Barb about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

[HDRockerCgirl]

Split from im-about-to-make-the-foundation-for-my-pool-any-tips-t63700.html Please start your own thread when you have a question. Thanks, Butterfly

Ah oh!!! I question the same thing! My plan was to use a sod cutter to attempt to level the area for 16x32 ultra frame (which I received on 6/7/13, still not up) and then shovel out any high spots. Well, my husband thought we could just use a walk behind bobcat, forget what it's called, skid something, but all that did was make gouges and didnt remove anything!! So then we rented the sod cutter which worked exactly like I thought it would. But, our ground was about 4" low on one end/corner, and ground was too hard and full of rocks to shovel that much. So hubby had a tri-axle dump some fill. It was supposed to be clean fill! There is more rocks, (asphalt chunks, concrete chunks, wood chucks, glass, shells and a water bottle) than what we started with! Seems odd to me to take dirt out then bring dirt in! IMO, thats a waste. My dad purchased a transit and we finally have it level within a 1/2". But hubby filled the whole area with the dirt. Renting a tamper tomorrow, we raked out piles of rocks and I'm sure we will rake out more after tamping. All that said, the fill is not above the grass except for in the one low corner. My thought is to cut 4x4x8 in half, put them together at 90 degree angle and pound some rebar into them and the ground to keep the fill contained. I'd appreciate any advice as to whether or not this will work. We are having a heat wave here in South Jersey and I am ready to go swimming!!

Also, my husband refuses to spend another $250 for the 1" extruded polystyrene panels. I thought I read some where here to use 2" panels for cheap at lowes, here they only carry 1, 3/4 & 1/2". The 1" is $15 each 4x8' panel! So we are compromising and trying to get the gorilla pad. No one around here sells it that I can find and it's going to take 8-10 days to get here if I order online! I'm going to call pcpools.com to see if they can overnight it. If not, So much for a July 4th BBQ pool party! If anyone knows where to get it quicker I'd, again, appreciate the info!

Thank you,
Barb

 

[Richard320]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Try the search box for level and sinking and so on. The google search waaaay at the lower left might work better.

 

[clambert1273]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

We used the 3/4" foam for the first time ever. I am so glad I did! The feel is better and their aren't any divets from the ground. We bought 8 sheers to go under the 14' ultra frame.

I left the legs sitting on it lining up with the pavers. When we started to fill I noticed the water going to one side and scratched my head. I just cut the foam out under half of the legs and it worked perfectly.

That stuff is strong.. We could walk on it and it wouldn't even leave a foot mark as I was taping it together. I would go for the extra expense and use it.


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[Casey]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Ah oh!!! I question the same thing! My plan was to use a sod cutter to attempt to level the area for 16x32 ultra frame (which I received on 6/7/13, still not up) and then shovel out any high spots. Well, my husband thought we could just use a walk behind bobcat, forget what it's called, skid something, but all that did was make gouges and didnt remove anything!! So then we rented the sod cutter which worked exactly like I thought it would. But, our ground was about 4" low on one end/corner, and ground was too hard and full of rocks to shovel that much. So hubby had a tri-axle dump some fill. It was supposed to be clean fill! There is more rocks, (asphalt chunks, concrete chunks, wood chucks, glass, shells and a water bottle) than what we started with! Seems odd to me to take dirt out then bring dirt in! IMO, thats a waste. My dad purchased a transit and we finally have it level within a 1/2". But hubby filled the whole area with the dirt. Renting a tamper tomorrow, we raked out piles of rocks and I'm sure we will rake out more after tamping. All that said, the fill is not above the grass except for in the one low corner. My thought is to cut 4x4x8 in half, put them together at 90 degree angle and pound some rebar into them and the ground to keep the fill contained. I'd appreciate any advice as to whether or not this will work. We are having a heat wave here in South Jersey and I am ready to go swimming!!

Also, my husband refuses to spend another $250 for the 1" extruded polystyrene panels. I thought I read some where here to use 2" panels for cheap at lowes, here they only carry 1, 3/4 & 1/2". The 1" is $15 each 4x8' panel! So we are compromising and trying to get the gorilla pad. No one around here sells it that I can find and it's going to take 8-10 days to get here if I order online! I'm going to call pcpools.com to see if they can overnight it. If not, So much for a July 4th BBQ pool party! If anyone knows where to get it quicker I'd, again, appreciate the info!

Thank you,
Barb

If you set the pool up on this site, the side of the pool on the low end that you filled in is going to sink. There is no amount of tamping you can do that will settle dirt days before a pool install... even if you try to conain the dirt/fill.

Bringing in a tri-axel of dirt is not an appropiate method of building up an AGP site. If you would have brought in crush/crusher/crush n run/2amodified w/limestone, you'd have much better results than the dirt/fill would ever give you. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news to a new & anxious pool owner.

 

[cramar]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I'm confused, you said your going to dig down the high side to level and then recycle that dirt as a pool base, so I don't see a problem with that.

 

[iknownothing]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I just completed my build two weeks ago using 1.5 inch polyboard from Menards. I used 9 sheets which were $13 a piece. Feels like I'm walking on memory foam, no rocks to puncture the liner and I just used the included tarp on top of the gorilla taped sheets, so no need to buy a heavy duty tarp for $60-$80 bucks. I HIGHLY recommend it. I'm also 6'4 265 and walking on the foam while setting it up didn't break it or leave imprints.

 

[HDRockerCgirl]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I'm confused, you said your going to dig down the high side to level and then recycle that dirt as a pool base, so I don't see a problem with that.

No, we felt that is was too large of an area to make level with low spot on the corner. So he spread the fill. We only took out sod. Just skimmed it off at the low end and about an inch at the high end. But it was so uneven that we had to spread the fill. I think our only saving grace is the fact that the fill came after a couple rainy days. It was a b***h to shovel and move in the wheelbarrow but think it was probably a good a thing.

I think I should mention that we didnt just cut the sod the size of the pool we cut 22 x 36-37'. I have also been going and wetting it down over the last 2 weeks while trying to rake out the rocks. I have only had an issue in the one corner with it being mushy. When this stuff dries it feels like concrete. So today I made some mud pies lol, and mixed in some of the dry dirt. It no longer feels like bay mud in between my toes. Another thing, at the corner where I have the issue, just 2 feet beyond that the ground goes high again! So I dumped some of the rocks I raked into that area to sort of bridge the gap. I soaked it all down again, its 93 degrees and sunny so I'm sure it will all harden. We are waiting until tomorrow to rent the tamper.

Btw, my hubby didnt want to risk not getting the gorilla pad in time so he caved and we are going to spend the money to get the EPS. BUT...he wants to get the 1/2". At least we won't feel stones and rocks now. TG for this forum, this is where I started before I even bought the pool. I tried arguing with hubby about how to do it, but you know how it goes, I'm a woman (a mechanically inclined one) and he's a man!!! I will keep you updated!!!

I'd still like to hear your ideas and or opinions.

Thanks again,
Barb

 

[HDRockerCgirl]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Like Casey says, you cant just dump 4" of fill and expect to put an AGP up a couple days later. I found this website that describes soil compaction and what to do to achieve it. Hope this helps some one. http://www.qrents.com/docs/compaction.htm

 

[willie1280]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I assume if you use the foam that the pavers you use under your legs should be level with the top of the foam....righ?

 

[iknownothing]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Yes, I used inch and a half foam to match the inch and half pavers, just cut out the foam with a heavy duty razor knife.

 

[HDRockerCgirl]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Today we rented the hammer type tamper and it seemed to have worked but it did make the dirt loose on top so he went over it again. Raked out rocks twice today! We are going to tape the EPS together first thing in the morning and then begin putting the pool up! Wish me luck! :lol:

Thanks,
Barb

For anyone wondering the best way to fill a pool and get clean water.... We called our clerks office to inquire about the fire co. Filling it. The woman on the phone said that she has a pool and if the fire co. Fills it, it will be with dirty water. (DAH...they don't use good water to out out fires) and it will take forever to clear it up and more money. So we then called the water co. We have city water, they said it was $5.90 per 1,000 gallons. So for under $100 we get clean water. It may take a couple days to fill it but at least we will be able to swim as soon as its full.

 

[Casey]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

[ I think I should mention that we didnt just cut the sod the size of the pool we cut 22 x 36-37'. I have also been going and wetting it down over the last 2 weeks while trying to rake out the rocks. I have only had an issue in the one corner with it being mushy. When this stuff dries it feels like concrete. So today I made some mud pies lol, and mixed in some of the dry dirt. It no longer feels like bay mud in between my toes. Another thing, at the corner where I have the issue, just 2 feet beyond that the ground goes high again! So I dumped some of the rocks I raked into that area to sort of bridge the gap. I soaked it all down again, its 93 degrees and sunny so I'm sure it will all harden. We are waiting until tomorrow to rent the tamper.

You do realize that you can not stop Mother Nature from down pouring onto that pool site nor will you ever keep it dry. Even with adding gravel and rocks, that low side is going to sink once you start filling the pool and adding weight. Do you understand that each gallon of water weighs 8 lbs? If your pool is 10,000 gallons it's going excert 80,000 lbs of pressure on wet, soft, squishy ground. :|

 

[HDRockerCgirl]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

[ I think I should mention that we didnt just cut the sod the size of the pool we cut 22 x 36-37'. I have also been going and wetting it down over the last 2 weeks while trying to rake out the rocks. I have only had an issue in the one corner with it being mushy. When this stuff dries it feels like concrete. So today I made some mud pies lol, and mixed in some of the dry dirt. It no longer feels like bay mud in between my toes. Another thing, at the corner where I have the issue, just 2 feet beyond that the ground goes high again! So I dumped some of the rocks I raked into that area to sort of bridge the gap. I soaked it all down again, its 93 degrees and sunny so I'm sure it will all harden. We are waiting until tomorrow to rent the tamper.

You do realize that you can not stop Mother Nature from down pouring onto that pool site nor will you ever keep it dry. Even with adding gravel and rocks, that low side is going to sink once you start filling the pool and adding weight. Do you understand that each gallon of water weighs 8 lbs? If your pool is 10,000 gallons it's going excert 80,000 lbs of pressure on wet, soft, squishy ground. :|

 

[HDRockerCgirl]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

You do realize that you can not stop Mother Nature from down pouring onto that pool site nor will you ever keep it dry. Even with adding gravel and rocks, that low side is going to sink once you start filling the pool and adding weight. Do you understand that each gallon of water weighs 8 lbs? If your pool is 10,000 gallons it's going excert 80,000 lbs of pressure on wet, soft, squishy ground. :|[/quote]


Thank you. What is your suggestion to remedy the situation?

 

[Casey]

im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I believe I told you earlier to dig down from your lowest point and not fill in. I believe you went against that advice and brought a triaxle of dirt/fill in. I did not give you the advice to pick on you. I gave it to you because this is the way it's done. You can not fill in a pool site with dirt and erect an above ground pool! You have to remove the high side by starting at the lowest point.

My advice still stands. Good luck. Post pics when you're done!

 

[ouachita]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Casey is correct.

 

[HDRockerCgirl]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I didn't think anyone was picking on me. I totally understand what you all are saying. But like I said I can only argue with my husband for so long. I am woman he is man. I did not go against what you suggested, I had posted what already happened. Hoping that there was possibly something that could be done. I try to go out there and compact it, wet it, rake it....anything to try to make it work thats why i mentioned about cutting a 4x4 and bracing up the corner, because I know he is still putting up the pool with or without me. When I mentioned the triaxle it was because it was already done. No matter how much I baulk he thinks I don't know what I am talking about. I am mechanically inclined and even though I have never done this before, everything I have read here makes total sense to me. The only thing I can do at this point is sit back and watch everything I told him (that I read here on TFP) was going to happen, happen. I told him all of this before we put shovel 1 in the ground. That's why I told him that it was a waste to take dirt out and then bring dirt in. I keep hoping for a miracle & hope he sees this before the first person gets in the pool!

Btw I also forward all of this to my dad, he is helping. My hands are tied. I still say thank you to you, and thank you to TFP.

This was my original post:

Ah oh!!! I question the same thing! My plan was to use a sod cutter to attempt to level the area for 16x32 ultra frame (which I received on 6/7/13, still not up) and then shovel out any high spots. Well, my husband thought we could just use a walk behind bobcat, forget what it's called, skid something, but all that did was make gouges and didnt remove anything!! So then we rented the sod cutter which worked exactly like I thought it would. But, our ground was about 4" low on one end/corner, and ground was too hard and full of rocks to shovel that much. So hubby had a tri-axle dump some fill. It was supposed to be clean fill! There is more rocks, (asphalt chunks, concrete chunks, wood chucks, glass, shells and a water bottle) than what we started with! Seems odd to me to take dirt out then bring dirt in! IMO, thats a waste. My dad purchased a transit and we finally have it level within a 1/2". But hubby filled the whole area with the dirt. Renting a tamper tomorrow, we raked out piles of rocks and I'm sure we will rake out more after tamping. All that said, the fill is not above the grass except for in the one low corner. My thought is to cut 4x4x8 in half, put them together at 90 degree angle and pound some rebar into them and the ground to keep the fill contained. I'd appreciate any advice as to whether or not this will work. We are having a heat wave here in South Jersey and I am ready to go swimming!!

Also, my husband refuses to spend another $250 for the 1" extruded polystyrene panels. I thought I read some where here to use 2" panels for cheap at lowes, here they only carry 1, 3/4 & 1/2". The 1" is $15 each 4x8' panel! So we are compromising and trying to get the gorilla pad. No one around here sells it that I can find and it's going to take 8-10 days to get here if I order online! I'm going to call pcpools.com to see if they can overnight it. If not, So much for a July 4th BBQ pool party! If anyone knows where to get it quicker I'd, again, appreciate the info!

Thank you,
Barb

 

[clambert1273]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Well first I would say if my husband didnt want to listen to me or had a caveman attitude of "I am man".... I would let him do what he wants and the first sign of sinking I would let him have it.

My husband knows better ... He just follows my orders lol I bet Casey would be the same way lol

Or just smack em


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[Casey]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

Barb. Let him have at it then. Wash your hands, put the rake n shovel down and grab a beer or something.

This is a lot of work. My husband won't pick a shovel up because it is too much for him to envision what I am doing. He yells *You're digging to China!!!* You seriously need to take a look at my build in progress. It's the only way to do it right. Believe me when I tell you digging down 22" to find level is NOT my idea of fun but having a pool requires that I do it right. Those Intex rectangular pools are not cheap and neither is the Sharkline I bought that's in a million pieces sitting in the garage.

Your husband is about to learn a very valuble lesson when it comes to playing in the dirt. Just sit back n let the *Man* do it! Hubs bows his head when I tell him I told ya sooooo!

Some random pics to look at...









You can look at my build here...

rounding-the-corner-to-a-new-pool-build-t56134.html

This was 3 years of planning, him hawing and dreaming. My husband had no input on this build because he didn't want or need a pool. He had just said, Do what you want baby.

P.S.... I lost 4 days to rain. I could have been out there and it figures, the 2 days I had off it rained and rained and rained. I can't even step on the site without my boots picking up 3" of mud. :grrrr:

 

[Casey]

Re: im about to make the foundation for my pool, any tips?

I didn't think anyone was picking on me. I totally understand what you all are saying. But like I said I can only argue with my husband for so long. I am woman he is man. I did not go against what you suggested, I had posted what already happened. Hoping that there was possibly something that could be done. I try to go out there and compact it, wet it, rake it....anything to try to make it work thats why i mentioned about cutting a 4x4 and bracing up the corner, because I know he is still putting up the pool with or without me. When I mentioned the triaxle it was because it was already done. No matter how much I baulk he thinks I don't know what I am talking about. I am mechanically inclined and even though I have never done this before, everything I have read here makes total sense to me. The only thing I can do at this point is sit back and watch everything I told him (that I read here on TFP) was going to happen, happen. I told him all of this before we put shovel 1 in the ground. That's why I told him that it was a waste to take dirt out and then bring dirt in. I keep hoping for a miracle & hope he sees this before the first person gets in the pool!

Btw I also forward all of this to my dad, he is helping. My hands are tied. I still say thank you to you, and thank you to TFP.

I think I may have you confused with another poster who did the very thing your husband just did. They lifted the sod n leveled it out and then dumped 10 tons of fill and I was like No You Didn't! I'm sorry. When I read you had one come in, I thought it was you.

Talk about making more work... I got some dirt if he wants it!