As the summer is heating up, we were thinking of buying an inexpensive above ground pool for the back yard. My question is, we'd like to put it directly on the concrete patio (to not kill the grass), but I can't seem to find any information on whether this is a good idea or not. Do above ground pools require that they be placed directly on the ground, or will the patio option work for us? Any other info you can share would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

When we lived in the San Fernando Valley, we had a "Doughboy" pool. It was (as per the instructions) placed on the grass in the backyard. Yes, the grass died, but can you imagine how HARD concrete would be under the liner? It seems like we were told not to place it on anything but ground, or a specially made 'pallet' to keep it raised. Not too helpful, I guess.
I can tell you, the fun we had with the kids, was worth a little dead grass!

Thanks for the reply, Verionika.
I wouldn't mind the dead grass except that we're renting this house, and the owner would probably not be too thrilled with us! Concrete would be hard under it, though not any harder than the concrete in the bottom of an inground pool, but I think I'm more concerned with the liner and whether concrete would be too rough on it. Anyone else with thoughts?

djsgal,
I thought you could and have a friend that does, but just to be sure, I checked a couple different places. Here is a site that answers your question right at the beginning and also has some other good info on this. Sandy

http://tinyurl.com/3jzv49

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the fun we had with the kids, was worth a little dead grass!

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I have to agree with this way of thinking. The one time we had to move the pool from one part of the yard to another, all I did was re-seed the resulting 'crop circle'. By the next spring you couldn't even tell the pool had ever sat on that spot. I don't really recommend putting it atop anything but sand or grass. Even though the directions scold you sternly in ten different languages NOT to roughhouse or dive off the ladder -some little ruffian is going to. Better for them to have a chance at not being severely injured by hitting their head on a soft bottom rather than cement, don't you think?

The "Happy Bottom Pool Pad" seems like a nice alternative. The link is perfect, Sandy! All info up front and clear.

Crop circles are just what the grass looks like 'post pool.'

Ours was round, and about 4 feet deep. It really is worth all the trouble!

You are going to thank yourself over and over this summer for having such a good idea, I suspect. Nevada and California summers are very unforgiving [as you're fully ware of] and this is one way to beat the cost of carting the kids to the local pool. Saves a little gas in the bargain.
Meanwhile, back east at my house, Einstein here has forgotten where she stored the pump and hoses after carefully wrapping them in plastic last fall. I know they're probably out in the garage, but there's STUFF living out there, for sure. Oh well. It's gotta be done...
I sure hope your pool is all you hoped it would be!

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions! Sandy, I'm going to investigate those pool pads a little further, they sound like a great idea. I'll probably post a photo in photo-of-the-day when we get it!

Glad we could be helpful! Does that mean a guaranteed swim if we visit?

"If" jd? Don't you mean "when"?

You're right, lady1, I just didn't want to sound too presumptuous!

You all are too funny - I'm sure you'll be flocking to my house to swim in my 12' round, 3' deep pool! But hey, we'll fire up the grill if you show up!

Another thing I remembered that they don't mention...if you use those big chlorine tablets and they accidently sink down to the bottom? They will completely bleach the area where they landed. It won't hurt anything, but you might be annoyed to see a blight on your new pool right off the bat [ after you figure out what happened] Buy one of those floating holders, if you don't want to spoil the design on the bottom of the pool.

Great suggestion, kt, thank you!

I had a friend put up my 12'x 3' pool while I was at work. He failed to realize that the yards around here are purposely sloped to facilitate drainage away from the homes. At over 8 pounds per gallon it did not take long before the pool rolled under the weight. My 3' deep pool wound up 4' on one side and less than 1' on the other.

Sand is very cheap. Whatever you put your pool on, make sure it is level first.

Able's right. Our backyard was never landscaped at all. The first time we filled the pool, it began to list to the east big time, right away. Instead of the heartache of dumping the water and leveling it from the very bottom, we stopped the water flow. One person rolled the pool up on the low end and the other person shoved some extra sand bags under the edge to brace it, which corrected the list by about 85 percent.

NOT exactly the video they provide, which shows perfect, attractive male suburbanites laughing offhandedly as they put down the liner on what appears to be the 40 yard line at Texas Stadium, such is it's perfect level greeness. They roll the pool out, fill it with water and in about 15 minutes are in the pool laughing like idiots, tossing a beach ball back and forth to some woman in a bikini.

As Stu is fond of saying-
"your milage may vary."

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Edited to add: Last year the pool was almost exactly level and we had no problems with it. So it can be done...just make sure you drag the site with a 2x4 and use an actual level.

I'm from Cali so a pool is a must!!!, but we have one in our backyard..and we have a huge space of nothing..no grass or anything, so we put sand down, leveled it, then put a tarp over it in case when water came out of the pool, the sand wouldn't get too wet and make the pool uneven. which was a big problem last year, and it seems to be working great this year with the tarp.

"NOT exactly the video they provide, which shows perfect, attractive male suburbanites laughing offhandedly as they put down the liner on what appears to be the 40 yard line at Texas Stadium, such is it's perfect level greeness. They roll the pool out, fill it with water and in about 15 minutes are in the pool laughing like idiots, tossing a beach ball back and forth to some woman in a bikini."

Oh Kate, you just gave me a huge laugh with that one and I really needed it today! I have been feeling like my life is "listing to the east big time". Thank you so much!

The guys helping me with the pool that year had other, much less discreet, non- repeatable things to say while watching the video. It was too cheesy to be real and I always laugh when I think about it.
Glad to be of silliness to you, Sandy.