What should I put around my pool base?

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nate81

nate81

0
May 20, 2013
192
Raleigh, NC
I was wondering if water would erode the dirt away from under my pool with my current setup. I've attached some photos i just took during the current tropical storm Andrea that just passed through NC. Anyone have a similar yard? I'd love to see some photos of what you did with this drop off!

Here is a link to the photos: http://imgur.com/a/IeCmt
 
nate81 said:
I was wondering if water would erode the dirt away from under my pool with my current setup. I've attached some photos i just took during the current tropical storm Andrea that just passed through NC. Anyone have a similar yard? I'd love to see some photos of what you did with this drop off!

Here is a link to the photos: http://imgur.com/a/IeCmt
Click to expand...

I was worrying about the same thing. My pool was just installed one week ago and it's been raining just about every day since then. Today is the first sunny day we've had so I went out to Lowe's and asked around and they recommended river stone. They have it in different colors and it was only $3.17 for a 0.5 cu ft. bag. I also bought some potted caladiums to place around the pool to add splash of color. I also plan on adding a few solar lights. Once I'm done I'll post some pics. I hope this helps.
 

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I would say you could use a round decorative stone. Whatever is smooth, cost effective, and attractive there. Like pea gravel or something larger.

I would use a landscape fabric and make a "pocket" for the rocks to keep the rocks off the pool and trim and fold the extra against the pool wall and the lip caused by the turf that was cut.. It will also let you pull and weeds that do come up. This will also drain away the splash caused by the kids and let you mow and trim without need to get around the liner and legs.

Sort of like this:

img_0490.jpg


I could not find one at the foot of pool walls.
 
I do not have a slope but, I do have sandy soil instead of dirt. Below I have attached a link to a picture of my pool right after I set it up last year. I no sooner got it standing than we had a major tropical storm blow thru. It flooded everyone's yards and my neighbors back yard drained across my 24' wide driveway and added to the water level in my backyard. The water was ankle deep. I was terrified my pool would sink and collapse. I guess leveling and in laying the step stones paid off because nothing shifted or sank. I still need to landscape around my pool, meaning that the dirt is still exposed, and everything on mine is still stable. Oh, I live in N.E.. Florida and we have LOT of heavy thunderstorms that lay a LOT of water on us.

My major concern for your pool would be the step stones being ON the ground rather than being dug in and set at ground level. With the step stones being ON the ground and the feet being on top, the pool may rub on the stone edges or the weight of the water putting extra strain on the frame and liner. The bottom of the feet and the bottom of the liner are supposed to be at the same level

download/file.php?id=18486&mode=view
 
Im still not sure what to put around the base on the high side of the slope. It is almost a 12" hole....so anything i put in there, landscape fabric or not, is going to be resting on the side of the pool.

As far as the blocks being on the ground i know they should have been flush with the virgin dirt but i could not figure out how to do that. I had to get the foam and tarp down and had no idea where the legs were going to end up. Also as the pool filled the legs shifted and i bet i adjusted thr pavers half a dozen times befre they found their final resting spot. I made sure the liner isnt touching the blocks...even though it may appear that way in the photos.


Had to edit typoes...using my cell phone :-D
 
I left mine ugly last year (1st year owning). I did research and came up with some ideas and suggestions from others mixed with the experience of just watching the way the pool 'moved' when the kids played rough.

My pool sets on the edge of an incline that dips down several inches. Our ground is very hard and we can not get machines in the back so we dug by hand. I wanted the pool where the dip naturally lays but digging 7 inches was not happening!

One thing that I'm concerned about with your pool is the pavers you have under your uprights. They are 'above' ground where they should be flush with the ground you are setting your pool on. By the end of the season, I would have rubbing going on, if that was mine with the way we use ours! I did not do pavers because my ground is hard enough to support the weight. My yard also has a lot of debri in and on the surface of the ground. Several times I would fill small stones that found their way between the pool and the tarp. Of course that meant calling in the manpower and fetching it before a hole happened.

I ended up putting bricks to act like a retaining wall where the drop off was. And everywhere else I stuffed pool noodles into work like a cove. The rubbing noise concerned me and I ended up removing them and only leaving the black rubbery landscape edge around the edge as close to the uprights as possible. This year I'm going to move the lawn edging in more, so that us on the inside of the uprights and out as much as possible. Then I'm going to fill up the gap between the pool and the lawn edging with clean topsoil (bags)... Followed by landscaping fabric on the ground around the pool with smooth river rock. The rocks are medium sized so they are not small enough to go under the pool. I would use rubber mulch by the neighborhood cats think its a big kitty litter so I chose rock! LOL

I have posted pictures in the past. Man was my lawn ugly with the pool up. We have the Ultra Frame too. I'm in Northern Ohio so summer has not yet reached up! I'll post pictures when I get it done and I'm curious to see everyone elses too!

Oh yeah drill small holes in the rubbery edging (before you put it in place) if you go that way to let water out but control it better than nothing. I've also seen others put bamboo roll fence around the pool. I thought about that since I'm going with that kind of look with my lawn now!

I would not put the rocks right up against the liner maybe I'm just being over cautious but I personally would not! Good Luck. :)
 
If you filled in the hole around the pool with clean bagged soil to ground level or sloped up just a hair more. it would prevent the pool from shifting as much and almost completely stop the chance of rocks or other nature trash from getting under the pool. I wish mine was sunk in like yours because that is what I would do. Then put the lawn edge around the base and landscape with rock or mulch....
 
nate81 said:
I was wondering if water would erode the dirt away from under my pool with my current setup. I've attached some photos i just took during the current tropical storm Andrea that just passed through NC. Anyone have a similar yard? I'd love to see some photos of what you did with this drop off!

Here is a link to the photos: http://imgur.com/a/IeCmt
Click to expand...

I have an above ground pool and my grandkids love it.
 
swtaspie said:
If you filled in the hole around the pool with clean bagged soil to ground level or sloped up just a hair more. it would prevent the pool from shifting as much and almost completely stop the chance of rocks or other nature trash from getting under the pool. I wish mine was sunk in like yours because that is what I would do. Then put the lawn edge around the base and landscape with rock or mulch....
Click to expand...


Do you mean put some landscape edging where the red line is or the yellow? http://imgur.com/ED7Rz5s

Can i cut the foam that is not underneath the pool?

How do you get the blocks flush with the ground AND use foam and tarp? How did you know exactly where to place the blocks?
 

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