Types of Foam Board & Tape Under Bestway Metal Frame Pool

[TripleJackInGA]

Hey All -
Getting the ground ready to set up our 14x48 Bestway Camo pool again. I had to order some pins from BestWay, but getting the rest of it prepared.
Last year I used 1 inch Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) board under the liner, taped together with Gorilla Tape. It worked well, but I had 2 problems:
- The XPS had a tendancy to break easily if you stepped on it just right with your heal or ball of your foot.
- When i removed the Gorilla Tape after last season, it left tape residue. When I went to reuse the foam this year, anything and everything has stuck to the tape residue, making it hard to put tape back on the same lines.

So my question is, which foam board and tape is everyone else using? The XPS is pricey, and theExpanded (EPS) seems more forgiving and flexible. I was thinking of getting some 2" wide Gaffer's Tape, because it leaves no residue when removed.

Has anyone used Gaffer's Tape for this reason, and how did it hold up?

Thanks!

 

[Russell23]

Was the XPS breaking while you were in the pool? Or do you mean it broke easily when you walked on it during set up?
Also, I could be wrong, but IIRC the reason not to use EPS foam was either due to it not being able to handle the pressure/psi, or because it was not waterproof. But maybe someone can confirm that?

 

[TripleJackInGA]

It would break during setup, and on areas not covered by the pool post setup.
What I read on another thread was that EPS wasn't waterproof.
My biggest question I guess is using gaffer's tape, so it releases clean later on.

 

[Russell23]

I'm not sure if gaffer's tape would be strong enough. You could try it and see? Just keep in mind that if you start to notice the board shifting/moving, you'll probably have to drain the pool and re-tape. Alternatively, when you need to do take down, could you just cut through the gorilla tape instead of pulling it up?

 

[TripleJackInGA]

Yeah, I probably should have just cut through it, leaving it on each piece, but I was thinking about build-up over time. More or less, I overthought it, so I removed it.