Finally Getting A Pool! How long for ground settling?

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LegendsCreek

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Mar 20, 2017
25
Foster, RI
Hi everyone!

I am new here though I was reading for several months leading up to the decision we made to purchase an in ground pool.

We bought a 20x36 kafko vinyl pool. They are beginning excavation in a week or two, weather permitting. We are having it installed at our 50 acre farm, behind one of the workshop buildings. We are installing a 400k BTU Hayward propane heater, a saltwater system from Hayward with auto PH as well, and wifi and also tying in our 500K BTU wood boiler so we can use it as an option when we don't want to waste propane.

We run a small bed and breakfast and are going to allow some guests to use the pool so timing is important for us. Our busy season starts in May and though we have been warned about coping/concrete and need for the ground to settle first, we also heard there are options available for people who can't wait 2-6 months.

We need to complete the project before summer, including stamped concrete hardscape. The installer said we can backfill the area around the pool with different material other than dirt to minimize settling and that there is equipment we can rent to compact the ground, as well as driving the excavator over it. We also were told that we can run a sprinkler constantly for a week or two to help it settle.

I am hoping for some advice. We want to make sure we do this right, and that we can get it completed and ready in time for our guests. I am looking forward to being able to use this forum for the many, many questions I will have going forward.
 
Hi. If you use gravel you can pour your decking right away. They will compact the gravel and it will be solid. If you do dirt, running the sprinklers is a great idea. I backfilled with dirt and we had a huge rainstorm two weeks later and the settling was amazing. Another heavy storm after that and a tiny bit more but most of it occured after the first storm. The sprinklers will flood the area and it will settle nicely. It's the water working its way through the dirt so no need to worry it's not a heavy rain. I personally didn't see any noticeable settling after the first two storms. I waited until the next spring to put pavers in but this was a budget related reason. Looking back I'd have no problem doing it my first year if I had the funds. The gravel will cost you but given your situation it may be worth it. There is a specific gravel pool builders use so somene can speak to that. One note on the dirt, if you use it, when it rains it will of couse puddle and then splash...dirty water into the pool. No big deal as you just filter it out over the course of a day or two. But know that no compactor will ever do what water can to settle that volume of dirt and I wouldn't substitue it for water (sprinklers are a good sub for large volumes of rain). Good luck!
 
Dave is correct #57 rock will work well and can often be paved over immediately. But you need to talk to a local concrete contractor or three would be better and ask what they do and how they do it. You don't want to give a yard a spec and then find out it costs a small fortune but the local equivalent is something else.

If you replace the native dirt you should install in lifts. 6 to eight inches compacting and wetting down as you go. You can do this yourself. Just a lift a day over a week or longer and you will have well compacted backfill. I try an put sand in the trenches and around the pipes but then my house is built on mining tailings.
 
We backfilled the entire pool with gravel and laid a nice deep depth of gravel for the concrete base. It was worth the extra cost and minimized the worry about settling and concrete cracking. We laid concrete about 35 days after the pool was complete due to rain delays.
 
I forgot to ask this in my first question, but where I live we have extremely rocky soil. My town used to be on a glacier so all the rocks were dumped here millions of years ago. As such, I will have plenty of "clean fill". Rather than excavate for the pool and fill in the hole and sides with 100% gravel, could I put a few feet of rocks and small boulders from the property in there, and then put the gravel on top? This will save me a LOT of $$ on material. Thanks a lot!
 
LegendsCreek said:
I forgot to ask this in my first question, but where I live we have extremely rocky soil. My town used to be on a glacier so all the rocks were dumped here millions of years ago. As such, I will have plenty of "clean fill". Rather than excavate for the pool and fill in the hole and sides with 100% gravel, could I put a few feet of rocks and small boulders from the property in there, and then put the gravel on top? This will save me a LOT of $$ on material. Thanks a lot!
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Probably not. Gravel in the right size will fill the hole and not need compacting. It won't settle. Normally this kind of stone is called something like #11 or #11B, fill stone or stone chips depending on where you are. The spaces between the larger rocks would allow gravel and soil to migrate down causing settling of the surface which removes support from your deck.
 
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