I do know a little about that Dan. I heard a couple of years ago that Doughboy had this new plan where if you followed their instructions they would warranty a wall installed in the ground. Before, it has always been that if you install an above round pool in the ground you void the warranty on the wall. It was still done on a regular basis so Doughboy found a way of doing it that would not subject the wall to early rust. There were two major problems with their plan. The slurry was very expensive. To some what compensate for this they were telling their customers to dig the hole six inches larger than the pool size, install the pool and then backfill with this slurry stuff.
The Slurry mix was similar to what we use to surface the bottoms of in ground vinyl pools. It is part Zonalite, sand, concrete and water.
The problem I had with that plan was I need 3’ of working room around the outside of the pool to be able to install it correctly. In other words, to install an 18’ pool I need a 24’ hole. To backfill that size area with slurry is somewhat cost prohibitive.
I am glad to hear that is no longer on their web site. I have always liked my plan better. Installing an above ground pool in the ground, not a problem. You need to be fully aware that above ground pools are not structurally self sustaining in the ground without water in the pool. They do make in ground vinyl pools that are and they cost three times as much. Point is, always keep the pool full of water. If left empty the wall will collapse from the weight of the soil around it. You also need to keep the water level of the pool at least 6â€