2014-05-06 Pool Install Day-1

When the guys from The Pool Store arrived, they brought with them 2 or 3 trucks, at least 2 trailers, a Bobcat, and all the material they needed to install the pool.  The first thing they did was setup a transit for extreme accuracy in leveling the ground.  Next they used the Bobcat to remove the sod, then level the dirt to the lowest point.  They dug down a few inches on the lowest point.  At the high point, they dug down about 10 inches.


They began by unrolling the outer shell of the pool and installing the uprights for strength.  This is tough steel, not cheap stuff.


Here are the decorative covers for the uprights all laid out.


You can see the sod in the trailer in the driveway as the Bobcat does its work.


They saved the topsoil at my request.  Some was reused by them.


Here, they're installing the final plate that binds the ends of the steel shell into a complete circle.


This plate goes underneath one of the uprights.


While Mr. Berryhill of The Pool Store worked on the outside, his son worked on the inside.


Here's a closeup of the top bracket.


Here, Mr. Berryhill installs the top rail.


They installed a dual drain in the pool bottom.


... digging the trench for the dual drain.
NOTE:  There's a safety reason for having two of them connected.  If it was just one, the suction would be so great that someone small could get pulled down so tight they couldn't free themselves.  In decades past, that's actually caused some deaths.  But with two drains with wide, straining covers, this can't happen.  There's no danger from the suction.


After the pipe is run underneath, they began to install the valves for the plumbing.


Here comes the sand for the pool bottom!


The sand gets distributed evenly.


While the boys are spreading the sand, Mr. Berryhill is spreading the leftover topsoil for me.  The bare ground is from the new septic system I just had installed.  For that, they had to put in a 2nd tank and pump it uphill to the field lines.  I needed this topsoil to get grass to grow.


As work continues on the outside, the inside crew trowels the sand smooth.


On the outside, Mr. Berryhill backfills where they dug out with the Bobcat earlier.


Next, they hookup the large shop vac.


The shop vac keeps a suction going while they install the liner.  The suction removes air between the liner and shell.


As the liner is completed, the decorative covers go on the uprights.


The cover over the top rail goes on next.  Now you know what that top plate was for.


Here you can barely see the top plate under the decorative top rail cover.


Rings have to be screwed down before the liner can be cut to reveal the bottom drains.  Then the drain covers can be installed.


Finally after a long day and lots of work, the sand filter is mounted and put together.


There's lots more to be done but most of the work of the pool installation is complete.
They put a few hundred gallons in the pool to test the drain for leaks and hold the liner
down.  I was told to finish filling the pool to its total capacity of over 21,000 gallons.

When filled, the pool is 45 inches deep.  It will go deeper.  The shell comes up to 52
inches but we keep the depth at about 45 or 46 inches for the skimmer to operate
properly.  The pool is 27 feet in circumference.  See the next pages for the rest.


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