I will be putting up a new 16 foot 52 inch above gound pool next month at our new house. I was pondering the idea of putting the black landscaping fabric down under the pool before we lay down the sand to keep weeds and grass from growing up through the liner. I would like to use the black fabric that will allow water to drain through but will prohibit vegetation from growing through. It this a good or bad idea. Let me know your thoughts.
Landscaping fabric under pool?
- Thread starter imalittleturt
- Start date
It's a good idea from my knowledge.
A ground fabric should be used whenever putting a different material on the soil to prevent mixing of the materials. This happens every time the ground freezes in the winter. And then as you says it also prevents weeds from growing. But moslty for not mixing the materials. Weeds can't come through a thick layer of compact sand or macadam bed generally.
A ground fabric should be used whenever putting a different material on the soil to prevent mixing of the materials. This happens every time the ground freezes in the winter. And then as you says it also prevents weeds from growing. But moslty for not mixing the materials. Weeds can't come through a thick layer of compact sand or macadam bed generally.
I'm sure in favor of that, but I'm also not confident at all that it will prevent nutgrass from growing through it. If you want peace of mind, sprinkle some Zapzit or similar product on the soil before you add the ladscaping fabric.
budster said:
Budster is correct. We used the black fabric under our intex pool one summer, without treating chemically for vegetation, and by mid-summer had a lovely little bed of 'seagrass' (aka nutgrass) at the bottom of the pool. It did not leak until DD decided to do a bit of gardening and pulled the weeds!
- Feb 27, 2009
- 30
It sounds like a good idea to use. Anything extra that protects, and it should save on the weeding around it (somewhat).
In our area, some people use it, some don't. Our installer the Zapzit crystals that kill weeds long term. We also dug down the deep end far enough into the clay to get below the root line of most plants (though not mesquite trees- not that weed fabric would bother them anyways). He also put a layer of plastic under the sand to create a barrier to material mixing, but it was heavy painters plastic, not fabric, and he could not put it on the slope from the shallow to deep end as the sand would not stay on the plastic slope. The he put tar paper - the stuff that is used on roofs under shingles. Then the sand went on top of that. The tar paper and plastic are not just for weeds, but also to prevent burrowing critters (moles, gophers, etc) from coming up under the liner. See pictures below.
I have a friend who has had an AGP for many years. When they did their liner replacement last year, they used the weed fabric. Their liner was 8 years old, and for the last couple years of its life they had been patching weed holes. I guess we will see what happens as time goes on. I use the thick high quality weed fabric in my garden, and have learned that some weeds can grow in anything.
I thought about putting plastic or fabric under the rocks that lay around the perimeter of the pool, but from experience know that bermuda grass will still grow in it, so that area will just get treated with round up several times a year.
I have a friend who has had an AGP for many years. When they did their liner replacement last year, they used the weed fabric. Their liner was 8 years old, and for the last couple years of its life they had been patching weed holes. I guess we will see what happens as time goes on. I use the thick high quality weed fabric in my garden, and have learned that some weeds can grow in anything.
I thought about putting plastic or fabric under the rocks that lay around the perimeter of the pool, but from experience know that bermuda grass will still grow in it, so that area will just get treated with round up several times a year.
