What to do about the ground around my soft-sided pool

[bkp22]

Two things bug me about the surrounding area-- one is that the ground cloth / tarp is kind of tacky, and two is that water likes to pool around the circumference after a rain. I end up with a muddy, dirty, frog-infested area that can occasionally stay wet for over a week before drying out, sometimes even longer. The combination of tarped area and packed clay zone around that is basically impenetrable to water.

I'm not too worried about stability because the spot the pool is on has had several pools on it, even before I owned this place, and it's rocky clay soil. So it's extremely solid.

The spot is cut into a hill. I currently have a little 'drainage path' that does in fact work but it doesn't drain down the area all the way.

So again, two issues--the tarp is ugly, and I get standing water around the pool. Is there a holistic fix for this? Last year I just tolerated it and I'm willing to do that again this year but if there is a simple solution I would love to explore it.

 

[PoolStored]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Posting a few pictures of the situation would help us...

 

[CT-Steven]

Not sure what kind of pool you have but...
While not "simple" I wanted a way to separate the pool from the yard and stop anything from growing next to it. I used pink foam boards for my base, and they extend out the same distance as my support legs. Then I surrounded the pool with 2x8s and used rubber mulch at about 3 inches thick. I also used foam gutter inserts to help keep the mulch from finding its way under the pool.

1.jpg

• CT-Steven
• Jul 1, 2022

 

[bkstyles]

Not sure what kind of pool you have but...
While not "simple" I wanted a way to separate the pool from the yard and stop anything from growing next to it. I used pink foam boards for my base, and they extend out the same distance as my support legs. Then I surrounded the pool with 2x8s and used rubber mulch at about 3 inches thick. I also used foam gutter inserts to help keep the mulch from finding its way under the pool.

1.jpg

• CT-Steven
• Jul 1, 2022

So all of the support legs are resting on the foam boards ? How is that working out? I’m definitely doing the foam for my build but was going to use PT wood. I’m interested to know how your method is going.

 

[CT-Steven]

No, there is no way in a million years that the foam boards could support the legs. My first attempt that lasted 2 years was 2x12 PT boards. After time the boards sank due to the amount of water leaving the pool (over rambunctious kids) leaving me low 3" on one side. So at the end of the season, we took the pool down. This spring I removed the wood and dug down 6 inches. I then used 2 inches of pea stone and laid 2 16x16x1.25 concrete pavers (I found 16x16x4 too late in the game). The pool is now within 1/4" of level. We had 8 kids in the pool over the weekend and it is as solid as it has ever been.