Intex Installation

[Treciawhit1973]

I am replacing my 18’ Intex pool with a 16’ Intex pool in a perfectly level spot. I have 20 x 20’ of really heavy duty Astroturf I want to lay under the pool both for cushion and weed control at the edges. I have a round gorilla pool mat I am going to put on top of that as well. My question is do I still need to put blocks under the posts? The ground is flat and compact from having a pool on it for five years and I would struggle to get the posts in the right place with the hangover from the AstroTurf rugs.

 

[Texas Splash]

do I still need to put blocks under the posts?

It varies. Many people do need to prep teh bae under a paver to ensure it remains stable, but you know your local soil better than us. You know when the area gets soaked from heavy rains or even the pool splashout how those pavers normally react. Do they remain stable or do they tend to sink or dip to one side becoming unlevel. So if you are confident those things won't happen, your only other issue is making sure you are happy with the height of the paver compared to your liner padding material(s) against the liner so there is no chance of it getting pinched.

Hope that helps. Welcome to TFP!

 

[Mdragger88]

I am replacing my 18’ Intex pool with a 16’ Intex pool in a perfectly level spot. I have 20 x 20’ of really heavy duty Astroturf I want to lay under the pool both for cushion and weed control at the edges. I have a round gorilla pool mat I am going to put on top of that as well. My question is do I still need to put blocks under the posts? The ground is flat and compact from having a pool on it for five years and I would struggle to get the posts in the right place with the hangover from the AstroTurf rugs.

You would want to dig out where the pavers go so the tops would be flush with the compacted base then lay down the turf & gorilla pad.
Did you use pavers before? If not & the legs never sunk you could attempt to forego them. To add them later you would need to drain the pool.
The legs are designed to be at the level of the pool bottom as they (the legs, top rails & liner) all equally work together to make the pool stable- if the leg bottoms are lower or higher this will result in more stress on on them(lower) or the liner (if higher) than is designed resulting in a potentially unlevel & unstable condition.

 

[Treciawhit1973]

I did use pavers on my existing pool (4”x8” x2”) and dug them flush with the ground, no issues with sinking. Not sure if that was because of the pavers or if the ground was hard enough. However, I did do a fair amount of shifting them as the pool filled and the legs moved. This seems almost impossible under a 2’ overhang of turf.

 

[CT-Steven]

Did you have blocks previously? I had our Intex up for 3 years before one side sunk 3 inches. When it sunk it also then broke the boards under it and they were tied into the 2x8s that surround the pool. I have since replaced everything with 2 inches of pea gravel and (2) 16x16x1.75 pavers stacked (found the 16x16x4 too late in the game). Also do you leave it up year-round or take it down?

 

[Mdragger88]

I did use pavers on my existing pool (4”x8” x2”) and dug them flush with the ground, no issues with sinking. Not sure if that was because of the pavers or if the ground was hard enough. However, I did do a fair amount of shifting them as the pool filled and the legs moved. This seems almost impossible under a 2’ overhang of turf.

It won’t be easy, but basically set the pool up on the site without the turf & try to gauge where the pavers need to be - using a level on the legs & someone in the pool kicking the liner outward. Maybe dig out a dab of extra space for each one so you can adjust them as you go. Then move the pool, put down all the turf/pad & then return the pool & fill.