Welcome!
Not all steel walled pools are sold as "salt friendly" but some are, I have one. There are all resin pools that are all salt friendly. A salt water pool is a chlorine pool, the salt cell makes the chlorine. The advice here is to buy a salt system that can provide chlorine for 2 times the volume of the pool you're installing it on. My salt system is about 1 1/2 times my pool's volume but we keep it covered with a solar blanket when not in use.
DO NOT listen to any advice unless it's from the people here! I know that sounds a bit egotistical but the people here want to help you and not drain your wallet. Once you get the hang of pool care, it is SO easy. A secret to good quality water and not draining your wallet is buying a good test kit and not go to the pool store for advice!
If you are going to pull permits for the pool, find out exactly what you'll need before buying anything. It might be cheaper to buy a pool package vs individual components assuming you are getting good quality components in the package. Once you get some info, ask you questions here ... you'll get help!
Don't forget about electrical. You will need electric out to the pool for the filter and salt cell, a extension cord won't cut it.
Mason sand for underneath the pool, tons of it! Some people opt for a foam bottom in addition to the sand and a foam cove, we don't have that.
If the pool location is on a slope, you dig down for flat land not build up.
Hard plumb the filter don't use hoses. Also make sure you have unions in the system to make it easier to take apart the system. Include unions between the pump and the filter, pipes and salt cell, skimmer and pump and if it's going to be a long filter run make the sections manageable.
I like entrance stairs vs ladders, makes getting into and out of the pool easier for us.
I'm on my 2nd above ground pool, first one was about 20 years old when we got rid of it. New one is same size as the old one but is a salt water pool. It is steel walled but the top rail, bottom rail and uprights are made of resin. Our last pool had a diatomaceous earth (DE) filter, the new one is a sand filter. I wanted a DE filter for how it cleans up a pool but our township considers it hazardous waste now and the filter being sold had "fingers" to capture stuff and our old filter had grids which was so easy to take care of. I have a single speed pump, I think it's 1 1/2 HP, and people here may recommend a variable speed or 2 speed pump; the filter and pump came with our package. I honestly don't see a difference in filters (old vs new) performance. We have a wide mouth Hayward skimmer, it gives a larger area to suck water in and eliminates the cutouts that are in the pool wall for it. Our salt system is the Hayward Aquatrol which is an above ground salt system, this may not fit your needs but there are other salt systems that others may talk about. Our pool doesn't have a deck so can't speak about that. Our entrance stairs are from Confer plastic and they work well. Liner is a preference of what you like assuming it's not too cheap. I think our old liner was 20 gauge and our new liner is 25 gauge; the higher the gauge the thicker the liner. The thicker liner may last longer. There are overlap liners and beaded (hook in) liners - either is fine.
As for install, I had a company do it but did watch them. All uprights have a paving stone under them for them to sit on, they used a transit to get the pool as level as they could and adjusted the paving stones accordingly. They laid out the bottom track so they knew where the uprights and pavers were going to be and then brought the sand into the pool area after the leveling. Once they brought all the sand into the pool area they started the pool wall install. First thing to do is locate the cutout for the skimmer and return to make sure you install that near you electrical for the filter. I don't know if it's at the beginning or the end of the pool wall roll.
Also, you want to locate the seam for the bolts to be underneath an upright for aesthetic reasons. For the wall, they used "S" hooks on strings hooked up to tent stakes to hold things into place while the get it up. Once up they leveled the sand and made the cove inside the pool area. Once the wall was bolted together they duct taped the bolts with a few layers to protect the liner. I think the next was putting the liner in - sorry don't remember! And then they put the top rails along with the uprights together - this step and the last step may have been in reverse. Once the liner and pool wall is installed now's the time to straighten out the liner. They hooked up a wet dry vac and sealed up any open holes and sucked the air out underneath the liner. They walked around the pool in their socks and used their hands and feet to get wrinkles out. They also used a PVC "T" wrapped in towels to get the wrinkles out. Once the liner was fitted "correctly" they cut the openings for the skimmer and return. At this point they started filling and used that PVC "T" to continue to get the wrinkles out. Something that was told to me by both pool installers - fill by hose to let the liner stretch slowly and only fill during the day; at night it gets cooler and the liner wants to shrink.
I would suggest to watch some YouTube videos on installing a pool, installing a replacement liner and installing a skimmer and return. It'll give you a reference point.
Sorry for being long winded! Good luck on your search and ask questions you may have!!
