One of the features you see in a resort pool that is truly stunning is the swim up bar. The concept of having a pool built partially out of the ground, a stool to sit on and a bar top to set your drink is a real luxury. If only you could have a swim up bar at home in your above ground pool! Well, if you are handy with wood, or you know a good handyman, you can have your very own above ground pool swim up bar.
How Much Does A Swim Up Bar For Above Ground Pools Cost?
An above ground pool swim up bar is one of the most underrated potential features of above ground pools. Unlike in-ground pools which require tens of thousands of dollars of engineering and structure to build a swim up bar, above ground pools are already out of the ground and capable of accepting a swim up bar scenario. You may spend around $750-$1500 or so on your above ground pool swim up bar. Although, once it’s done and you add this to your lifestyle, you will wonder why you didn’t do it a long time ago!
Probably the most expensive part of your above ground pool swim up bar is going to be your stools. Why not just use any old stool in the pool? The big concern with the stool is whether or not the base of the stool will damage the pool liner. For this reason, there are purpose built plastic stools which you fill with water to help them stay stable on the bottom of the pool.
What’s The Best Above Ground Pool Swim Up Bar Stools?
In the last few years these stools have become more commonplace and there are a couple different manufacturers to choose from.We recommend the Envy Pool Products ENV00300 Pool Stool for many reasons.
- The Pool Stool is a patented design submergible bar stool that fits directly in the pool
- Water intake holes fill the stool with water and sink the stool to the bottom of the pool
The first reason we like the Envy pool stools is that there’s a foot ledge at the base. This makes sitting on the stool a bit more comfortable if you have short legs. Also, the flared base makes the stool more stable. You can imagine this being helpful especially if you’ve had a few too many. Additionally, it’s a fraction of the price of the Ledge Lounger stools.
How To Set Up An Above Ground Pool Swim Up Bar
Now that you’ve ordered your stools, it’s time to move on to the bar top. Usually your above ground pool is about 4 feet to 4 feet 6 inches deep.To build your bar top you’ll first want to choose a location. It’s a good idea to take into consideration the location of the sun, and what you’ll want to be looking at while you sit at the above ground pool swim up bar. If you already have a deck around your pool, you may want to try skipping this step. Instead, you could just set your drinks on the deck, and sit on the stools.
If you’ve decided to build the bar top and you’ve selected a location, now it’s time to build a stable base. Often swim up bar tops are built with a flat piece of wood at the top with two posts. Easy enough to assemble. But how do you keep the posts stable? Usually what is done is you create an ‘L’ shaped base for each post. This then leans up against the pool wall.
It’s important to put some foam between the posts and pool wall. This barrier will prevent any damage to your pool. If you aren’t comfortable building the bar top in this way, you can create an upside down ‘T’ shaped post base. That way you have your bar top completely freestanding.Alternatively, if you have an above ground pool retaining wall, you could use a portion of it as your bar.
