Outside of ABG Pool...what did you put down around it?

[Rose38478]

I'm still raking rocks and dirt and everything from the pool install and now I'm looking at it and I'm like...now what do I do? Do I let grass grow around it, that I can't weedeat down? Do I put gravel? I'm not putting mulch, I've already had a termite issue due to mulch (I live in the South). What are some of the things you all did? I've got a 24' round pool, where one side is 2' in the ground due to slope. That concerns me too. I've got it all sloped down from the pool so perhaps gravel and pavers?

I could use some advice on this. Thank you!

 

[ajw22]

Some pics of the area you want to landscape may get folks creative ideas flowing.

 

[Chad1979]

Thats a good question. I just let grass grow around mine this year. Its just a little 10' round pool and i just took it down for the winter. Would like to do something nicer around it next year though. So any ideas or things others have done will be great ideas.

 

[Newdude]

My neighbor has about 3 ft of gravel around hers. With stepping stones in the gravel both for a walkway and for looks.

 

[Casey]

I have grass.

 

[Pv2]

bare ground, mostly. on the back side there is some grass creeping back in, but nothing has really taken root from where the circle was prepped. I had planned to do something - maybe pebbles? - but never got around to it.

I have a little (maybe 5x5 or 6x6?) "patio" landing area made of thin square concrete "pavers" for the stairs and a chair to throw towels on, and stepping stones from there to the walkway around the house.

 

[Shirker]

I have heard some grass can grow under the pool and cause issues with the liner. Out pool was about 6 inches below grade most of the way around. We laid down drain pipe and filled with river rocks. Kept Round-Up on the rocks too keep the grass from moving in.

 

[aboykin2269]

A lot of people use River Rock. That's what we plan on doing in the off season. And build the deck of course...

 

[GregN]

Similar to others, we just put down river rock over landscape fabric, specifically 1.5 tons of 1.5" stone, around a 24 ft round pool, in a 2 ft perimeter and used metal landscape edging to contain it.
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[Rose38478]

Thank you all SO much. I was thinking about putting down rock and I'm very worried about grass. I live very much in the country in Tennessee and I'm terrified grass is going to grow through the sand layer into the liner.

I am putting up a deck and we're still raking dirt and rock and waiting for the ground to settle some. And I've got a deck guy coming Friday for my first estimate. I think I may go with landscape fabric, gravel and pavers. I've added some shots here of what we've done and what still needs to be done. My neighbor over backfilled the one side. It's going to be ugly getting that lower than the highest side lol.

 

[IL_WS]

I'm jumping into this thread late, but I have river rock around the perimeter of my pool about 18-24" wide. I didn't want grass anywhere near it and be nicking up the paint finish of the sidewalls with the weed eater.

@Rose38478, seeing your recent pictures concerns me based on my recent experience. I just recently discovered and treated rust on my 7-year old pool. I have metal sidewalls, some sort of non metal posts (and top rail). What I found (theory) was that anywhere that earth was touching the metal sidewall, the moisture had caused a small amount of surface rust to form. Some areas were worse than others, but it appeared to still be surface rust. If it was just the river rock touching the sidewall, it was fine. What I did was move back the rock and dirt, power wash the sidewall down to the bottom rail, paint with Rust-oleum rust reformer (2 coats), then ensured it was covered with just river rock. I know dirt will seep back into the crevices, but that wasn't the issue that caused the problem. The installer and/or I had put soil in direct contact with the metal sidewall above the bottom rail.

 

[Shirker]

I agree with @IL_WS, the direct ground contact would concern me too. I would have a layer of gravel between the ground and sidewall if possible. Make sure it drains well and doe not hold water.

 

[Rose38478]

Wow! Okay thank you very much. We should do that before the soil hasn't settled in.

 

[Worrieddadof3]

I used foundation coating on the side of my pool before I put dirt around my pool. The foundation coating(I used Henry’s) is rated for steel and all other types of metal. If you have sand on the bottom you need to put some material that will stop wash out. At my parents house we used flashing tape for roofs for 25 years and it held up, no rust on the pool. Basically just a super sticky thick tape. I would have used that but it’s very expensive.

The Henry’s stuff you can paint on and it gives you some extra protection. Other people in my neighborhood have done nothing to the bottom of theirs and it’s held up 10+ years. I think a lot of factors can play into the life of the walls.