Building up base for 15' Round AGP

[Pv2]

Pv2, that is a fair comment but I would rather just try and do it right off the bat. That's why I am here, to find out the best way to handle the situation I have been given.

I just don't understand why the rear is so wet. We are 550' from a 100' high bank that goes down to a large river. The area is fairly sandy, no clay. Even though our yard is lower than neighbors, I would have through drainage would be excellent due to the sandy soil and proximity to 100' drop to river.

I hear you on getting it right the first time, and I am sure a "real" pool will look a little nicer than the cheapo. (though I have seen some very nicely installed and landscaped Intexes). I only wish I had a wet soil problem, being in Aridzona my problems are more of dust than mud. Good luck!

 

[nick_wa]

Still trying to get this sorted out. We had a bunch of freezing rain and snow last week so ground is really wet again in the back. You can see how the sun moves (snow melted) and where the water lies the most. We could put the pool more to the center of the yard where it is slightly drier, but that will block the view of the back that we like. If the previous owners had just put up a pool before we bought the house, I wouldn't have to worry about making these decisions!

I think I am going to have to pull up some sod in the area and see how the undisturbed soils acts to rain and how soft it is. Maybe it's a turf issue?

(Sorry for bad quality pictures and the thread on my camera lense!)

General view of the backyard:

Where we would like to put the pool:

Moving to the right of the yard:

And further right:

And a visitor this morning:

 

[nick_wa]

Well I went to the area we want to put the pool and dug a 1'x1' hole, 20" deep. It seemed like sandy soil all the way down (as I expected) but no real "hard" layer. Water seeped in once the hole was dug and when I went back later that evening, the hole was full of water. Not good....

 

[Pv2]

I don't have any advice, but with a 600 foot well, I feel a little envious of that water table. ;-)

 

[nick_wa]

Well I went to talk to one of my neighbors about cutting some trees on our back property line for a fence, and I learned a few things about my yard/neighborhood.

Although we are 100' away from a 100' high drop to a river below, about 3-4' below ground level is pure red clay. Neighbor (who has been in neighborhood since it was first developed in the 70s) said there is also a natural swale that goes from the south side of our neighborhood to the north to a ravine. This swale goes right through the back half of my yard and coupled with the fact my yard is the lowest of all of my side neighbors, it gets pretty wet. He also said the area hasn't been this wet for many years, due to the rain we got in the winter and spring, and THIS wet is not common.

So where does that leave me? Well I need to figure out how to building a pool over clay and also a way to keep water away from the pool so it won't sink if the ground get's soft like this again in the future. We are considering digging a ditch along the back of the yard to help collect water in the rear, and some sort of small ditching along the sides of the yard. Ahh, this may turn into a 2018 project!