QUESTION about countersinking above ground 2 ft

[brianandra]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone could help me out. I am from northern Ontario in Canada and am looking at countersinking my above ground pool. I have a 10 year old pool and am looking at countersinking my pool 2ft into the ground. I am looking at any feed back as to if anyone has attempted this and what the results were.

Thanks

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP

There have been many people do it, most of the time the warranty is voided, there are a few pools that are not (doughboy is one that is fine burying).. I have never heard of anyone doing it with a 10 year old pool though... If the pool is backfilled with dirt up to the sides it must not be emptied or it could collapse the walls...

Here is a great build Burying Our Doughboy

and here is some more
https://www.google.com/search?sitesearch=www.troublefreepool.com&q=doughboy&submit.x=7&submit.y=13&gws_rd=ssl#safe=off&q=doughboy+buried+site:www.troublefreepool.com

 

[tx4trauma]

I recessed my 27' round, 52" deep pool one and a half feet below grade so as when we built our deck the decking boards slid right up under the top lip of the pool. My yard had a little slope that went from the front of pool to the back which resulted around a 3-4 inch drop. I added a foot to digging out the diameter of the pool to make sure I had plenty of room for the outer pool supports. We rented a sod cutter going a good 2 inchs in to start for removing to top layer of sod of course. We had plenty of friends who took advantage of this free sod to get it out of our way. Next, the sod cutter was used to cut a good 3 inchs into the hard compact dirt making it easier to scoop up with a shovel. We used a wheel barrel to transfer dirt to another location in the yard. We just kept cutting and shoveling until we reached our desire depth. We also had a neighbor who let us use his laser level which made getting our dig out spot perfectly level. Our depth needed to have pool lip at decking board height also included a good 1.5-2 inch added sand base for a smooth bottom. This dig took our family a good week doing it all by hand. It would have been well worth spending what ever the cost to rent a bobcat(just a guess, maybe $200-$400) to have done the dig out in a hour or so.

 

[Casey]

I know woody did his and it's still going. But he lives in Texas. I'm sure other northerners have done it successfully but it does void the warranty.

 

[mbuice]

Howdy!

My pool is buried 2 feet and it is the best thing we ever did. That being said, what kind of pool do you have?

Also I live in Texas, but I think in the north you have more to worry about when it comes to frost heave.

I think that if it's something that you want to try you should go for it, the people on this site are amazing and will be able to talk you through any snags you may hit.

 

[jason176]

I have a 24' saltwater 8000, warranty good to sink the pool halfway. I put a French drain and a sump pit around it just to be safe.

 

[Zindar]

My first AGP, a 12' x 24' with A frames was sunk 2 feet in the ground, with a wooden deck entirely surrounding it on all sides, so that no earth was piled against the pool. The pump and filter were under that deck, and I had a little door I used to crawl through (from the side, at ground level) to work on the equipment I could sit on the ground under there with my head up and work on stuff.

Since then, I've decided to keep my equipment out in the open (on my current pool, which is an 18 foot round pool), so I don't have to crawl around anymore.

Back then I had a guy come over with a big backhoe to excavate those 2 feet. In Texas, the first two feet are way easier to dig out then the solid rock that lies underneath, so the guy did it for a reasonable price.