Hey guys, I posted here last summer about thinking about putting an above ground pool on top of the location that used to have an in-ground pool.
Long story short, house was a foreclosure, bank pulled the in ground pool, filled it in, backyard has been a mess since. We bought the house about 3 months after the pool was removed. That was back in the summer of 2012.
Last year I used some topsoil and leveled out the area above the deep-end. I purposely put one end of the roughly 15ft diameter area above where the original concrete deck was (figuring it was more solid than the "deep end" was considering it was filled in). I then put a 15ft Intex "Easy-Set" inflatable ring pool on that 15ft circle. My thoughts were I wanted to know how much it was possibly going to "settle" given the weight of all that water.
Well, for the 3 months it was up it only "settled" about an inch from one side to the other. So, that was pretty encouraging so we decided to go do "final plan" for this year...
That being a 22ft x 52 inch Intex Ultra Frame pool where the "deep end" was, along with a paver patio/deck around the pool and replacing the entire space the previous in-ground pool and concrete deck had. The total space is 52ft long (with a 14ft radius on one end and rounded 4ft radius corners on the other end) by 28ft wide with a 3ft coping around the pool itself. The materials are Holland pavers 4"x8"x2-5/8". In all it is around 5400 pavers total, with almost a ton of polymeric sand along with 240ft of edging.
Now, the big "concern" is in regards to putting 87,000lbs of water over a "filled in" in-ground pool. I am planning to remove all the topsoil that was added, but I know the "fill" used was not only the original pool concrete, but also almost all "rough fill" in the way of stone and rock, with a progressively smaller grade going to about 3/4" aggregate at the top before top-soil was added. I am almost positive there was no "compacting" of the fill-in, but with the limited amount of settling last summer with all the weight of a 15ft diameter x 48" deep pool on top it would have to be fairly well dealt with, wouldn't it?
I mean I plan on buying a plate compactor, already have a skid steer ready to be loaned from a friend and I plan on just removing all the topsoil and then compacting what is there for about 20 passes a day for at least 3-4 days straight to leave me with a final "grade" of what I am going to have to deal with. The fill plan is 3/4" aggregate up until there is 6" left to be filled, then 4 inches of 1/4" traffic-bond (basically 1/4" limestone with limestone dust) that would be compacted every half inch, then laying the pavers. Once the traffic-bond gets wet and takes a set with the weight on top it basically becomes hard like concrete. That along with the polymeric sand should seal the surface of the pavers to allow for a very solid patio/coping.
As for the pool location I do plan to use 16"x16"x4" concrete paver blocks to "build-up" the footings for the pool supports, so it is not like the pool footings will be small pavers. I plan on having them all level and at the same height as the Holland paver bricks are installed from, so the pool will be "sunk" into the patio the same height as the Holland pavers. I plan on using a gorilla pad or even insulation panels as a base for the pool on top of the traffic-bond.
Now, does anyone with more experience than I have (which is basically nil on a project as such) have any input on any better way to approach this build?
Ultimately I plan on taking down the pool in the fall and building a removeable deck to take it's place with a fire-pit in the center so we can enjoy the patio in the winter months as well... That is the plan anyways, as it may be overkill and just better to not worry about the the pool location with the rest of the patio being so large. I just figure if I can have something sitting in it's place throughout winter it would be better protected than it just becoming a skating rink if it fills with water (also safer for my kids that ultimately play in the backyard in winter as well).
Any and all input is welcome (and please, not just a "it's a bad idea to use that spot" blub, since I have a row of 8 mature burning bushes and other landscaping as well as pole lights that make it "THE" perfect spot for this kind of re-use). Ie, if you are going to torpedo my ideas, please have some real reasons. Thanks!
Long story short, house was a foreclosure, bank pulled the in ground pool, filled it in, backyard has been a mess since. We bought the house about 3 months after the pool was removed. That was back in the summer of 2012.
Last year I used some topsoil and leveled out the area above the deep-end. I purposely put one end of the roughly 15ft diameter area above where the original concrete deck was (figuring it was more solid than the "deep end" was considering it was filled in). I then put a 15ft Intex "Easy-Set" inflatable ring pool on that 15ft circle. My thoughts were I wanted to know how much it was possibly going to "settle" given the weight of all that water.
Well, for the 3 months it was up it only "settled" about an inch from one side to the other. So, that was pretty encouraging so we decided to go do "final plan" for this year...
That being a 22ft x 52 inch Intex Ultra Frame pool where the "deep end" was, along with a paver patio/deck around the pool and replacing the entire space the previous in-ground pool and concrete deck had. The total space is 52ft long (with a 14ft radius on one end and rounded 4ft radius corners on the other end) by 28ft wide with a 3ft coping around the pool itself. The materials are Holland pavers 4"x8"x2-5/8". In all it is around 5400 pavers total, with almost a ton of polymeric sand along with 240ft of edging.
Now, the big "concern" is in regards to putting 87,000lbs of water over a "filled in" in-ground pool. I am planning to remove all the topsoil that was added, but I know the "fill" used was not only the original pool concrete, but also almost all "rough fill" in the way of stone and rock, with a progressively smaller grade going to about 3/4" aggregate at the top before top-soil was added. I am almost positive there was no "compacting" of the fill-in, but with the limited amount of settling last summer with all the weight of a 15ft diameter x 48" deep pool on top it would have to be fairly well dealt with, wouldn't it?
I mean I plan on buying a plate compactor, already have a skid steer ready to be loaned from a friend and I plan on just removing all the topsoil and then compacting what is there for about 20 passes a day for at least 3-4 days straight to leave me with a final "grade" of what I am going to have to deal with. The fill plan is 3/4" aggregate up until there is 6" left to be filled, then 4 inches of 1/4" traffic-bond (basically 1/4" limestone with limestone dust) that would be compacted every half inch, then laying the pavers. Once the traffic-bond gets wet and takes a set with the weight on top it basically becomes hard like concrete. That along with the polymeric sand should seal the surface of the pavers to allow for a very solid patio/coping.
As for the pool location I do plan to use 16"x16"x4" concrete paver blocks to "build-up" the footings for the pool supports, so it is not like the pool footings will be small pavers. I plan on having them all level and at the same height as the Holland paver bricks are installed from, so the pool will be "sunk" into the patio the same height as the Holland pavers. I plan on using a gorilla pad or even insulation panels as a base for the pool on top of the traffic-bond.
Now, does anyone with more experience than I have (which is basically nil on a project as such) have any input on any better way to approach this build?
Ultimately I plan on taking down the pool in the fall and building a removeable deck to take it's place with a fire-pit in the center so we can enjoy the patio in the winter months as well... That is the plan anyways, as it may be overkill and just better to not worry about the the pool location with the rest of the patio being so large. I just figure if I can have something sitting in it's place throughout winter it would be better protected than it just becoming a skating rink if it fills with water (also safer for my kids that ultimately play in the backyard in winter as well).
Any and all input is welcome (and please, not just a "it's a bad idea to use that spot" blub, since I have a row of 8 mature burning bushes and other landscaping as well as pole lights that make it "THE" perfect spot for this kind of re-use). Ie, if you are going to torpedo my ideas, please have some real reasons. Thanks!
