Having trouble with order of setup | Intex above ground pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
C

changethursday

Active member
Apr 21, 2021
34
Durham, North Carolina
Hey there,

First time setting one of these up, wanting to do it right so it lasts a good while. I've cleared out and rough leveled a 20x20 square in my yard for my 16' round pool (Intex clearview prism). We have about 2" of topsoil, then red dirt/clay (like brick texture, not playdough clay). I've removed most all the soil, and when the clar dries and the sun bakes it, its pretty hard. My plan was to:
  • Ensure dirt clods/rocks are removed
  • Finish the leveling (basically fill the gaps left from the rough leveling/rock removal)
  • Go over the area with one of those rolling water drums to compress what I filled in. Repeat until level and firm.
  • Dig in about 6" on the 20x20 border to allow for rain to run off and down the yard away from the pool
  • Cover whole area with 20x20 tarp to ensure no washout or plant growth
  • Put 16x16 grid of this foam in the middle | Owens Corning FOAMULAR 150 1 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. R-5 Scored Square Edge Rigid Foam Board Insulation Sheathing-20WE - The Home Depot
    • Would tape all seams with gorilla tape, both sides, to ensure no shifting
  • Cut out squares in the foam for my support blocks
  • Lay out whatever tarp came with pool over the foam
  • Set up pool
  • Add heyward skimmer
    • Do I do this before adding water, or need to do after to ensure I have it at the waterline, etc?
  • Cover remaining visible 20x20 area with smooth river rock or similar

Am I missing anything? I'm I headed down the wrong path? One concern I have is that I don't want the foam to show under the rocks - should I put it under the 20x20 tarp? If so, I'd need to
  • Level everything (as described above)
  • set up the pool so I know where the legs sit so I can put up the blocks
  • Make sure everything is level
  • Move the pool
  • Cover everything with tarp
  • Set pool up and be careful to make sure its in exactly the same spot.
Any help is appreciated!!
 
Welcome to TFP! :wave: You have a good plan above. As for the skimmer, you will probably want the pool partially filled so that the walls are vertical and you can see where a good placement would be along the projected waterline. There are tons or threads here at TFP and videos on YouTube about installing a skimmer, so I don't think you'll have much of a problem there. Just make sure that base is level. Nothing worse than filling up the pool to see a crooked waterline. Good luck!
 
Texas Splash said:
Welcome to TFP! :wave: You have a good plan above. As for the skimmer, you will probably want the pool partially filled so that the walls are vertical and you can see where a good placement would be along the projected waterline. There are tons or threads here at TFP and videos on YouTube about installing a skimmer, so I don't think you'll have much of a problem there. Just make sure that base is level. Nothing worse than filling up the pool to see a crooked waterline. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much!! Any advice RE foam above or below the tarp?
 
The foam panels you mention should be fine. Having a tarp above and/or below is extra protection from rocks, sticks, or weeds that may try to surface later. One of those things you can't fix once the pool is full. I suspect some other AGP owners will reply today with their experiences as well.
 
I didn't use foam....I guess partially because I didn't want to spend the extra money. (The season here is short). I laid the tarp that came with the pool, a second tarp and a gorilla (like) pad. It was not the gorilla brand, but similar. The pad is my top layer.
 
What I did: Once the ground was level, I put the top ring of the intex pool together so I could see where to dig in my pavers. I slid my pavers under the T where the legs will eventually attach. I took the top ring of the pool back apart. (since I was just using it to see where to place my pavers) I dug in each of my pavers so they were level with the ground. I made sure they were level, and then level with each other. Put down a tarp, and then cut into a circle just inside my pavers. Put down the foam. I tripled taped my seams. Then I cut it as well to form a circle. Pool ground cloth next. Then I put up my pool.

Fill your pool to just under where the skimmer will go before you cut your pool. The water will stretch out the vinyl, so you want it stretched before you cut.
 
  • Like
Reactions: changethursday
Solid plan. You’ll fill the pool to a few inches below where bottom of skimmer will be.

I found it easiest to install faceplate, cut liner using installed faceplate as a guide, remove faceplate and put the butterfly gasket on (intact, you don’t need to cut it in two) and then install skimmer. Takes just a few minutes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: changethursday
Welcome in. Most have already answered. The skimmer should be installed after you have begun filling. The reason is the walls will stretch as you fill. If you install before it can rip the vinyl around the screws. Also make sure you have the orientation right before doing the holes. I had mine turned wrong. Luckily the gasket covered them so no leaks. We also cut the gasket on the butterfly into two gaskets. We mounted everything up and then we cut the liner with an X-acto knife.

I didn’t put a tarp down at all. We put the foam directly on the packed dirt and pool on top. We get complimented all the time on the feel and I’m glad I did the extra expense.
 
  • Like
Reactions: changethursday

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
We did the same setup in this order
dirt. Foam ( taped) tarps pool

7B452582-097D-46DB-BAA6-313D4D60AFD6.jpeg
foam then intex tarp then another tarp

2F45CCB1-C6B6-417E-B10B-EF7530D6D8B8.jpeg4BA71358-0278-41DF-8B0B-56FD8B56EA94.jpegCA736752-0801-453E-B64C-D839AA063F46.jpeg
Added “ poor mans french drain” to drain water away from pool coming from sloped grass
1C041D84-5BB6-4A11-A26A-089E22903A4E.jpeg
We may have over estimated the size of the foam.


things I would do differently. If your tarp is big cut it or tuck under the pool.
We put the foam on top of the concrete pavers. We can feel a slight upslope where the pavers are under the pool. ( no big deal)

hope this helps
 
You want those pavers level with the surface your pool is on, so in this case, cut out the foam and sink the pavers enough to where top is level with foam.
 
  • Like
Reactions: changethursday
changethursday said:
Thanks y'all, I'm feeling pretty comfortable with the steps (thanks to your feedback!), but right now my issue just want to backfill Divots/low spots with. My excavated dirt is full of rocks and clay clods.
Click to expand...
So, to make sure I understand, your legs will be on top of dug in, perfectly level pavers, and you are just trying to deal with dips and divots that will keep the bottom of the pool from being smooth, correct?

You can use a thin layer of sand for this purpose, or foam (or both).

With my Intex, I have fairly sandy soil, so I didn’t use foam. I did level down to firmer soil, then smooth it out with sand, about 1-2 inches. Then I used a tarp, then gorilla pad, then pool. The bottom of the pool still had a few gentle dips, but not enough to really notice unless picky, and not enough to hamper the movement of my Intex auto cleaner.

Since you have rocky soil, I think you definitely want something like a gorilla pad to protect the liner.
 
kellyfair said:
So, to make sure I understand, your legs will be on top of dug in, perfectly level pavers, and you are just trying to deal with dips and divots that will keep the bottom of the pool from being smooth, correct?

You can use a thin layer of sand for this purpose, or foam (or both).

With my Intex, I have fairly sandy soil, so I didn’t use foam. I did level down to firmer soil, then smooth it out with sand, about 1-2 inches. Then I used a tarp, then gorilla pad, then pool. The bottom of the pool still had a few gentle dips, but not enough to really notice unless picky, and not enough to hamper the movement of my Intex auto cleaner.

Since you have rocky soil, I think you definitely want something like a gorilla pad to protect the liner.
Click to expand...
Correct! Just try to smooth out the bits that will be under the foam. It's probably overkill, but if theres a foam seam at a low area. The water pressure could split the taped seam and make a gap in the foam, Which Id want to avoid. I'm mainly trying to figure out which sand/dirt is best to buy that will compact nice and flat/firm without sifting away over time.
 
Hi All,

How even does the packed earth under the foam liner need to be? I'll be using 1 or 1.5" pink foam under the pool. its really hard to get this ground perfectly flat because of the nature of it to break up in clods instead of even, spreadable soil. I have slight high/low spots, all under 1/2". I'd think that the foam will compress some under the weight of the water and take up *some* of that.

Thoughts?
 
As long as your pavers are level, the surface inside the pool will be fine with those high/low spots.

Depending on how much the foam compresses, you may feel the edge of your pavers inside the pool. You don’t want your liner rubbing against paver edges.
 
  • Like
Reactions: changethursday

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply