Please help!! Losing sleep over thoughts of above ground pool base. :(

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M

MrsBeeks

0
Jun 14, 2017
13
Woodstock, Ontario
Hi there! Thank you in advance for any advice that you can share with me with this situation. :) My hubby and I purchased an 18' round Aqua Leader above ground pool, and are preparing to get it up, and then hopefully running trouble free for many summer seasons very soon. :) Unfortunately, my hubby and I are disagreeing on one crucial step of the base process, and I am losing sleep over it, so I am hoping that someone can either set my mind at ease, or give me a strong argument to help make my case. So.....our backyard is not level, so, we set to work digging down to level out a spot....all of this work is being done by hand, and our ground is haaaarrrrrd.....we didn't figure on a bobcat because Mike figured we would only need to go down 6" or so....well....as is often the case...6" was the understatement of the century, and we are now down 18" on the high side, and should go down atleast 2 more inches. Thing is, Hubby got sick of digging wouldn't take it down the last 2", which left him building up 2" on the low side...that I should add....slopes into a swail......and this is what I am loosing sleep over. :( Everything is level, patio slabs are in and leveled using a transit level, and he has done an amazing job, he is planning on bringing in a mechanical packer this weekend to pack the heck out of the ground, adding more clean, sifted fill as we go followed by more packing. He feels that since it is only 2" if he packs the side he built up, hard enough with the mechanical packer, it will hold up because the pool is actually sitting on the patio slabs, not the ground......I feel that even with packing it hard, eventually with the weight of the water, the kids thrashing around in the pool and natural rainfall, it will eventually give way.
Anyways, that is the scoop.....I am seriously to the point of nausea because of worry over this, and Hubby, well....he is just done, and is insisting he is right and won't even discuss it...........so please help....we have put a lot of money and work into this pool and I'm scared to have it destroyed because of a hard headed hubby. Help!
 
Sounds like a bad idea..... Same thing I'm going through. I'm waiting on a Bobcat now for the second time to finish digging the high-end and I'm almost to the point where I just want to get gravel and fill in the low end.

This has been nothing but a headache..... I can't do anything else until the grounds level.

Hopefully yours turns out good, Its definitely no time to skip but I get the same way as your husband lol
 
It's going to be a fight, that is for sure. :( I've been trying to find information if we can use crushed granite and compact it......if that will help keep it hard enough.. or build a small retaining wall somehow....the patio slabs are not right on the edge of where he has raised it, and they are DEAD ON level according to the transit, but still.....sloping into that swail really scares me. He is a fantastic builder, and does everything he does extremely well....and it always works out....I'm hoping that maybe it is just me, not knowing anything about pools, leveling bases and compacting soil.......but my gut is screaming don't doooooo iiiiittt! Maybe I will try and take a pic or two....
 
Thank you for the tip! :) After he packs it, he will put a layer of sand, and then a layer of foam down and then the coving, like his parents have under their liner......hopefully this will avoid any divots. :) A divot won't be a problem tho if the ground underneath, on the side he has built up gives way and the pool explodes. :D Now that I voiced my concern more "firmly" ;) , he said he will consider digging in and pouring a concrete retaining wall on the side he has built up...........hopefully that would be an acceptable fix?
 
What do you plan to put around the edges when it is done? I think we are going to use pea gravel you'd think that would protect the sand some from washing away. I'm not certain though.

After seeing your picture you're in a lot better shape than I am lol
 
You should be fine with your base the way it was done. Looks like you guys did a pretty nice job of it.

The only word of advise I have would be to add edging and or erosion control measures to the area that was raised so that you wont have any erosion problem in the future. Run off can wash away fill like that in a very short amount of time.
 
THANK YOU! I'm feeling a bit better now about the whole thing! :) Mike has done all the hard labour.......I helped a little with the pick axe, getting the stones out, shoveling and sifting the fill, but mostly my job has been food, water, keeping the kids alive and driving all over hells acre for ball games and tournaments while he worked. :D We are planning on edging the entire way around the pool with pea gravel and river stone, and then a multi level deck built around the pool....part of it up to the lip of the pool to accommodate the ladder, and the rest of it 3/4 up the pool to help keep our dog from using it as a large drinking bowl. :D Will the deck help to protect further from any washout do you think? PS........our dog will NOT be swimming.....he hates water....except to drink it...he would drink the pool dry if we let him, but, he will not even get his paws wet in a puddle....so no worries about the liner being shredded by big silly boxer dog. :D
 

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Water would go thru deck & pea gravel. You need a way to hold the fill in place like CJ said.

Whats the frost line where you live? I would think a concrete wall could heave if not below frost line.
 
A simple retaining wall or edging is all you need now worry about frost.

If you go with pea gravel before you put the pea gravel down cover the fill in heavy duty landscape fabric then put the gravel on top of that. That will be almost as good as a hard edging.
 
Just my two cents.

Me, if it were my pool, I would be OK with that base. I would move the toe of that fill slope out forther into the swale.

However, for the record, compacting fill is not just packing it. There are two parts to the equation. the compaction effort and the moisture content of the fill. All soil has a obtimum moisture content at which it will pack to the maximum equivalent dry density. If you are not at that moisture content, you can compact it till the cows come home, and onces it either rains, or drys out, to the optimum moisture content, it will settle. How much, that depends on the particular soils compaction curves, and what the original moisture content was. People also make mistakes with placing the fill in too thick a lift. Those vibratory plate compactors only work to a certain depth.

However, dont get all worried, 2 inches of fill is fine for a single lift. Compact it well. Even if it settles 10% (which is a lot) that is only 0.2 inches out of level.
 
Mike is wondering if he uses crushed granite or lime with water while he is compacting, and builds up and out on into the swale on that edge, then covers with heavy duty landscape fiber before pea gravel......if that will be sufficient to help with erosion. I am assuming that the base that he has made is sufficient to carry the water weight and motion, but we need to make sure that the edge that is built up does not erode in time...........am I assuming correctly?
Thanks again for all your help on this, you have no idea how much I appreciate it, and it has got Mike thinking and talking as well, so I am very happy for that too! :)
 
Just going to chime in here to say, IF he used a mechanical compactor (vibrating plate would be optimal), AND he has compacted it until it doesn't compact ANY MORE, it'll be fine. A couple of inches of fill, compacted well isn't going to be a problem. As mentioned above, it does need to be dampened (not wet) when compacting.

- - - Updated - - -

ETA -- Using Geotextile Fabric would be a good idea. I don't think you'll have a problem with erosion, but it would be insurance just in case.
 
Thank you!! We will take all the help we can get, so keep it coming!! He is getting the large vibrating compactor on Friday, and plans on moistening as he goes.......we will do as usual, and research the heck out of the proper way to compact so we get it right! :) Mike has researched the heck out of everything as he has went, but nothing beats advice and help from people who have been there, done that, that is for sure!!
 
Question about setting up the pool after a couple of days of rain.....

Me again! :D So....I think we are ready to commence erecting pool! :D The problem is......we.....as are most people thanks to Cindy.....are expecting a couple of days of rainfall.....5-10mm tomorrow 10-15mm Friday........sadly, Friday was to be the day that we set up the pool, but I'm thinking that ain't gonna to happen. Do you think that we will be fine to set it up on the Saturday, or should we wait for a few days of dry weather to make sure the ground is good and dry?? We had a half thought that we would cover the hole with tarps, on a slant to make the water run off and try to keep it dry-er :D......not sure if that would be a lesson in futility or not?
Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks so much!!!
 
Cover it with tarps if you have them and then set it up at your convenience.

A little water isn't going to hurt anything and it may in fact help.

For us American folks, that's about 3/8" today and about 1/2" Friday. :mrgreen:

Maybe the weather folks are wrong and you'll get it all set up Today.
 

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