Anyone ever hear of putting old carpet under the pool for added protection/cushion? Just bought the Intex 24x52 and starting to plan out the install. 
Carpet under pool???
- Thread starter Jin_1626
- Start date
woodyp said:
Unless you get outside carpet which is made to get wet. Not sure what the purpose would be though.
I had never heard of putting old carpet down until I was talking with a co worker who put carpeting under his easy set that was set up on a concrete pad. We are putting our 24x52 up in the same spot we had the 18x48. It's bare ground and all we ever did for 5 years of set up was put down a heavy duty tarp after killing the grass. Thanks for your responses. It sounded odd to me too!
We have the same pool 24x52 and used old carpet last year. Our ground is very rocky and the instructions said no sand. The carpet didn't get stinky or nasty. I think it worked pretty well. I'm not sure if we'll use the old carpet or styrofoam boards this year as some of the rocks went through the carpet.
Hi Guys, not been on for a fair while.
i used carpet under my Intex pool and have to say it worked fairly well, it does not however give the soft feel that I think you are looking for but does give better protection than a plastic sheet or nothing.
If I were doing the job again I would use 1" thick sheets of polystyrene, gives better protection, feels better, and retains the heat better in theory.
i used carpet under my Intex pool and have to say it worked fairly well, it does not however give the soft feel that I think you are looking for but does give better protection than a plastic sheet or nothing.
If I were doing the job again I would use 1" thick sheets of polystyrene, gives better protection, feels better, and retains the heat better in theory.
Where would you get polystyrene 1" thick that's big enough for a 22' pool? And how much would something like this cost? I'm considering what i'll use for my next pool opening.
- Jun 14, 2012
- 2,668
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
Well this topic is pretty old but I'll comment since I was the one who started it with the question. Summer of 2011 we did not use carpet, just a heavy duty tarp. We take our pool down every year and in taking it down in 2011, the tarp smelled about as bad as something dead. Judging from the ground lines and dead bodies, the earthworms didn't fair too well coming up under the pool.
This summer of 2012, we did put carpet down. I live in a college town and used carpet is plentiful when the students move out at graduation in May. A perfect time to put up the pool (especially our May, it was HOT). The carpet went down on bare dirt, plush side up, and we cut it to about the 24' circle. We did put the same old tarp on top of the carpet, then the pool. We just took the pool down this past weekend as the cold nights have made the pool very cold and with school starting it was time to take it down. The carpet was muddy, but dry for the most part, it wasn't saturated. Yes, there was still dead worms and the smell, but I don't think it was any worse than the year before. We do not intend on reusing the same carpet next year and have disposed of it.
I like what the carpet did for us. It was FREE, gave a protection from rocks, added a cushion on the floor of the pool and I believe even helped retain the water temp. We did have to piece the carpeting to make the full 24' circle and one or two of the seams were not tight. All that created was a line where the vacuum had to pay special attention to.
So the debate is, Why put it down? Other than giving the pool a little more protection and keeping the heat in the pool, I guess there is no reason why. Will we do it again in 2013? Probably, our investment in the pool is worth piecing used carpet for a pad.
This summer of 2012, we did put carpet down. I live in a college town and used carpet is plentiful when the students move out at graduation in May. A perfect time to put up the pool (especially our May, it was HOT). The carpet went down on bare dirt, plush side up, and we cut it to about the 24' circle. We did put the same old tarp on top of the carpet, then the pool. We just took the pool down this past weekend as the cold nights have made the pool very cold and with school starting it was time to take it down. The carpet was muddy, but dry for the most part, it wasn't saturated. Yes, there was still dead worms and the smell, but I don't think it was any worse than the year before. We do not intend on reusing the same carpet next year and have disposed of it.
I like what the carpet did for us. It was FREE, gave a protection from rocks, added a cushion on the floor of the pool and I believe even helped retain the water temp. We did have to piece the carpeting to make the full 24' circle and one or two of the seams were not tight. All that created was a line where the vacuum had to pay special attention to.
So the debate is, Why put it down? Other than giving the pool a little more protection and keeping the heat in the pool, I guess there is no reason why. Will we do it again in 2013? Probably, our investment in the pool is worth piecing used carpet for a pad.
olag25 said:
4'x8' sheets of rigid foam insulation that is 1 3/8" thick is available at just about any construction supply house at $25 to $27 a sheet. You could peice it together and tape the seams. Most of it is backed with foil on one side as well.
-dave
phonedave said:
WOW. So am i doing my math right? Are we talking about $450 - $480 for a 24' x 24' pad?
3 x 6 x $25 OR 3 x 6 x $27??
Almost as much as the pool itself.
Seems rather expensive.
olag25 said:
Yes it does. Somone asked about 1" insulation board and that is what I answered. Me, I think 1" is overkill.
As an example, big orange sells all sorts of foam board in different thicknesses at different prices.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZb ... reId=10051
also, if you have some construction going on around your town, you may be able to pick some up cheap. Lots of time there is scrap left over, or contractors use it for forming concrete and then dispose of it. In fact there are companies that sell used foam board - not in the small quantities you need - but there is a lot of used foam board out there.
-dave
I put carpet under my pool and then put 4 mil black plastic over that. I had sand under the carpet and nothing between the carpet and sand. I expected the carpet to be rotten come fall when I took the pool down. Not at all, it looked exactly like it did when I put it down. It was a very light tan color and none of it was rotten or discolored. I was amazed and would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it. Will I do it again...probably. I liked the protection it offered. It was softer than just the plastic on sand. I put it down because the tiny stones in the sand could be felt without it. It solved that problem. But the bottom of the pool seemed to have more of a texture to it and the dirt collected in every little crevice. When I got the carpet it had been rolled up and then sat around and got flattened. After I filled the pool I thought that those creases would go away from the weight of the water, nope. You could still see them when the dust collected on the bottom. I have an 18' x 48" Intex pool. This was the second year we had it up.
Why put carpet down you ask? My backyard is full of holes from ground squirrels and gophers. The last thing I need is for a thirsty rodent to chew through the bottom of the pool liner. Carpet is tough and should definitely slow them down. Also, in terms of the carpet smelling and decomposing, one person posted that they put sand down first. That is a good idea. Thank you. That will keep the carpet dry.
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