lookin for ideas on what to do with the mud pit

[lookin4pain]

so the time has come and I've packed up my Intex pool for the winter and now I am left with a 20' mud pit in my backyard. I'm looking for ideas on how to keep the space decent over the winter and still be able to put the pool up come next year.

my original thought was to lay gravel down, pavers on the outside of the circle and have some seating with a firepit in the middle for the off season but the gravel won't play nice with the pool when I put it back up. I was looking into pea gravel or sand, though I'm concerned about how that will track around the yard with dogs and doing the lawn...

any ideas?

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, lookin4pain

Where do you live?

This won't work for this year, but many people in my area (MN) have kept there metal frame intex's up over the winter without any apparent issues.

 

[lookin4pain]

Thanks for the welcome. I live up in Oregon, not far from Portland.
I thought about leaving it up but was uncertain about how well it would handle the cold.

 

[Dtmos01]

got mine taken down for the year and I staked down a tarp so the dog won't bring in the mud!

 

[lookin4pain]

I have a blue tarp over the pit now. I suppose it wouldn't look as bad if I put a green one down though I prefer to not have one down at all if I can.

 

[1380ken]

You could go get some sod/grass and roll it out. It wont take much to cover the pool spot. Even if it dies it will still be better than mud.

 

[lookin4pain]

Thanks, but I don't want to have to dig up that sod again if I can help it.

I read that someone else uses pea gravel in the winter and a tarp on the gravel in the summer. I'm wondering if a gorilla pad would help over the gravel also

 

[duraleigh]

any ideas?

Can you create drainage? If you give water a path, it will be most happy to go away from the "pit".

 

[lookin4pain]

ok I was going to post a pic of the area but I don't have a place to store it and link to.

as for draining goes, I can setup a ditch to drain, but that doesn't really help with having a mud pit in the back yard as I live in a state with rain roughly 9 months out of the year, give or take a few months... I also have two dogs who will likely find their way into the pit because, well playing in mud is fun!

I can't imagine I'm the first person who wants to do something with the empty space left behind from an AGP.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

ok I was going to post a pic of the area but I don't have a place to store it and link to.

as for draining goes, I can setup a ditch to drain, but that doesn't really help with having a mud pit in the back yard as I live in a state with rain roughly 9 months out of the year, give or take a few months... I also have two dogs who will likely find their way into the pit because, well playing in mud is fun!

I can't imagine I'm the first person who wants to do something with the empty space left behind from an AGP.

Photobucket works great for pics...

I like the idea of sand or pea gravel and I think that a thick pad would protect the pool each year when it gets put up.

 

[duraleigh]

Well, one more post about drainage. Water flows from high to low (duh )

Without a lower place for the water to go, it will remain in the pit until it is absorbed into the ground .....despite whatever sand or gravel topping you use. Give it a path to lower elevation and it will follow.

 

[lookin4pain]

wow, been along time since I have used photobucket. thanks for the info

yes, I understand the drainage process though my back yard is saturated throughout most of the rainy season as I sit at the bottom of a hill on 2 sides with a french drain at the low end

I'd like to lay some stones leading from my deck to the pool area and have a seating area out in the middle.

I will keep looking for info. Thanks for the help

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

Rubber mulch? It's not going to damage a liner and it keeps down the mud issues.

 

[duraleigh]

My experience with French drains is almost stunning they work so well.

Industrious project but you could consider a french drain the creates a cross in the pool and then goes to lower....probably outside that wall. Pretty cheap but a BIG labor-intensive investment. Not sure I could personally muster up the effort but it is always fun to suggest solutions to someone when you do not personally have to do any work.

 

[lookin4pain]

thanks lol
but maybe I should rename the thread to - what to do with the dirt circle after taking down the pool - as I'm not too concerned about the mud or drainage. I just wanted to create a seating area with a firepit and be able to put a pool on the same surface come next summer. preferably without the labor of diggin up the sod again or replacing stone with sand

the rubber mulch sounds like an interesting idea. will definitely have to look into that one

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

thanks lol
but maybe I should rename the thread to - what to do with the dirt circle after taking down the pool - as I'm not too concerned about the mud or drainage. I just wanted to create a seating area with a firepit and be able to put a pool on the same surface come next summer. preferably without the labor of diggin up the sod again or replacing stone with sand

the rubber mulch sounds like an interesting idea. will definitely have to look into that one

EDIT Rubber + Fire is a bad bad bad idea:
http://articles.kwch.com/2009-05-06/rub ... h_24078231

Without the firepit I would use this product for this area - but with the firepit I think you are asking for trouble. Pea gravel might be the best bet - particularly if you then add a pad over it.

 

[1380ken]

You could cover the area with patio blocks or pour a cement pad.

 

[Safetybob]

I would recommend one of two options since you have a nice looking, finished back yard. Option 1: a nice row of pavers or landscape concrete product that would serve as a nice base for the poles of the pool and nice pea gravel for your fire pit. You could also make paver pathways to the fire pit area additionally if you wanted. Option 2: As noted above, large or small pavers (multicolored for additional pop) to cover the entire area, that way your pool would have a nice base and during off pool times, you could place your fire pit and multiple chairs around the area for a nice recreational area.

If you went with complete paver coverage when you decide the pool thing is over (as the kids get older) then you will be left with a nice space for your fire pit or whatever. I think your idea of running pavers from the house area out there has high merit also. I like going out to the pool while walking on a solid surface.....I hate walking out in the grass to the pool due to possible land mine issues (german shepard here) and the grass trimmings that get into the pool.

Bob E.

 

[lookin4pain]

haha yes, landmines are a wonderful treat!!!

full out paver patio might be an option. I was trying to keep it simple in the event that we want to put grass back if/when we sell, but I have an image in my head that if it's nice enough, it could stay up like that and still be sellable. Where I live, pools aren't something people frequently have in their back yards and I believe it drives the prices down just a bit in fear of kids hurting themselves.

also, I thought that it wasn't good to have a pool on concrete without some sort of cushion between the concrete and the lining. maybe I misread that

ahh well, thanks for the ideas!!!

 

[techguy]

Seems like pavers would be a good deal. You can use the area as a patio or fire pit during the off season and when you are ready to move, you can market it as a patio or pull up the pavers and re-sod.