Plywood Base with Foam

by Bill Martin
(Scranton, PA)

I have a 14 x 42 Intex metal frame. I had to do quite a bit of digging to get the ground leveled. I didn't want to use sand because I'm just not sure how much use it will get. Last year I used foam, but the rocks still managed to get through at a few spots. This year I thought of laying down plywood and putting foam sheeting over that as well as an old pool liner. Good idea?

Hi Bill

I see no problem with any of that. I would do the old liner over the plywood and then the foam. Old liners can be a a little tough to get to lay flat, but would provide a nice moisture protection over the plywood, and it would be possible to pull the liner flat and tack it to the plywood.

Foam For Oval Deep End Pool

by Matt Marcinkus
(Wadsworth, IL)

Can I use 2" r-10 foam for the construction of my pool base, even though it is a 21x43 with an 8 foot deep end hopper? Or should a different material be used? Please advise.

Hi Matt

I would not use foam with a deep end. How you would get it to conform to the slope I have no idea, it's not something I have ever tried. My preference would be sand but others like to use a Vermiculite, concrete and water mixture.

Judging by the pool size and the depth of the deep end I assume this is an in the ground vinyl pool. If it were an above ground pool you would also have the pressure plates to deal with. They are difficult to piece foam in and around, a real pain.

Using The Gorilla Pad

by Frank
(Fortvill,IN)

I bought this year an 18' round metal frame pool which comes with a ground cover, or pad, but I also bought a new Gorilla pad which I had been happy with for the old pool, it sort of gives a cushion effect, this is going on top of level sand.

My question is should I use both and which one goes down first?

Hi Frank

It would not make a lot of difference which you used first but I think I would put the liner directly over the Gorilla Pad. If you were happy with the base it gave you the last time I would not change a thing. Using the product provided with the pool is really an optional thing, as both are not really needed, but putting it under the Gorilla pad will not cause any harm. Best of luck with the install.

What To Use Under Pool

by Robert
(Flint, MI)

I want to level the ground for a 32 foot pool. It is around a foot different in elevation. I was going to use a couple inches of mason sand beneath. I'm afraid a foot of sand will settle. So... Can I recess the pool a foot below earth or if I want to bring grade up should I use gravel/limestone or what?

Hi Robert

You can dig down or you can raise up, either way is OK. What you can not do is set the pool on a foot of sand. That is a disaster waiting to happen.

My normal way of doing things is to start digging on the high side and move the dirt to the low side. I wind up digging down more than I raise up because of the large ledge I build on the low side.

Raising the ground even 6" requires a 2' ledge to set the pool on. So, I dig down, I use all the dirt I dig up on the low side, and I build a good solid ledge out beyond the pool.

The whole time I am digging and moving dirt I am also smoothing and packing the fill side. I don't know when to quit digging unless the low side is smooth and packed.

If you plan to just raise the low side, with no digging, crushed granite is the best to use. Your sand and rock place will have something similar, something that will pack like concrete. This works fine as long as you build a proper ledge. The more fill the more ledge.

Foam Boards on top of Geotextile Pad

by Jim Benjamin
(Marshall, VA)

I'm replacing a failed liner on an 18 X 33 foot oval pool.

The original installation included a geotextile base pad on top of sand as well as a foam cove - which the installer buried under sand to form a higher cove.

The pool leaked like crazy this past winter and when I was able to have good enough weather to take off the failed liner, I found the base pad mostly covered with green/blackish mold and a few low spots, and the sand cove all uneven.

Not surprising - a lot of water came out of the pool via a rip in the liner.

I'm not thrilled with how the geotextile liner looks, but I'm busy and would like to get the new liner on without starting the base from scratch...

On the other hand, I don't want to repeat the same problems - the original liner lasted only about 4 years.

How crazy would it be to fill in the slightly low spots with mason sand, on top of the geotextile pad, then cover that all with a rigid foam insulation panel base?

I am not sure I would be able to reuse the current foam cove after it's been stuck on the walls and buried in sand for 4 years - so I would most likely remove and replace the foam cove on top of the insulation panels.

Sound ok, or do I need to remove that old grimy geotextile base pad and start from there?

Hi Jim

Your idea sounds fine to me. Best of luck with it.

Setting Up Pool on a Portion of Pavers

We recently purchased a 16' above ground pool for our small yard (Arizona heat is no joke and we very much would like to cool down). We have been working on leveling the soil ground where the pool will be placed and have purchased sand and heavy duty tarps for some added protection of the pool liner.

Unfortunately the pool is just a tad bit larger than we anticipated for our yard and will cover all of our soil area and come up just a few extra feet onto our extended patio pavers as well.

The patio pavers are not exactly level to the ground and there is about an inch to maybe two inch drop off from the pavers in some areas where the soil is low right around the pavers.

Initially, we thought we would be able to fill these drop off areas in with some sand and cover with the tarps. After some research, I am finding this not to be the best idea as the sand will compress from the weight of the water filled pool.

I am hoping there is some other solution and we can rig our yard to be able to safely set-up our pool. Any advice is much appreciated! I have attached a picture of one side of our yard to see how the pavers and soil sit. We have removed debris from the area since the picture was taken.

Hi

The only solution I can see from your photo is to dig up the patio blocks and level the area correctly.

Styrofoam Under Entire Pool Including Posts

by Clint
(Canada)

I have a 15' round above ground pool and need to re-level it. I live in Canada where it freezes hard.

My question is, can I use the "pink" 1 1/2" interlock styrofoam sheets under the entire pool, including posts and track? If this is okay, do I still need to put another 1 1/2" layer of foam on the inside of pool? My pool is 54" and I have a new liner, coving and gorilla pad coming.

Please advise best course of action. I will be leveling and compacting soil to level before I start anything.

Hi Clint

You are fine to put the entire pool on the foam and a second layer is not needed. The important part is the pool coving and you have that covered.