Ground prep help for my Intex 18x9 oval agp

[bkstyles]

Greetings to the TPF community. So here’s my dilemma. As with everyone setting up their agp ground prep is a pain in the you know what. I recently purchased a Bestway 18x9 oval Power Steel and the area in my yard I chose to place it seemed like the most level at the time. I need help in my next step. I killed most of the grass and rented a Tiller to dig up as much of the remaining grass/weeds/roots that I could.
This left me with very dry and tough dirt and a very uneven ground. So my question is what do you think I should do next in getting this thing level? Pack limestone/sand on it to level it out or just keep working on leveling the dirt? The instructions for the pool say not to place it on soft ground. Thanks so much for the feedback and any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[bkstyles]

Before and after

 

[ajw22]

Dig down to level.

Never build up.

How to level above ground pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[bkp22]

I use a square / transfer shovel with a pushing motion to attack the high points, finishing with a rake across the entire area to smooth and remove stones. I repeated this over 6-7 sessions. At the end of each session I would flood the area with a hose, taking note of the high spots to address next time. I started with a relatively clear area and probably spent 12 hours total.

If I had anything more than ~6" variance I would hire this process out.

Once I was fully satisfied, I dumped 9 bags of sand into the area and worked it in with the shovel and rake. Once mostly flat I used an 8" 2x4 to "screed" the sand level which about gave me a heart attack from the exertion. After that I used a shop squeegee to pull everything fully flat.

This process got me to less than 1" variance across my entire 14' pool. I had nearly 4" last season.

 

[duraleigh]

If you want to save a LOT of work but spend some money in it's place, Level the dirt so you have not more than 1,5" slope in any direction.

Next, use "screenings" to put down about a 1 inch or so coat and then rake it as level as you possibly can.........it's pretty easy to manipulate with a rake. Screenings goes by other names around the country. A quarry will know what you are talking about,

Don't use sand as it can wash out pretty readily.......screenings will stay put

 

[bkstyles]

If you want to save a LOT of work but spend some money in it's place, Level the dirt so you have not more than 1,5" slope in any direction.

Next, use "screenings" to put down about a 1 inch or so coat and then rake it as level as you possibly can.........it's pretty easy to manipulate with a rake. Screenings goes by other names around the country. A quarry will know what you are talking about,

Don't use sand as it can wash out pretty readily.......screenings will stay put

Wow this is the first time I’ve heard of this. Thank u. I might go this route. I googled “screenings” have a few places up here in NY that supply it.

 

[bkstyles]

I use a square / transfer shovel with a pushing motion to attack the high points, finishing with a rake across the entire area to smooth and remove stones. I repeated this over 6-7 sessions. At the end of each session I would flood the area with a hose, taking note of the high spots to address next time. I started with a relatively clear area and probably spent 12 hours total.

If I had anything more than ~6" variance I would hire this process out.

Once I was fully satisfied, I dumped 9 bags of sand into the area and worked it in with the shovel and rake. Once mostly flat I used an 8" 2x4 to "screed" the sand level which about gave me a heart attack from the exertion. After that I used a shop squeegee to pull everything fully flat.

This process got me to less than 1" variance across my entire 14' pool. I had nearly 4" last season.

That tip about the transfer shovel was great. It worked like a charm. I did a lot of damage getting a lot of the ground up. Thank u. I’ll definitely use your water hose idea as well.