Unlevel/ Settling Issue - Advice Welcomed

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drbell76

New member
Jun 3, 2020
2
Central Ohio
Hi All,

We are currently filling a 24' x 52" round pool (actual water depth will be around 44 "). We have a pretty decent slope in our back yard so I spent 3 days over Memorial Day weekend tilling and shoveling dirt to try and level the ground. I used a 12' long 2x4 with a 3' level to check and everything looked to be pretty level. Now that I am filling it I am seeing a 3.5-3.75" difference between the highest and lowest points. I would say the high spot is only covers about 1/4th of the circumference of the pool so it's not like the low spot is purely concentrated on one area (the difference is 2"-2.5" on the sides). I'm not sure how it was this off, and I wonder if it really could settle that much?

And what if I only fill to the "fill line" on the low side leaving the high side to be more shallow?

Cause for concern?

I also see other posts where people used something under the uprights.... mine are on the ground as the manufacturer instructions made no mention of placing anything under the footers for support. In hindsight it was probably a good idea but I was getting a lot of pressure from my wife and kids to get the pool up and it is my first time setting one up. .

More than anything, there seems to be a pretty wide range of opinions on leveling so I'm trying to determine where the tolerance level is where I can still feel good about how it is set up.

TIA!

Donny
 
I am by no means well-versed on this topic, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt until someone experienced responds. We spent an entire day leveling our area, using the same technique as you. I kept commenting that it didn't APPEAR to be level to the naked eye, but the guys assured me that using a 2x4 at 8 feet for a 16 foot pool was coming up level. The next day we went to set the pavers, and you could tell they were all uneven. We bought a 16 foot 2x4 and leveled that way once we dug in the pavers. When filled, the pool ended up being approximately 1/2 inch off.

That being said, most experts here (I believe) will tell you that a water level is the most accurate way to get a truly level surface.

From what I've read here, being off more than an inch will compromise the integrity of the pool and pose a potential danger. I wouldn't be surprised if the experts advise you to drain, relevel, and refill. I hope I'm wrong.

One more thing...I assume when you leveled, you dug down to the lowest point rather than building up your base to the high point? Just checking because I know some people are unclear about that. Best of luck getting things leveled!
 
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So, I always advise being within an inch or so of level. Anything above 2 inches makes me nervous. But, there are people here that manage with worse, and don’t have any issues. In the end, you have to decide your risk tolerance. Not filling all the wall is a good idea, since that’s less pressure on the wall.

Full disclosure - I have never put anything under the legs of mine. Personally, I don’t see how that helps if a pool is already not level, although certainly it would keep the legs from settling much.
 
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I used stone dust under my pool and a water level specifically to measure the ring of stone dust around where the uprights and I lowered down to the lowest point. I finished day 1 of my install today we checked level several times and it seems good so far. Will fill up tomorrow and see how it goes
 
lhall120 said:
I am by no means well-versed on this topic, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt until someone experienced responds. We spent an entire day leveling our area, using the same technique as you. I kept commenting that it didn't APPEAR to be level to the naked eye, but the guys assured me that using a 2x4 at 8 feet for a 16 foot pool was coming up level. The next day we went to set the pavers, and you could tell they were all uneven. We bought a 16 foot 2x4 and leveled that way once we dug in the pavers. When filled, the pool ended up being approximately 1/2 inch off.

That being said, most experts here (I believe) will tell you that a water level is the most accurate way to get a truly level surface.

From what I've read here, being off more than an inch will compromise the integrity of the pool and pose a potential danger. I wouldn't be surprised if the experts advise you to drain, relevel, and refill. I hope I'm wrong.

One more thing...I assume when you leveled, you dug down to the lowest point rather than building up your base to the high point? Just checking because I know some people are unclear about that. Best of luck getting things leveled!
Click to expand...

Correct, I dug down.... ended up digging/ tilling a good 8-10 inches down to be exact. All very frustrating at this point.
 

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This is why I always say if I ever have to level again, I’m paying someone else to do it.

I know it is frustrating, but I would be nervous about having a pool that out of level. I’m sorry 😞
 
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