually don’t last very long.Because of this, people won’t want to spend a lot of time or energy on installing them. People will buy a pool from Walmart for less than $500 and will want to put it up real quick. Removing the grass is tough to do, so instead, DIYers will just add sand to their yard to level an area out and put up the pool. In a week or so, the soft-sided pool they put up on sand over grass will start leaning over and eventually, the water will spill out of it from being off level. FAIL! AFTER THE GRASS IS REMOVED, THE GROUND HAS TO BE LEVELED When the sod gets removed, that doesn’t make the area any more level than it was, so the earth then has to be leveled. This is done by moving the earth from the high part of the pool site (where the grass was removed) to the lower side. Moving the earth from the high side to the low side can be tough depending on the type of earth the yard has. ORLANDO IS MOSTLY FLAT. MOST ABOVE-GROUND POOL INSTALLS REQUIRE LESS THAN SIX INCHES OF GRADING/LEVELING This site shows a grade of about six inches down on the house side Fortunately, you won’t have to level the earth too much in most yards in Orlando. This is much easier than when moving a lot of earth to level, like in areas of Clermont and Howey-in-the-Hills. Yeah, there are a couple of hills in Central Florida. SOME AREAS OF ORLANDO HAVE DIFFERENT EARTH What your yard is made up of can make a big difference in how difficult it will be to level the ground for an above-ground pool. Conway area A big section of the Conway area used to be farmland. For this reason, areas of Conway can be made up of dark soil, which is quite different from a sand-based earth. Any homes between Lake Margret and Judge road can have dark soil. East Orlando East Orlando can have decent earth but can be wet during the rainy season. Areas near Goldenrod, Azalea Park, Alafaya, and Union Park can get wet at times. This can mean the pool install will have to wait until the ground dries a bit. Oviedo and East of Orlando The further east you go from Orlando, the greater the likelihood of the ground being wet. The ground is usually good in these areas as far as the quality of the dirt, but Oviedo, Chuluota, Bithlo, and especially Geneva can have wet ground. South Orlando Areas heading towards Kissimmee can have some harder and drier earth. Buena Ventura Lakes, Hunter’s Creek, Peppermill, Meadow Woods, and Southchase can have harder earth, which makes leveling tougher. North Orlando areas are generally good Most yards in Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Maitland, and Winter Park have decent earth for leveling the ground. GOT TREES? IT'S BEST TO LEVEL THE EARTH FURTHER AWAY FROM THEM Orlando has a climate for a lot of different trees. Every tree species has different root characteristics. As a general rule, I would stay at least five feet away from the trunk of any decent-sized tree. And with really big trees, at least ten feet away is a good idea. When you level the earth for an above ground pool, you want to cut out any roots in the way. This can make the job much harder, so the further away from trees the better. IF DOING IT YOURSELF, RENT A SOD CUTTER I can’t overstate how hard it can be to remove the grass with just a shovel. Most homeowners have cheaper quality shovels with no sharpened edge. This makes it very hard to remove the sod. For under $100, you can rent a machine called a “sod cutter”. Do that. It will be the best money you have spent since your great grandfather bought a share of Coca-Cola stock before the “Great War”. I OFFER GROUND LEVELING AND POOL GROUND PREP-ONLY IN ORLANDO If you are looking for someone to just level your ground for your pool, then contact me and I’ll give you a price. It may not be as cheap as you think, but it will be worth it for you.