New pool owner and first ever set up

[casper27292]

Hey folks, I just bought an Intex Ultra pool " 16' X 32' X 52" and I have had to set it up, do the ground work, leveling, etc EVERYTHING by myself,
which makes things tough because if i had some help, maybe i could have do better with someone that has set one up before, anyways, mostly everything is level, it might be off an inch or 2 at the most on one corner, I have tried my best to stay by the book on this, 16"x16"x2" pavers, 10 yards of sand, it was a nightmare doing it by myself, especially digging out all the gravel and everything to make sure it was smooth, also I am 50 years old and smoke 2 packs a day, but here is a pic of what i have now, give me your opinion on this and maybe give me some piece of mind, I am ready to start filling but worried something might be off or wrong, I can't afford for a mistake to happen, especially a catastrophe, so please, check out the set up and let me know, 2 of the larger 16x16 pavers broke right off so i replace it with a smaller and a thicker one where it was off level a little bit in the corner. but this is what i have now (the middle pic is where i am with it)

 

[Texas Splash]

Things look quite good from the pics, but water will be the true test of level. Anything within about an inch of level is okay, but anything beyond that gets a bit dicey. If any other pavers snap you might consider using a good piece of lumber like a 2x12 cut to length. Good luck.

 

[kellyfair]

These pools are pretty forgiving, so if the level is no worse than what you’ve described, you’ll probably be ok. Agree on the pavers snapping situation!

You’ve done a lot of work and from what I can see in the photos, you’ve done a great job. These aren’t a one man operation, especially the leveling! Kudos!

Now, you have a good test kit, right?

Test Kits Compared

 

[soldcorn]

From my understanding intex doesn’t recommend putting the pool on sand and that doing this voids the warranty. We have one sitting in our garage still in the box, with issues of getting the ground level as I planned on using our tiller to dig down in the dirt to get a level surface, but unfortunately the tiller broke down. But I am questioning the sand to help with the leveling because I have a pile of sand that I could use. As the area where I am putting the pool is pretty flat just a couple of minimal low spots and the grade is 4 degrees. Any suggestions on this?

 

[kellyfair]

From my understanding intex doesn’t recommend putting the pool on sand and that doing this voids the warranty. We have one sitting in our garage still in the box, with issues of getting the ground level as I planned on using our tiller to dig down in the dirt to get a level surface, but unfortunately the tiller broke down. But I am questioning the sand to help with the leveling because I have a pile of sand that I could use. As the area where I am putting the pool is pretty flat just a couple of minimal low spots and the grade is 4 degrees. Any suggestions on this?

You don’t want your base to be inches deep in sand, but it is absolutely fine to use a very thin layer just to provide a smoother surface under your feet. A half inch or even 1 inch is fine.

 

[sapphiretyger]

I'm regretting the sand I have my pool set on, that's for sure. It gets on feet and thus into the pool. As well, the neighborhood feral cats decided to use it as their personal litter box for a while, so I had to diligently fight that off.
I would love to take it down and reset it up with pavers or get some concrete poured but am waiting until the season ends at this point.

 

[kellyfair]

I covered my sand with a heavy duty tarp, then a gorilla pad. The feral cats in my neighborhood used every part of my yard EXCEPT the pool area for their litter box!