Is this ok?

[ccogen]

First time Intex pool owner it’s a intex ultra 18 x 9x 52 we had the ground dug up and leveled and filled with sand then leveled the sand.

We used concrete 12x12 pavers and buried them level with the sand and started filling . everything seemed ok till the pavers started tilting up and breaking. Not all the pavers but some ( see photo)

What do I do now? Empty and get larger thicker pavers or will the pool be ok?

We didn’t fill all the way bc I got nervous

 

[Brett S]

It’s not OK in the sense that you need to drain the pool and replace the pavers before you try to refill it. But it is OK in the sense that as long as you drain now and fix it you shouldn’t have damaged anything.

The rectangular pool legs need to either be on ground contact rated pressure treated wood or 4” thick concrete blocks. Pavers are just not thick enough or strong enough and will crack, as you discovered.

 

[kellyfair]

How deep is that sand? Hopefully a thin layer with solid ground or crushers underneath?

 

[ccogen]

It’s not OK in the sense that you need to drain the pool and replace the pavers before you try to refill it. But it is OK in the sense that as long as you drain now and fix it you shouldn’t have damaged anything.

The rectangular pool legs need to either be on ground contact rated pressure treated wood or 4” thick concrete blocks. Pavers are just not thick enough or strong enough and will crack, as you discovered.

ok thank you for that! wish I knew this before I filled. How long do you think it will take to drain? Also are 4 inch thick concrete blocks sold at home depot? And then i guess dig out the sand 4 inches and bury them?

 

[ccogen]

How deep is that sand? Hopefully a thin layer with solid ground or crushers underneath?

the sand is about 3-4 inches deep with solid ground underneath

 

[kellyfair]

So if you use 4” blocks you can sink them to where they are level with the solid ground. That’s what I would do.

 

[ccogen]

So if you use 4” blocks you can sink them to where they are level with the solid ground. That’s what I would do.

ok does home depot sell them? they aren’t pavers right ? sorry i’m so not handy!

 

[ccogen]

ok does home depot sell them? they aren’t pavers right ? sorry i’m so not handy!

something like this? It doesn’t seem wide enough though

 

[Brett S]

ok thank you for that! wish I knew this before I filled. How long do you think it will take to drain? Also are 4 inch thick concrete blocks sold at home depot? And then i guess dig out the sand 4 inches and bury them?

Yes, but they are in the masonry section and not with the pavers. This is what you want:

16 in. x 8 in. x 4 in. Concrete Block 30165803 - The Home Depot

For use in construction of foundations or above-grade masonry walls. This 16 in. x 8 in. x 4 in. Concrete Block meets ASTM C 90 specifications. These medium weight solid blocks are dimensionally true and uniform in color, texture and shape.

www.homedepot.com

You can get away with one per leg by putting them the long way, but doing so requires that you be very precise with the placement to make sure the leg winds up in the center of the block. Definitely don’t put a single the short way so that only the center of the leg is over the block. That will cause the legs to bend around the block and break.

The other option is to do two per leg so you wind up with a 16x16 square and then it’s more forgiving of the legs being a little off center, but obviously that’s a little extra cost and work for the additional blocks.

It shouldn’t take too long to drain... maybe a few hours. But you might want to put a piece of wood under the drain so the water rushing out doesn’t wash away your sand.

 

[ccogen]

Yes, but they are in the masonry section and not with the pavers. This is what you want:

16 in. x 8 in. x 4 in. Concrete Block 30165803 - The Home Depot

For use in construction of foundations or above-grade masonry walls. This 16 in. x 8 in. x 4 in. Concrete Block meets ASTM C 90 specifications. These medium weight solid blocks are dimensionally true and uniform in color, texture and shape.

www.homedepot.com

You can get away with one per leg by putting them the long way, but doing so requires that you be very precise with the placement to make sure the leg winds up in the center of the block. Definitely don’t put a single the short way so that only the center of the leg is over the block. That will cause the legs to bend around the block and break.

The other option is to do two per leg so you wind up with a 16x16 square and then it’s more forgiving of the legs being a little off center, but obviously that’s a little extra cost and work for the additional blocks.

It shouldn’t take too long to drain... maybe a few hours. But you might want to put a piece of wood under the drain so the water rushing out doesn’t wash away your sand.

ty so much ! this is the most helpful place i’ve asked! if i go the pressures treated wood route what should I buy ? I’m a single mom just trying to put this up for my boys ! I plan on booking up a garden hose and draining to the street so maybe it will take longer

 

[kellyfair]

For future reference, this little guy is quite the workhorse... super easy to drain with this! I bought it 6 years ago, works great.

 

[Brett S]

ty so much ! this is the most helpful place i’ve asked! if i go the pressures treated wood route what should I buy ? I’m a single mom just trying to put this up for my boys ! I plan on booking up a garden hose and draining to the street so maybe it will take longer

Pieces of 2x8 are what I used for my pool. I liked the fact that they were much lighter than those heavy blocks. Something like this is what you would want. Make sure it says “ground contact”

2 in. x 8 in. x 8 ft. 2 Prime Ground Contact Pressure-Treated Southern Yellow Pine Lumber 107523 - The Home Depot

Pressure-Treated Pine meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. This double treated Ground Contact lumber must be used for applications where treated lumber is difficult to maintain,

www.homedepot.com

However, apparently there is a nationwide shortage of pressure treated wood right now because of covid, so you might have a hard time finding some. My sister was trying to build a deck and ran into problems getting wood for it.

What I did was cut the 2x8 into 16” pieces and use two per leg to make a 16x16 square for each leg.

Draining through a garden hose will work, but it probably will increase the time it takes to drain.

 

[ccogen]

Pieces of 2x8 are what I used for my pool. I liked the fact that they were much lighter than those heavy blocks. Something like this is what you would want. Make sure it says “ground contact”

2 in. x 8 in. x 8 ft. 2 Prime Ground Contact Pressure-Treated Southern Yellow Pine Lumber 107523 - The Home Depot

Pressure-Treated Pine meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. This double treated Ground Contact lumber must be used for applications where treated lumber is difficult to maintain,

www.homedepot.com

However, apparently there is a nationwide shortage of pressure treated wood right now because of covid, so you might have a hard time finding some. My sister was trying to build a deck and ran into problems getting wood for it.

What I did was cut the 2x8 into 16” pieces and use two per leg to make a 16x16 square for each leg.

Draining through a garden hose will work, but it probably will increase the time it takes to drain.

Pieces of 2x8 are what I used for my pool. I liked the fact that they were much lighter than those heavy blocks. Something like this is what you would want. Make sure it says “ground contact”

2 in. x 8 in. x 8 ft. 2 Prime Ground Contact Pressure-Treated Southern Yellow Pine Lumber 107523 - The Home Depot

Pressure-Treated Pine meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. This double treated Ground Contact lumber must be used for applications where treated lumber is difficult to maintain,

www.homedepot.com

However, apparently there is a nationwide shortage of pressure treated wood right now because of covid, so you might have a hard time finding some. My sister was trying to build a deck and ran into problems getting wood for it.

What I did was cut the 2x8 into 16” pieces and use two per leg to make a 16x16 square for each leg.

Draining through a garden hose will work, but it probably will increase the time it takes to drain.

what will happen if I don’t drain and refill amd I just keep it. The pavers seem to be holding the weight . Just asking

 

[Brett S]

what will happen if I don’t drain and refill amd I just keep it. The pavers seem to be holding the weight . Just asking

I suspect that over time more pavers will break and the ones that have broken will allow the legs to sink further and further into the ground. At some point this will start to bend and damage the metal structure. If the problem got bad enough at some point the pool could wind up collapsing and injure anyone in or near it, not to mention flooding your yard.

 

[ccogen]

ok yeah we are draining today and looking for the wood . Is there any chance you can send me a pic of your legs with the wood underneath so I can get a visual of what it looks like ? Also even though it says don’t set up on sand it seems like most people I’ve watched on you tube actually do set up on sand. Do you feel sand is a problem?

 

[Brett S]

ok yeah we are draining today and looking for the wood . Is there any chance you can send me a pic of your legs with the wood underneath so I can get a visual of what it looks like ? Also even though it says don’t set up on sand it seems like most people I’ve watched on you tube actually do set up on sand. Do you feel sand is a problem?

Here’s a picture from when I installed my pool:



A thin layer of sand should be ok. 3-4 inches of sand probably isn’t ideal because it can be loose and the weight of the pool will compress it. That’s why it’s generally recommended to dig the high side down, rather than building up the low side when you’re leveling the ground for a pool. But if it’s a uniform amount of sand then it should all compress evenly and you should be ok.

 

[zea3]

Intex states specifically in the instructions not to set up the pool on sand. Water is very heavy and sand will not compress and hold, it will just squeeze out and will wash away in a heavy rain. You can use a thin layer of sand under the pool for padding the floor, but you cannot use it to level the ground. The box you built to hold the sand is good, but you need to take the sand out and fill it with crusher or decomposed granite and level it. Install the wood foundation blocks like Bret described, only make sure they are recessed level with the ground.

 

[Wobblerlorri]

Also are 4 inch thick concrete blocks sold at home depot?

Yes indeed. $1.65 per each.

4 in. x 8 in. x 16 in. Solid Concrete Block 30168621 - The Home Depot

The 16 in. x 8 in. x 4 in Concrete Block 33 lb. is manufactured to ASTM C 90 specifications and used in foundations and above-grade masonry walls. This heavy weight solid block is uniformly square and

www.homedepot.com

 

[ccogen]

Pieces of 2x8 are what I used for my pool. I liked the fact that they were much lighter than those heavy blocks. Something like this is what you would want. Make sure it says “ground contact”

2 in. x 8 in. x 8 ft. 2 Prime Ground Contact Pressure-Treated Southern Yellow Pine Lumber 107523 - The Home Depot

Pressure-Treated Pine meets the highest grading standards for strength and appearance. This double treated Ground Contact lumber must be used for applications where treated lumber is difficult to maintain,

www.homedepot.com

However, apparently there is a nationwide shortage of pressure treated wood right now because of covid, so you might have a hard time finding some. My sister was trying to build a deck and ran into problems getting wood for it.

What I did was cut the 2x8 into 16” pieces and use two per leg to make a 16x16 square for each leg.

Draining through a garden hose will work, but it probably will increase the time it takes to drain.

OK you are correct absolutely no one has this wood in stock. Back ordered 4-6 weeks. Can I use no pressure treated wood or just go for the concrete 4 inch think mason bricks at this point and next year use the wood

 

[kellyfair]

I would use the concrete. Non pressure treated wood rots in about 10 minutes in my neck of the woods.