Above Ground Pool Foundation

[nicepool]

Hello all. I am planning to build a 15x30 above ground pool within the next month. I recently cut down and stump ground a large locust tree. The ground over which the pool will be placed now has some significant divots that have been caused by the stump grinding. The soil is mixed with tree shaving around this area. The grinding was completed in November 2023 and the ground has remained untouched all winter.

My question is as follows: What should I do to best prepare the ground so to prevent any foundation settling issues after the pool is installed? Is there a particular fill that I should use?

Thanks!

Mike

 

[kellyfair]

You shouldn’t build up or fill the base - always level down to the lowest spot. Depending on the size of the root system of the tree, I would be hesitant to install the pool over that area since you may have some sinking as the roots decompose.

 

[isee]

Not only the roots but taking out a large tree stump is going to leave an increasingly growing sinkhole where the stump was in a year or two tops but probably sooner with the additional weight of the water on it. Especially a pool that big. With easily decomposable tree bits mixed into the soil in some spots having more than others that's another strike for the ground settling in unknown ways. Along with the root system like kellyfair said above.

I had a big tree taken down about 5 years ago with the stump drilled out and I can still see exactly where it was. This is even after cleaning out as much of the debris and hacking out as many roots as I could then filling and packing it back in with fresh soil, seeding it, etc. In summary, there's a very good chance of major structural problems on relatively short order in choosing a location that had a big tree taken out of it.

 

[Newdude]

+1. Every ground stump is a future sink hole waiting to happen. I had oaks at my old place and they took 10 years to start to rot, but once it started, rot was rot. The bigger the stump, the bigger the hole it will leave.

 

[kne]

I clicked on this thread wondering what kind of charity would be associated with above ground pools and who exactly created this foundation.

 

[isee]

As a quick follow-up this wasn't intended to discourage you from putting a pool, rather giving you a serious warning about your location of choice. Excellent question by the way as it will have unquestionably saved you a ton of trouble in the future, assuming you heed our advice If you don't have the room to put it somewhere else maybe consider getting a smaller pool. Tree root systems generally grow out to the size of the full canopy of the tree getting thinner the further they are from the trunk.