A clear or partly cloudy day with little wind and temps between 20-30 Celsius or 70-85 Degrees. The wind being the more feared of the two. With wind comes thoughts of parasailing along with the panic of your pool flying away during installation.
Are you planning on installing your own pool? For the novice having lots of beer and friends who will not judge you when you are angry is perhaps the best anecdote for not-so-great weather. Installing an above-ground pool is something any handyman will want to take on himself. Don’t let the weather be the reason you lose your will to complete the Install.
You can’t always plan for the best weather. So conforming to what mother nature gives you is the best remedy.
Pro installers have many tricks of the trade they employ when weather isn’t cooperative. There are tools we use to help with wind and cool conditions. Most of all we use commonsense behavior and our experience fills in the rest.
I was once installing a larger 27’ round pool. We had the wall up and about half the uprights attached. Starting to work on the base of the pool when out of nowhere came a huge gust of wind. It picked up the entire pool and deposited it 1ft of its base. It meant we were forced to start all over.
How do you prevent your pool wall from becoming a sail?
PLEASE NOTE: YOU NEVER WANT TO INSTALL AN ABOVE-GROUND POOL IN MODERATE TO HEAVY WINDS. WAIT UNTIL WINDS SUBSIDE AND IT’S SAFE TO DO SO.
When it’s time to roll out the wall you’ll find that using Clamps, Stakes, and Cords will give the best support. This allows you to put up the wall in light winds and not have to worry about stopping.
Whats the best temperature for above ground pool installation?
Ideally, the temps are between 20-30 Celsius or 70-85 Degrees. As a Pro Installer, this is not always the case. Many times we have to deal with colder temps. So what do we do?
The only part of the installation that requires these temps is when you’re installing the pool liner. Colder temps make the liner more taught and it doesn’t stretch out into place. If it’s a sunny day but the temps are cooler, let’s say 65 degrees.
We might roll the liner out in an open space in the yard and let the sun work on making it pliable over a couple of hours. Many online videos will advise using this method always. But there is another option for the pros. It may not work for the novice installer and I’ll explain how and why.
Many times we will make sure the day before that the liner is brought indoors and kept room temperature. Since installing the liner only take 15 minutes or less. The liner stays in the proper pliable state so that we can install it. If you’re going to take longer than a half-hour then this method may not be of much use.
Another method would be to place the liner in the cab of a pick-up truck and turn on the heater. Do this for about an hour before installing. Now with that said don’t do this if you are a novice at installing pool liners.
Next would be to install a pool with minimal screws holding it together and come back the next warmer day to drop in the liner. This requires great care to stabilize the pool and to watch the weather forecast.
Best method for No wrinkles in the pool liner
The best method to prevent pool liner wrinkles is to get the proper size liner. Install in 70-85 degree temps and use a shop vac! Why a shop vacuum?
The shop vac hose is inserted through the return opening. (skimmer opening if the return doesn’t work) the using cardboard and tape. You seal off the skimmer and return the opening to prevent from losing suction. This method is like magic and will get 90% of wrinkles to disappear.
Make sure you keep the vacuum hose away from the pool base and leave it running until the water level covers the entire bottom of the pool. When the bottom of the pool is covered with sufficient weight. The vacuum can be turned off and you will be left with no wrinkles.
Check out our article: 5 successful steps to a perfect pool liner replacement.
Do some pools work in windy conditions?
Yes, there are a couple of pools that can be put up in slightly higher windy conditions. The Nakoma is a resin pool that comes with a twist-lock top rail system. Which allows you to secure the wall with the frame of the pool.
Next is the slat wall aluminum pool. It has tongue-in-groove wall slats that slide together making for a very stable pool wall. It can stand up to winds pretty well.
But generally speaking, it’s always best not to install when it’s windy or if it’s too cold.
What about installing a pool in wet conditions?
First off it’s never a good idea to attempt a pool installation when water from rain prevents a safe install. When it’s flooded out you can’t get anything done anyway. Even a steady rain during installation can mess things up.
If it’s been rainy in the days prior to installation day. A careful test of the soil in the pool area should be taken. If you sinking into the soil just walking around. It’s best that the area dries out for a few days. There isn’t anything specific you can do other than to use some common sense. To wet and wait is the best approach.
If you have certain drainage issues pertaining to your backyard. You’ll want to get them under control by diverting potential water away from the area. If you don’t an above-ground pool can become unlevel over time.
Our best advice if you are installing the pool yourself. Get yourself plenty of help. Have a bunch of friends over and share the experience. You’re going to need them and you’ll all have stories to share for a lifetime. Trust me I hear all the stories. Watch a few of the problems that arise during a novice installation.
