What a headache

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angiern2004

Active member
May 4, 2020
38
Northern CA
Still haven't gotten my pool set up. It's becoming such a headache and if my daughter didn't know I bought it, I would probably return it.

I had one guy come quote me to level out the circle for a 14' pool, quoted me nearly $1000.
Second guy came out and was like "it looks level, I think you're fine".

What a mess. Any advice? Should I weed whack the grass and see how level the actual ground is? Then go from there? It's only going to be up a few months, MAYBE into fall, depending on selling our house and how quickly that happens.
 
I would at least weed whack as you said. You can make a water level to see how far off it is. Several links here:
www.bing.com

water level homemade - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.
www.bing.com www.bing.com

You could rent a garden tiller to tear up the sod and remove it, set up 2x4 framework as if pouring concrete, add sand and use another 2x4 to level off, tamping the sand down solid. Put landscape blocks under the legs as you put it together.

I would think for $1000 you could have it leveled and installed, but depends on area and work involved I guess.
 
I am in the same boat but knew this prior (research) and took the challenge on. The base is everything and 90% of the work with it being very labor intensive. We're into day 3 of digging and leveling and I do not expect to have the spot ready for sand for at least another 2 days. Take a deep breath, take your time and don't take short cuts. In the end it will be well worth it :)
 
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This is our pool.

AND OF COURSE I just realized the error in the first guy's math. He says the square footage for a 14' pool is 615 sq ft. and he's charging $1.50/sq ft. It is not 615 sq ft, it is 154 sq ft. That would bring the total to $231. Should I ask him about that and then hire him for it? Or take his late arrival, late quote (promised it the day after coming out to look at our yard then he sent it late the day after that), and his miscalculations as a sign that it's not a good fit?
 
angiern2004 said:
This is our pool.

AND OF COURSE I just realized the error in the first guy's math. He says the square footage for a 14' pool is 615 sq ft. and he's charging $1.50/sq ft. It is not 615 sq ft, it is 154 sq ft. That would bring the total to $231. Should I ask him about that and then hire him for it? Or take his late arrival, late quote (promised it the day after coming out to look at our yard then he sent it late the day after that), and his miscalculations as a sign that it's not a good fit?
Click to expand...
If he will do it for anywhere close to $300 I'd take it and keep an eye on him.
 
angiern2004 said:
This is our pool.

AND OF COURSE I just realized the error in the first guy's math. He says the square footage for a 14' pool is 615 sq ft. and he's charging $1.50/sq ft. It is not 615 sq ft, it is 154 sq ft. That would bring the total to $231. Should I ask him about that and then hire him for it? Or take his late arrival, late quote (promised it the day after coming out to look at our yard then he sent it late the day after that), and his miscalculations as a sign that it's not a good fit?
Click to expand...

His math is right. (EDIT: nope it was not)

Area of a circle is pi*r^2

(7^2)*3.14 = 154 sq ft.

Also you need him to clear a bit more than that. If he will clear and LEVEL that area and haul away all the mess then that is not a crazy price for this summer. It would be high during other times but demand drives the market.
 

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angiern2004 said:
Ok so if he levels the ground, with a small layer of sand. Then what? Do I put the tarp or ground pad over the top of that? Or do I not need to do that at all? I've read many threads and my head is spinning with info, LOL.
Click to expand...

He should remove the sod and dig down to level. Start with the low spot and remove the rest to match. He should have at the very least a water level but best would be a laser transit level. Sand is only used to fill in small divots.

You will use the tarp to protect the bottom of the pool.

Are you planning to use XPS foam board under the pool? this is optional but feels better. If you use foam board you don't have to use the tarp

You need supports under the legs; either pressure treated 2x12 or concrete pavers.
 
I just looked through Home Depot's website and cannot find pavers thicker than 2". Maybe I'm using the wrong terms. I may as well use the pavers we have left over from our driveway and patio.

And I know this sounds like a ridiculous question, but how do you know where to put the pavers exactly? I will admit I haven't opened the pool box yet so I haven't looked at the instructions so see if there is a diagram or what.

EDITED: actually we have super thick ones left over. We have them in several dimensions. How big do they need to be?
 
Last edited:
angiern2004 said:
I just looked through Home Depot's website and cannot find pavers thicker than 2". Maybe I'm using the wrong terms. I may as well use the pavers we have left over from our driveway and patio.

And I know this sounds like a ridiculous question, but how do you know where to put the pavers exactly? I will admit I haven't opened the pool box yet so I haven't looked at the instructions so see if there is a diagram or what.

EDITED: actually we have super thick ones left over. We have them in several dimensions. How big do they need to be?
Click to expand...

We used Oldcastle 4 in. x 16 in. x 16 in. Mobile Home Concrete Pad Block-30151698 - The Home Depot

You need something so the legs don't sink down into the soil. The 2" thick may work but not the 1" thick.

To get an idea of what you are into look at the directions online on the manufacturer website.

Maybe watch a few videos.

Summer Waves Elite 14' x 42" at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.
duckduckgo.com duckduckgo.com
 
I just finished my install yesterday and the best thing you can do is use a water level. I created one for under $10. I went to Lowe's and bought 25 feet of 1/2 inch clear PVC tubing in the refrigerator/freezer section and two yard sticks. I attached each end of the tubing to the top of a yard stick and filled with food coloring (you can use Kool Aid too). Before filling with liquid, attach each yard stick to two identical objects- I used an orange cone. Then you just put one end on a spot that you consider already level and the other end on a spot that you are trying to level. The water will tell you down to 1/8 of an inch how close to level you are between the two spots. It worked perfectly.
 
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NJSwimmom said:
I just finished my install yesterday and the best thing you can do is use a water level. I created one for under $10. I went to Lowe's and bought 25 feet of 1/2 inch clear PVC tubing in the refrigerator/freezer section and two yard sticks. I attached each end of the tubing to the top of a yard stick and filled with food coloring (you can use Kool Aid too). Before filling with liquid, attach each yard stick to two identical objects- I used an orange cone. Then you just put one end on a spot that you consider already level and the other end on a spot that you are trying to level. The water will tell you down to 1/8 of an inch how close to level you are between the two spots. It worked perfectly.
Click to expand...
Stinks no one gives out free yard sticks anymore. I had to buy 2 because I didn't want to use any of my 50 plus I have collected over the years!
 
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angiern2004 said:
This is our pool.

AND OF COURSE I just realized the error in the first guy's math. He says the square footage for a 14' pool is 615 sq ft. and he's charging $1.50/sq ft. It is not 615 sq ft, it is 154 sq ft. That would bring the total to $231. Should I ask him about that and then hire him for it? Or take his late arrival, late quote (promised it the day after coming out to look at our yard then he sent it late the day after that), and his miscalculations as a sign that it's not a good fit?
Click to expand...
I paid $325 in NJ for someone to come out with a bobcat and get my yard completely level within 1 inch but that did not include taking the dirt away. They leveled a 20’ x 30’ area for my 12’ x 24’ rectangular Intex and did not seem concerned about the exact number of feet. The guy explained to me that it’s the cost of using the bobcat and bring it out for the day, not the exact amount of land leveled. But again remember I didn’t have any dirt removed.
 
angiern2004 said:
I've watched a ton of videos and I have yet to find a video that shows the person sinking the pavers. Some of our pavers are massively thick.

If I have him not put sand, I can use interlocking foam pads instead right? Tarp then foam? Or foam then tarp?
Click to expand...

I didn’t use sand. I just put down a heavy duty tarp directly on the leveled ground, then 1/2 inch pink foam board- triple taped on both sides using All Weather Gorilla Duck Tape. Nothing else, I put the pool directly onto the foam board. My pool is very smooth and wrinkle free on the bottom and very comfortable to the feet. Also I do have a rectangular pool, but I used 4 inch solid half cinderblocks without the holes 16X8. They were in the outdoor garden section of Home Depot near the full-size cinderblocks very cheap. I put them side-by-side and dug them down exactly level with the ground.
 
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