AGP Pool-Crete Thoughts?

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shltn

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Jul 23, 2013
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I had a thread going in the AGP section but hadn't gotten any feedback on the Pool-Crete. So I hoped maybe some different people might visit this area that don't the AGP and could give me some advice or their experience.

I've had some issues with a couple of my uprights that the installer is coming out to fix in the next day or two (thus the rush for advice). At the time of this being done I am considering getting a Pool-Crete bottom installed. It may just be poor tamping / install of the sand but with the pool only a few weeks old and all the dents, mushy, etc - I'm not loving the sand. It may be that instead of Pool-Crete I could / should just get the sand bottom re-done.

The estimate I was given for the Pool-Crete bottom is $1500 - how does that sound in terms of average cost? Also, what is general consensus on Pool-Crete / hard bottom for AGPs? Worth the money? Better experience? Any pros/cons on the liner life?

Another thing I wondered about is would the Pool-Crete add any additional support / pressure to help protect against partial burial pressure in the future? Not a make or break thing, just curious on everyone's thoughts.

My last question is, I'd also considered waiting until early Spring to get the Pool-Crete installed as putting additional money into the pool essentially right before closing isn't especially exciting. But I'm not sure what effect that may have on my deck plans through the Fall. If I waited till Spring, they obviously have to drain the pool, so would I be able to backfill before then? Or would that pressure of the backfill (only a 6-8 months old by then) be problematic? This may help dictate a bit as I was hoping to get some of the decking, seeding, landscaping done before Winter.

Sorry for rambling on, hoping someone can help me make a better informed choice.
 
My guess is that most people will tell you it's not worth the cost since $1500 is a big investment in an AGP option.

My floor is sand and it's sufficient but I would much rather have a deep end with a pool-crete bottom or even padded bottom. A smooth surface is definitely a must for me, but $1500 is a big expense. If I could get mine buried 2' and a 5' deep end with a padded bottom for $1500, I would do that.
 
Thank you for the reply, Speedo. That was kind of my knee jerk when given the quote but I didn't know if that was just about what it costs on average.

We had a delay mid-install because of rain, so that sand was pretty wet. It's finally heated up the past few days and I can tell the sand floor is getting firmer / more compressed as its drying.

Have you ever had to get your sand re-tamped (not sure what you'd call it)? If so, what approximate expense would I be looking at?
 
Here is a picture of the floor about a week ago. I may try to snap another one tonight to see if there's been any improvement. As you can tell, it's pretty dark for taking photos in the water with the just the pool light - but that's how you can really see the bumps/dents. The largest of those are about softball size.
 

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TechGuy - initially the sand was a bit mushy (assuming from improper/lack of tamping) the first couple times we were in the pool.

I was in the pool myself yesterday though and it had firmed up some in the past week. I didn't get a chance last night to look with the light on to see the condition of the floor but when I was in there I could still see some of the bigger dents.
 
I don't know if this is true or not but it's possible the first day or so that the pool was in use the sand was mushy and took on foot prints (dents) and not the sand has compressed and it's lumpy.

I don't know if a tamper would help or not but its going to be tough to compress sand with near 100,000 pounds of water on top of it.

My pool's floor is not flat... but I am not going to spend $1500 to fix it. I might do a better job on the sand next time or even try a polymer sand adhesive and better tamping if I need to change my liner but I did that last year so it may be a while. I could then fix the side of the pool that i an inch lower than the rest of the pool. Yeah right... wishful thinking.

:swim:
 
That's what I'm assuming is that it wasn't properly compressed and the sand was very wet when the liner was installed. The dents formed prior to anyone getting in the pool because of course I had to kick the light on ASAP to see how it looked at night. Only to be disappointed with the lumpy bumpy floor. The weather was only in the 70s and with the fresh fill it was far too cold for almost a week for anyone, even the kids :) to set foot in the pool.

So outside of the Pool-Crete I can see two options on the floor. First, when they repair the uprights and have to essentially empty the pool anyway I could have them pull the liner and re-work the sand floor. Second, I could just leave the floor as-is until I need a liner replacement and/or the backfill has had a couple years to settle to avoid any issues with the sidewalls. Does that sound about right?
 
Looks like those are the foot prints of the installers. Do you do your own install?

If you are going to take the water out of the pool and remove the top rails, you could smooth the sand better. It all depends on how compactable the sand is. I have seen some photos of installs where the installers roll the floor with a sod compacter or use a tamper. I assume the sand they use was a compacting sand. In my experience, not all sand compacts well and the process of rolling it seems pointless.

I have wondered if sprinkling or brooming the sand might help.
 
No, I paid to have the pool installed. So I can't speak for the type of sand they used. Being professionals I would've assume they used the correct sand BUT then again I would've assumed they would NOT have used that same sand to fine level the pavers... Which is why those uprights are having to be redone for the third time.
 

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Wish they were the ones to fix the uprights correctly - saved me some money. I had to go to another company to fix them. The original installers acted like the uprights are no big deal, "they've settled as far as they're going to". As for the floor they say, "It's normal.". So...
 
Every new aboveground we sell we put poolkrete in. Personally I wouldn't want sand because of what you are showing. Krete wont print up and is much easier to vacuum. 1500 isn't a bad price considering the size of your pool.
 
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