Newbie messes up

[Irishman360]

New above ground pool owner here. We had a small 10’ pop up pool last year to get kids by and upgraded this year. We bought the Costco Bestway pool 22’x12’x4’ for this summer. I watched and a couple dozen YouTube videos about leveling the ground before setting up the pool and compiled all their advice on how to get it done. I rented a SOD cutter cut the sod 2” out. Moved all the dirt and SOD out. Tamped the ground, grabbed a level and 2x4 and began leveling the yard with the dirt from the dig up, first mistake. I started at what I thought was the high point so I didn’t have to build up to make it level. Next thing I know I’m adding 3-4” of dirt at one end and only 1” on the opposite side. As I’m adding dirt I’m also tamping it, so I thought I was good to go, and I was wrong, second mistake.

Had a little bit of rain in the city and the water looked level on the tarps and didn’t run off to one side. I thought sweet I leveled that pretty good. Next day we set up the pool frame and liner. Day after that we go buy pavers for the legs and J supports and some edging to go around the pool. Got the pavers placed underneath all the feet. Get around to the side with the J supports and when I place the pavers under them it raises all the feet off the ground. I decided to not rush it and take a break since the next day was going to storm. Next day it storms with more rain than the previous storm and when I get home from my work it’s sunny so I decide to see if anything happened to my work. I step on the tarps underneath the pool and start sinking. I felt so disheartened.

I don’t even mess with the pool and start researching and come across this wonderful place, which is weird I didn’t stumble across this at first when researching. I come across the leveling the yard section for above ground pool. From what I understand from it is that all I needed to do was use the SOD cutter to get to the untreated dirt, use pavers where the feet and J supports are and have them leveled. Then I would have been good to go, in a nut shell. Am I misunderstanding this?

Now I have this under my pool, see photo, and need some advice and how to proceed.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Sorry about the change of plans Mother Nature threw at you. Unfortunately, I think you're stuck for a while until that area can dry out and stabilize. Even once dry to the touch, you'll want to ensure it's level which might mean scraping a few inches off here & there and may expose more moist soil. But once it dries and is level. you should be able to start working again. You might look into some insulation panels to place on the dry soil before laying the pool out. Support poles should remain steady on a good sized paver, but if you have any doubts you could always dig down a little bit and place gravel under each one as a base. As you can tell, the success of an AGP all starts at aground level. Be patient and hang in there!

 

[Irishman360]

Welcome to TFP! Sorry about the change of plans Mother Nature threw at you. Unfortunately, I think you're stuck for a while until that area can dry out and stabilize. Even once dry to the touch, you'll want to ensure it's level which might mean scraping a few inches off here & there and may expose more moist soil. But once it dries and is level. you should be able to start working again. You might look into some insulation panels to place on the dry soil before laying the pool out. Support poles should remain steady on a good sized paver, but if you have any doubts you could always dig down a little bit and place gravel under each one as a base. As you can tell, the success of an AGP all starts at aground level. Be patient and hang in there!

Most of that ground you see in the picture is the dirt from when I tried leveling it with the dirt from pulling up the SOD. So as of now it’s not firm at all. Wouldn’t I have to take all that dirt out since it’s becomes mushed up mud when it rain? I don’t think that type would hold the support of a pool.

 

[zea3]

Take out all the loose dirt. You have to level the pool on solid ground. A pool full of water weighs thousands of pounds and will compress loose soil far more than you can compact it by hand. When you try to build up to level by adding dirt, the pool will settle and sink on that side. You can use a sod cutter to help shave off large areas of high ground. I would shave it off in thin layers. Use a water level to help you set the pavers.

 

[Irishman360]

Take out all the loose dirt. You have to level the pool on solid ground. A pool full of water weighs thousands of pounds and will compress loose soil far more than you can compact it by hand. When you try to build up to level by adding dirt, the pool will settle and sink on that side. You can use a sod cutter to help shave off large areas of high ground. I would shave it off in thin layers. Use a water level to help you set the pavers.

So it’s not so much having level ground level, but more having a solid ground and use pavers to make the pool level?

Since I tried compacting everything with a tamper, should I till up the ground to get rid of the loose dirt and get to solid ground? Then place the pavers level to each other?

 

[zea3]

It needs to be level and solid ground. Level within 1" all the way around and undisturbed ground. The area where you said you added dirt to level the ground, the dirt needs to be removed and the ground leveled to the lowest spot. Pavers should be level to each other and flush with the ground.

 

[Irishman360]

Pulled out all the loose dirt. Going to extend it lengthwise about a foot on each side. Would I still use the 2x4 method to dig the ground to level? What if I want to use the foam insultstion as padding, would I have to dig those down to level ground so the pavers match up when I insert them into the soil?

 

[zea3]

You would level the ground, put down the foam, and inset the pavers into the foam.