Sharkline Escalade Emerald Series Pool: The Best Decision We Ever Made
Written: Jul 10 '04 (Updated Jun 25 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: sturdy construction, attractive, durable, good warranty
Cons: you really need a professional installer for proper installation
The Bottom Line: If you want to get a pool, have no fear of purchasing this model from Sharkline.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Sharkline Emerald Series Escalade Round Above Grou... |
Growing up, I was always jealous of kids who had pools in their backyard. I was relegated to using the town pool - not a horrible experience, but just not the same as owning your own pool. Last summer we put an Intext 10-Foot Easy-Set Pool in our yard for the days when we just didn’t feel like climbing in the car to go to the town pool. It was far less work than I thought it would be, and couple that with the crowds getting wilder at the town pool, a bigger pool in our own backyard seemed more and more appealing.
We chose a dealer on Long Island which was not part of a chain where the salesmen probably knew little to nothing about pools themselves. We also passed over a nearby store which has had four different names over the past four years. Instead, I traveled a bit further and went to a family-owned store which has been in business for 25 years. After going back and forth with sizes and other requirements with the salesman, I settled on the Escalade Emerald Series Pool manufactured by Sharkline in the 20-foot round size.
Sharkline has been manufacturing pools since 1961. The pools are made in America. They back their products with a 5 season full warranty and an additional 55 season limited warranty. To me, that says they have confidence in their product. The warranty is not transferrable to another owner, so if you sell the house the warranty does no go to the new owners. Essentially, it’s a warranty for as long as the purchaser owns the property the pool is installed on.
What’s different about the Escalade Emerald Series Pool is its construction. I was looking for a pool that, while I know this shouldn’t occur, wouldn’t have a problem if my kids decided to lean on or climb up the sides. Even in the showroom I could see how sturdy the walls of the pool were. This became even more apparent when the pool was delivered to my home in several boxes. The actual wall is supposed to be stored standing up and while we were waiting for the installers to come the box containing it accidentally got knocked over. It took both my husband and myself to get the box upright again.
Pool features:
• 8" wide heavy duty top rail encased in double sided resin-kote.
• Wider base gives more support.
• Oversized top plate.
• Decorative resin bottom boot.
• Sturdy two piece resin top cover is color coordinated to match the frame components.
• Interlocking Aluminum Stabilizer for an added ring of strength.
• Beautifully contoured 6 1/4" upright.
• Coated aluminum bottom plates, guaranteed for life and oversized for maximum stability.
• Stainless steel fasteners.
The steel walls are coated multiple times for the best corrosion protection possible. The outer protective final coating is done in a sandy beige pattern which gives the look of sand dunes on a beach. With the beige uprights, top-cap, and rail it makes for quite an attractive addition to our backyard. There are more uprights with any Sharkline pool. This keeps the distance shorter between uprights and makes for an overall stronger pool. The walls come up to a height of 52 inches, which means four feet of water are in the pool.
The liner is a heavy vinyl in an attractive blue and white pattern called “Sunlight” which gives the effect of the sun’s rays bouncing off of rippling water. My daughter picked it out. The liner was very thick and I imagine it would take a lot for something to puncture it. Make sure no one wears clothes with rivets into the pool, though, just to be on the safe side. The liner is made with additives which reduce the bleaching and other effects of the chemicals used in the pool as well as the sun’s rays. I watched the men stretch it to fit the walls of the pool and secure it down. They did a tremendous job and the liner is tight yet does not look as if it’s strained anywhere along the area where it meets the top real.
Any pool needs to be on level ground, so be prepared to budget that into any installation. For us, we had a friend come in with his backhoe and dig out our yard at a cost of $200. By the patio our yard is 11 inches higher than at the rear. We also elected to put on an aluminum deck and stairs to enter the pool instead of just going with a pool ladder. The deck is carpeted with indoor/outdoor carpeting which dries quite well and is attached right to one section of the pool. It doesn’t go all the way around, but just provides a platform for jumping as well as an easy way in and out. The stairs leading up to the deck also fold up and can be locked in place, making it hard for “little folk” to get into the pool when you don’t want them to.
Check with the installation company as to what they will and will not do. I got a few surprises. First of all, they charged extra to put the deck together above and beyond the pool. Second, when they said they put the filter and pump together, it wasn’t quite true. We had to fill the filter with the filter sand ourselves - something which ended up costing me an extra bag of sand as I messed it up the first time. Third, they did not install the stairs. The guys did me a favor and put them together for me, but they would not put them in the pool. Fourth, they did not install the in-line automatic chlorinator. They also gave us no instruction on how anything operated, so everything was learning on my own or on the phone to the store I had purchased it from. At least our salesman was knowledgeable enough in pool matters to direct me in some things over the phone. If I’d purchased it from a store where some kid who sells Christmas trees in the winter sold me the pool, I probably would have been up the creek.
The 20-foot round pool holds approximately 10,000 gallons of water. This took a couple of days to fill. Some chemicals came with our start-up, but depending on the area you live in you might need different ones. Our water on Long Island is very hard, so we had to put quite a bit of Metal-Out into the water before we could balance the pH.
Before purchasing the pool, make sure you check with your town or other local government regarding regulations. Some requirements usually involve fencing and distance from the property line. It’s also smart to advise your homeowner’s insurance of the installation, in the event that something unfortunate occurs.
The best safety tip I have for anyone around a pool is to be aware. I keep my back door open all the time when my kids are out there, even if they aren’t supposed to be in the pool. Although the deck ladder is up, anyone could decide to pull a chair or other item over to the wall to put their hand in for just a moment. The best pool safety is education. Both of my older girls know how to swim quite well, and I’m thankful that my 4 year-old isn’t really that interested in the pool just yet unless we are around. Still, I am aware!
I love having a pool in my own backyard to go in whenever the mood strikes. I love to come home from work and not have to get back in my car to get refreshed. I love going out in the night time with the pool lit by rope-lighting we strung on the outside and taking a quick dip in the dark. In short, it’s probably the one of the best decisions we made since we bought this house!
Other pool- related reviews:
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Robo-Kleen Robotic Pool Cleaner
Smartpool PoolEye Alarm
Intext Easy-Set Pool
Water Warehouse Online Store
© 2004 Patti Aliventi
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
Reviews written: 2077
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