3" sand layer questions

[boguesmom]

Because we are rebuilding our base on a site that washed out on one side, a contractor friend and hubby thought they could merely build a new base and then put 3" more sand on the site and level from there. They realize now that they got ahead of themselves and forgot to locate all the buried base pavers which may work their way up and compromise the liner, and covered the entire site with more sand covering the pads. Thankfully the dog dug by one of the pads and they remembered that step. Now we are taking the 3 " of sand out, so we can dig out those pads. In this part of the process, we are finding that the side opposite the washout had washed IN a good bit of sand, and it appears to have also further compacted the original sand underneath the new layer. Now we are pretty sure we HAVE to dig down to that high side to find our pads and begin with the leveling process THERE. Instructions and videos say once you have all the pads level, you lay a 3-inch layer of sifted sand above the base. The temptation is to leave that deposited albeit compacted 3 inches on that side and save some work. BUT because it is compacted, am I correct that we need to dig that high side out so the entire area base is level and has a NEW 3" layer of SIFTED sand before wetting and tamping? We are not looking forward to this part, since we doing and now REDOING all the work ourselves. We would LOVE NOT to have to do that extra half of digging out. So I am just double-checking to make sure that is unavoidable. Even the instruction videos say to dig out the high spots and DO NOT just add sand on the low spots to prevent shifting and damage in the future. So hopefully we are correct in treating that compacted washed-in sand as a "high spot" Any insight on this digging part is appreciated.

 

[boguesmom]

We are replacing our above-ground pool with the same pool but because we are rebuilding our base on a site that washed out on one side, a contractor & hubby thought they could merely build a new base and then put 3" more sand on the site and level from there. They forgot about making it even with the established deck. Once they considered that, they realize now that they got ahead of themselves and forgot to locate all the buried base pavers which were the appropriate height for the deck (if they have not been compromised and worked their way up or down.) Thankfully the dog who was enjoying the new sand pile dug by one of the pads and they remembered that step. Now we are taking the added sand out so we can dig out those pads. In this part of the process, we are finding that the site is uneven and the side opposite the washout had washed IN a good bit of sand, and it appears to have also further compacted the original sand underneath the new layer. Now we are pretty sure we HAVE to dig down that high side to find our pads and begin with the leveling process THERE at the pqads and that requires digign out the original sand. Or does it? The instructions and videos say once you have all the pads level, you lay a 3-inch layer of sifted sand above the base. The temptation is to leave that deposited albeit compacted 3 inches on that side and save some work. BUT because it is compacted, am I correct that we need to dig that high side out so the entire area base is level and has a NEW 3" layer of SIFTED sand before wetting and tamping? We are not looking forward to this part, since we doing and now REDOING all the work ourselves. We would LOVE NOT to have to do that extra half of digging out. So I am just double-checking to make sure that is unavoidable. Even the instruction videos say to dig out the high spots and DO NOT just add sand on the low spots to prevent shifting and damage in the future. So hopefully we are correct in treating that compacted washed-in sand as a "high spot" Any insight on this digging part is appreciated.

 

[Mdragger88]

You want the 3” sand layer on top of virgin ground- not old compacted sand.

 

[Mdragger88]

What caused your washout problem?
You want to ensure that you have adequate drainage around & away from the pool. This may mean installing a French drain to divert water away.

 

[Mdragger88]

Lets ask @kellyfair about her install of that pool in sandy fl.

 

[boguesmom]

You want the 3” sand layer on top of virgin ground- not old compacted sand.

Thank you.

 

[kellyfair]

I totally would dig down to fresh undisturbed solid ground. I know it’s extra work but you want this pool up and stable for YEARS to come, so don’t take short cuts. My story is pretty similar - we installed partly over a former pool’s site, so it was partly compacted, but we had our installer scrape all that away to get to new fresh solid layer.