Questions on Above Ground pool Set up.

[chuck]

Getting ready to set up my above ground oval pool 18' X 30" 4 feet tall - walls are aluminium roll one piece and all around decking. The ground is cleared of sod and just a little more leveling to do. I have a few questions.

1.) Is it true that the patio blocks for the up rights should not be on sand?
2.) Is the sand only suspose to be on the inside of the pool walls?
3) Does 3 yards of sand sound right for my size pool?
4.) whats the best way to get it inside of the pool? (just shovel it over the wall? I say this because if the patio upright blocks are not suspose to be on sand - I have set up the pool walls first and then put the sand inside - is my understanding)
5.) Would it be best to use a "happy bottom" product vs. sand? (I would think you would still feel rocks through that)
6.) Should I use a foam cove instead of sand?
7) Is it easy to put a foam cove on an oval shaped pool?

I once set up a 15 round cheapy resin ( I believe Pool) it was very easy just put a little sand on the bottom and did sand cove. But this new pool I got has be confused in the areas above.

Thank you for your time and help
Chuck

 

[matt4x4]

sand is not a good medium to build anything on, it does not carry weight well, rather, it disperses under weight, that's why building footings in Florida is such a nightmare, the only way to support things in sand is to use very long deep footings - usually sono tube style foundations.
If your soils is very sandy, I recommend going big with your patio stones - to help disperse the weight to become less lbs/sq inch.
Yes, the sand is only supposed to be inside the pool, it is primarily there to give you a smooth - no rock, no sharp objects floor.
3 yds is good, you should get about 2" cover out of that, but if your sub soil has larger sharp rocks etc, you may need a thicker coat of sand do make sure it's all covered well.
I had mine dumped relatively central with a bobcat before assembling the pool - also dragged my liner box in there before assy.
I find happy bottom to be pretty thin and would still use sand under it - really, HB is not necessary. it's a personal preference thing.
I built a sand cove, a larger than recommended sand cove and am really happy with it - word of advice here, tape a 2 foot wide length of vapor barrier about 1 foot up the wall, lay it flush down the wall and across the floor, then spread your sand onto it and also build your cove on that, it'll stop any sort of possible washout from rain or leaks.

Never worked with foam cove, can't comment on last question. Although, I didn't go that route because I was recommended from almost everyone I asked to use sand, not foam.

 

[chuck]

Thanks Matt, not to sound dumb but what exactly would "tape a 2 foot wide length of vapor barrier about 1 foot up the wall" be made out of? any name brands or where I could get it?

 

[haze]

Vapor barrier is 4-5 mil plastic sheeting, available at any home center.

 

[matt4x4]

vap barrier

Up here in Canada - Code specs are 6 mil for Vapor barrier, but 4-5 mil will also work - it's clear plastic sheet a little thicker than good ziplock bags - just a whole lot larger - I think you can even get it in 2 foot wide rolls - I just cut my typical 8 foot stuff I had lying around into 2 foot strips.

 

[NWMNMom]

I did exactly the same as Matt did with our oval pool, the larger cove, vapor barrier, etc. We are very happy with the results. We used a tractor with loader bucket to dump the sand in after walls were up but then not everyone has their own tractor. Liner box was sitting on raised loader bucket when the time came to put it on.

BTW, make SURE the Masons sand is just that - very fine, screened sand. The place we ordered from did not screen as well as they should have and we had to pick rocks out GRRR. We paid premium price beforehand too. We made sure EVERYONE knew we had been gypt on that, word of mouth advertising and whatnot.