Grey Paver base under pool?

[ioinva]

I know, dig down rather than build up is what one is supposed to do. In our case, we are surrounded by trees, and regardless where we put the pool, we will have to confront some amount of roots. We consulted with a hardscape consultant and he recommended a base of grey Paver base (thumbled rock and cement dust), tamped down with a tamper machine, which we cn rent. The theory is that the paver base will compact as it gets tamped, and under the weight of the pool, transforming itself in a level solid base.

Here is the product: 5 yds. Bulk Paver Base-STPB5 - The Home Depot

Has anyone else done this? Thoughts? Below is the site. The pool is an Intex, 15'x48".

 

[scm175]

How far out of level is your site? Paver base will compact very well but will be unstable if the base is too deep.

 

[ioinva]

The maximum we have is 5 inches over the 15' accross the site. As you can see, we are building a 1-brick deep edge on the lower side of the site. The paver base would go inside the circle.

 

[splashpad]

We did, we just used sand though (easiest to get in our area). Inside a 16x16 frame. For the same reason, there was absolutely no way to dig a level spot.
You will need a way to lock those stones in place. Otherwise the weight of the water will being pushing down and "out", and this will be amplified when swimmers are in the pool.

 

[jcp]

We built ours up with compacted rock. We’ve had no issues and our is built up higher than you will need. If I remember right a chunk of it was like 1” minus, and then screenings the last couple inches. Just make sure you compact layers of the appropriate depth. Had the Intex on it about 5 seasons and just installed a Matrix.

 

[jcp]

 

[jcp]

It was a lot of hard work, I will tell you that.

 

[stringer77]

Nobody has more roots than me

What you need is a root slayer. Cuts through roots quite easily. It actually works, and is worth every penny.

 

[ioinva]

Thank you, everyone! Yes, we will lock the edge bricks in place. It is wonderful to hear we are not crazy with this idea.

The root slayer looks ... intimidating and awesome at the same time. However, given the proximity to the tree, chances are the root will regrow in the same place under the pool again. I also would hate to damage a mature, beautiful tree.

 

[ioinva]

@jcp what did you layer on top of the paver base? Is that just the fabric liner? That's a beautiful place for the pool!...

 

[kellyfair]

It was a lot of hard work, I will tell you that.

But the end result is fantastic!

 

[JeaniB]

I used the paver base. This is season two without problems. I paid someone to dig first to level then bring in the paver base. It hasn't shifted or scattered over the yard. It will eventually all be covered by decking.

 

[scm175]

I would use rigid foam insulation between the road base and the pool. Something like this.

 

[jcp]

@jcp what did you layer on top of the paver base? Is that just the fabric liner? That's a beautiful place for the pool!...

The gray fabric you see around the outside of the pool is just weed barrier, I’ll be putting rubber mulch or decorative rock over that this weekend. Inside the pool I did the extruded polystyrene foam, XPS. I’m kind of on the fence about that though. It’s expensive, hard to cut the radius’s to match the pool, and is impossible to get ultra tight seams. I did double heavy duty gorilla tape all the seams. I can see why the pro’s use sand. Not sure which I would use if I did it again.