advise on my pool site

[griz07]

My wife & I decided on 18ft 52in deep metal frame pool
[h=1]Cornelius Pools Phoenix[/h]we live in a slightly rural area with ROCKY slooping land----the area we are installing the pool I had to take out about 2ft of soil on the upper slope to start getting it level (mind u I'm doing all this with my farm tractor,plow and scraper blade) its been a BEAR but right at the end I hope !! My first question is using a transit Im within 1/2in of level all the way around except in two spots, lets call them 3 oclock and 9 oclock facing the front or lower part of the evac site.....these 2 spots are about a inch lower, while I know u should never ADD to level but with the amount of HARD CLAY & ROCKS I have encountered would it be safe to "fill" these spots ???? with what ???? I REALLY dont want to have to start digging again !!! I have unearthed BOULDERS in this dig and would rather not have to dig up more !! I will be using foam cove and a sand bottom if that makes a difference.
2nd question, to use patio blocks under frame connectors or not ??????? Instructions with the pool didn't show them but I have read many different opinions !
I just discovered this website and I'm at a standstill for about a week with the rain we have coming thru......
Looking forward to some good input
on a side note about 30 years ago I put up a 24 ft Sears pool at a home I owned ......it was 3inches out of level and its still standing to this day-----I was younger, dumber and drank more beer back then

 

[gwegan]

Welcome to TFP

Yeah you shouldn't build up. And I'm telling you not to do it. But if we are talking an inch or less in isolated places. I would use "road base" I have no idea what they call it in rural VA but ask for that. Put if down high and damp. Compact with a hand tamper or mechanical compactor. Let sit for a week damping every day and shave down to level.

The instructions I find for you pool online show stones in step 37. Those appear to be general instructions. I like stones under braces but the must be level and evenly supported.

Have fun. Take it slow and drink a beer during and after each session. Don't let the pool do this

Oh my HS girlfriend lives in BV VA so it's a small world

 

[griz07]

Thanks, yea I know u should not build UP BUT with this ground & rock its not a simple thing as skimming off a inch.....u have to bust into it & start from scratch again ! Shovels run when shown this area ! We are in a 3 day period of rain right now so I may try the scraper blade again before it completely drys !
Have "A" beer between sessions ?? U done gone & took the fun out of it
Maybe I know your HS girlfriend ? My kids live in Calif...... ! except my 10 & 12 year stepsons.....hence the pool !

 

[CJadamec]

Check out the photos of my build. I'm very familiar with building into hills and moving boulders. I wouldn't be too worried bringing​ up an inch or two with road base (quarry process) that's carefully put down and compacted. I did a 6x6 worth of road base but it took a long time and was down for a couple weeks before the pool went up. Lots of compacting back and forth that was . The backhoe helped.

The pool builder needed a pick to dig down for the pavers. They are worth it to have even with tough ground.

The beers after a long day were definitely welcome.

 

[griz07]

Thanks, yea I know u should not build UP BUT with this ground & rock its not a simple thing as skimming off a inch.....u have to bust into it & start from scratch again ! Shovels run when shown this area ! We are in a 3 day period of rain right now so I may try the scraper blade again before it completely drys !
Have "A" beer between sessions ?? U done gone & took the fun out of it
Maybe I know your HS girlfriend ? My kids live in Calif...... ! except my 10 & 12 year stepsons.....hence the pool !

 

[TomGallopavo]

We were in a very similar situation. Dug out about 18 inches with the tractor, tons of rocks, sucked. When we got close to level we went to the quarry and got ag lime. I don't know what they call it out there but if you get it close to level and it gets rained on it turns into solid rock. We put about 3 inches down, tamped it with a rental, then got it perfectly level with 2x4 and metal bar. Then we put in and leveled the pavers. We used foam though and not sand. I love beer, like a lot but I would wait till your done. The leveling is the most important and frustrating part.

 

[griz07]

Got LUCKY today ! Between rain showers I set the transit & recorded measurements all way around, I think the soil had just enough moisture to move easier without being soupy. Tilted the scraper blade about 20 degrees & worked the higher areas SLOWLY.......back scraped it to smooth out the ruts from the tractor and got it within HALF A INCH on a 20ft circle !

 

[CJadamec]

Love it when a plan comes together. When it comes to install you should have no problems getting the pavers perfectly level which will intern make your top rail sit level. Slap some sand (or foam if you are going that route) and your liner will sit nice and pretty.

 

[griz07]

thinking of going with the foam....butt the square ends and trim the curved ones to fit tight to the rail,,then TAPE then use the foam cove-------besides with all the work on the site last thing I want is to wheel 3-4 tons of sand uphill to the site !

 

[CJadamec]

I have sand but my builder trucked it to the site in Amazon dump and did all the work of spreading it. Before I had a decided to let a builder put up the pool I strongly considered foam. Either way both work well. Foam is lighter but costs a lot more.