Sand or foam or both? Intex

[Slammed01]

Getting my 12x30 intex tomorrow, had a 15x48 few years ago. Putting in same area but have to re-level.

What foam is everyone using? Do people use sand then foam or 1 or other?

Mia a 12x30 too small to do the in wall Hayward skimmer mod?

 

[scout123]

I'd do one or the other, not both. When I had my 12 foot, I added the larger sand filter/pump/swg, and it worked great, so if you want to add the skimmer, go for it.

 

[CT-Steven]

I used both. Used a power compactor along with laser level.

 

[Slammed01]

What foam is everyone using? Before was foam from Home Depot but now it’s xps foam, whatever that is? Lol

 

[BoringDamo]

XPS is a type of foam (extruded polystyrene) and the stuff from Home Depot May well be XPS foam.
There is also EPS (expanded polystyrene) plus a bunch of others.
XPS tends to have the highest ratings for compression (15psi is common but it can get much higher). The others tend to be much lower and may well compress easily under the weight of the water).
(Absolutely not related but the other types tend to be much better insulators than XPS so are commonly used to insulate walls and ceilings in buildings where there is no load on them. XPS is often used under concrete floors to provide the necessary insulation as it’s the only type that can hold the weight of a concrete floor!)

 

[Slammed01]

So is this the right foam board?

 

[kellyfair]

For my Intex, I used a thin layer of sand over solid ground, with a gorilla pad on top.

 

[Slammed01]

So is this the right foam board?
View attachment 333455

Can someone confirm if this is correct foam? Also where do you put the pavers?

 

[BoringDamo]

That’s got XPS in the title so I’d say it’s good.
Pavers should go on solid ground not the foam.

 

[Slammed01]

That’s got XPS in the title so I’d say it’s good.
Pavers should go on solid ground not the foam.

Thank you! Do most use foam and sand or just foam?