How long should I wait?

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C

cmiller73

Well-known member
May 1, 2012
262
Houma, LA
Pool Size
12500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I had to take my 21' AGP that was partially in the ground up.
I bought a Matrix 18x40 to replace it. I filled the hole with 50+ yards of riversand and sandy topsoil. Half of the 18x40 will sit above the previous hole, the other half will be on undisturbed ground.

How long should I wait before installing my new pool?

Thanks for the advice and comments.
 
Then a few decades should do ... ;)

Sorry, I am just not sure how anyone can answer this question. The pool needs to sit on properly compacted or undisturbed soil to prevent settling and sinking. If you did not compact it as you filled in, there is no way to tell when it is done settling.
 
I know what you are saying. :cry: We did run over it pretty good with a front loader. I'm thinking of getting 1 more load of sand and compact it. We did put 50 yards in a hole that should have only been 35 yards.
 
I agree with Bama. Your pool water is going to weigh a LOT once set up! More than a front end loader! It's going to settle every single day and eventually, you'll end up with a pool that could be off by several inches when it's all said and done!

Rule # 1 in erecting an above ground pool is NEVER fill in, ALWAYS dig out!


Any way you can move the pool to a new location? That would be your best bet right now.
 
That 1 load of compacted sand isn't going to do anything for you. Sand doesn't compact well enough to support the weight.

You could always start over and compact in lifts. My pool sits on 55 tons of compacted 2Amodified. No problems.


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jblizzle said:
Then a few decades should do ... ;)

Sorry, I am just not sure how anyone can answer this question. The pool needs to sit on properly compacted or undisturbed soil to prevent settling and sinking. If you did not compact it as you filled in, there is no way to tell when it is done settling.
Click to expand...

Right.! Last July I dismounted my INTEX 20'x42" Round pool, bt left the 2 plastic tarps liners that were under the pool liner so no weeds could grow. That was 8 months ago and now I will install it again with an upgraded INTEX 2500GPH pump in liew of the 1500GPH that burnt out, thus reason for dismounting.
My problem now is that several "moles", I guess, as habitat and looking for food/critters have dugged tunnels under the carp and now the sandy soil is disturbed, soft and lifted/piled up and when I stand on those sandy humps, my feet just sink.!. There is no soil wash out. Do you have any idea how to compact it properly before re-installing the pool back on the same spot?
 
Sand doesn't compact well enough to support the weight.
Click to expand...
Ditto! Sand easily washes out under a pool and is not a good substrate. Here in NC, we can get "screenings" which is a fine,almost powdery mix of limestone dust and rock with nothing bigger than about 1/4". It compacts better than about anything I have used and normally will not wash out.
 

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Indeed Dave: I experienced that sand erosion after I installed my first 15'x42" above ground pool. But also had me granchildren play rough and splashed water all overboard.! that contributed to that..???
I replaced that pool when the liner was cut and now have a bigger 20'x42" INTEX , but I used the plastic wall of the 15 footer and cut it halfways along the entire perimeter in strips of about 21" inches in width that I hammered deep into the sand in a circle of aprox 22' diameter and protuding about 5 to 6 inches tall with the rest 14 to 16 inches buried deep into the sand. This created a kind of container or barrier to hold and prevent sand from washing out of the pool base. What I had to do afterwards was to re-level the ground/soil before re-install in that same spot. Only, that the area have been invaded by several "Moles"? thus there are some areas underneasth the carps that are raised and soft when you step on top of them. So I have to deal with that now and see how to get rid of those critters before re-installing back. Any Ideas?..??
 
Casey said:
Any way you can move the pool to a new location? That would be your best bet right now.
Click to expand...

Nope. My yard is 80' wide. My flat area of my deck is to be incorporated into the new walk deck along the side of the pool. I will also be installing a 24' dock on one end in order to practice dock jumping with my dogs. That is the reason for taking up the older/messed up 21' round that was partially inground.

If I'd have the money I would have gotten a fiberglass inground. But that was WAAAAAAYYYYY too much.

Plan is to have this up for 5-7 years, while saving for a fiberglass inground with all the bells and whistles.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. I do know I cannot wait months/years to put this up. My daughter is already begging for it to go up.

The pic below shows how everything is laid out. The deck area that is 20'x25' is still in place and I'd hate to have to take it up. If I move it to the right of my property, I'll have issues seeing what's going on in the pool from a safety standpoint and that area is how I get in and out of my yard with my boat and vehicles.
 
I can't speak from a professional standpoint, but my sister had a sloping yard. They had to build up their pool about 4 feet. They hauled in dirt with wheel barrows. I can tell you there wasn't a whole lot of compacting going on. Is there pool still up? Yes after 13 years it is, BUT they have had to reset it twice and it has a horrible lean. We just call it the shallow and deep end. It's probably 6 inches out of level. I know that's not any recommendation due to safety. I'm just trying to give you a case where the pool is built up and what the potential consequences are, besides obvious safety issues of not having a solid base.
 
So looking at your illustration....the areas to the left and right of original round pools location are undisturbed soil. Will you have to dig those areas out some? And there are two sections of the new pools walls that will cross over the backfilled area, right? So maybe 25% of your pool walls will cross over fill, and that will occur in the straight sections of your wall. So the majority of the backfilled area will be in the pool (within the walls). So worst that happens there is you end up with a funky sunken circle in your pool which would suck to clean, and might damaged your liner as it sinks. Right?

So i guess i don't understand, how much weight (force) is transferred to the ground at the wall? Vs. say the middle of the pool?

You haven't detailed how exactly the fill got back there and how exactly you filled it...

Perhaps you could dig back out where the pool wall will go, properly fill that area or pour concrete, and then just hope for the best in the middle of the pool....
 
harleysilo said:
So looking at your illustration....the areas to the left and right of original round pools location are undisturbed soil. Will you have to dig those areas out some? And there are two sections of the new pools walls that will cross over the backfilled area, right? So maybe 25% of your pool walls will cross over fill, and that will occur in the straight sections of your wall. So the majority of the backfilled area will be in the pool (within the walls). So worst that happens there is you end up with a funky sunken circle in your pool which would suck to clean, and might damaged your liner as it sinks. Right?
That is correct. Portions of the the walls and liver will be on undisturbed ground and those areas. Everything is pretty level, so I will only need to dig out for the base blocks.

So i guess i don't understand, how much weight (force) is transferred to the ground at the wall? Vs. say the middle of the pool?
The engineer I work with would need more info to figure that out also. Soil tests for sure.

You haven't detailed how exactly the fill got back there and how exactly you filled it...
30+ yards of riversand was dumped on the side of the hole. Me and my wife tried to shovel/wheelbarrow most of it till a friend showed up with a bobcat loader. We had shoveled in about 8-10yrds by hand. When the bocat showed up, he pushed in the rest, running over it after every push. That 1st 30 yrds sat for a week, then I had 20+ more added on top of that.

Perhaps you could dig back out where the pool wall will go, properly fill that area or pour concrete, and then just hope for the best in the middle of the pool....
Click to expand...

One other thing I asked the eng. I work with is using bigger blocks under the posts. Instead of 2x8x16, I'll get some 2x24x24. I plan to put those under the straight wall post and use 2x12x12 under the round sections. And yes I will gig out for the pads and allow the bottom ring to sit on the ground. I may even put smaller blocks under the bottom rings.
 
So I couldn't get 24x24x2 concrete pads so I got the 18x18x2. They run just under the bottom receiver on the side uprights, past the end of the bottom tubing. It's a big area of contact.

Also after getting 3 side posts in place I had to dig approx 6"(not counting for the side rail bottom and block, that totaled to about 10") out of the opposite side for the side posts. I left a bit of a turtleback in the middle. I still have to take more dirt out and finish out the other 1/2 of the pool. Everything is going together nicely and I am very impressed with the Matrix design and how everything goes together.

I'll then be adding a layer of sand, adding foam pool cove along with the Liner Armor padding.

My biggest issue right now is chemicals? With my old pool, I use EZ pool, a little shock and pool perfect in the skimmer. This pool being about 2x the size of the old one, chemicals will be a bit on the expensive side.
I plan to use my existing sand filter and 1.5hp pump.

I'd like to go with salt but I need to get the SWG equipment. I read a few posts about going with a bigger SWG unit and was going to go that route. Besides the salt, is there other chemicals that are needed?

Any advice and direction on going with a SWG is appreciated.
 
SWG tend to also cause the pH to rise, so you may need more muriatic acid than a regular bleach pool.

I know you have been focused on the build, but have you read through Pool School to learn the chemistry and ordered one of the recommended test kits?
 
jblizzle said:
SWG tend to also cause the pH to rise, so you may need more muriatic acid than a regular bleach pool.

I know you have been focused on the build, but have you read through Pool School to learn the chemistry and ordered one of the recommended test kits?
Click to expand...


Been skimming through PS a bit. Interesting and very informative. I'll be lookin gto buy a TK soon.
 
I have a co-worker that have a 18x36 AGP and he has 4 return jets in his pool. I'm wanting to add a 2nd opposite the one closest to the skimmer.
Is this beneficial for keeping everything moving? I'm sure it will. I'm also guessing my pump/filter combo should be enough to handle 1 more return jet.

Any thoughts?
 

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