Carpet Under Pool Liner

by Rachael
(Maricopa, Az)

Hi! This site is fantastic! We bought a used 24' round Doughboy and we plan on installing it soon. We live in Arizona, south of Phoenix, where the dirt is pretty hard, but sandy. We replaced the carpet in our house and planned to reuse it outside under the pool liner as a barrier. Is this a good thing to do?

We have those crazy ground squirrels all over out here and weeds like crazy if they get any water.

Also, when it finally does rain, it causes the ground to become very squishy and nasty. We used to have a 15' Intex pool that sank through the tarp because of the soil conditions. We were thinking that using patio (12 x 12) stones under the foot braces would be an idea. What would you suggest?

Thank you SO much for any help!

Rachael

Hi Rachael.

I have built hundreds of pools in Maricopa and agree with your assessment of the ground. Yes, 12 x 12 blocks would be great under the footplates. Be sure to level each block with a transit and then level the ground under the connecting rails.

Carpet is OK under the pool. Combine that with preformed pool cove and you have a nice base.

Above Ground Pool Preformed Pool Cove

The way I would do it is to lay out the bottom rail first. Make it round, perfectly round. Then mark where your blocks should go under the footplates. You can then either move the rail and footplates back out of the way, or simply have someone hold them up while the digging and block setting is done. If you do it this way you have a much better chance of the blocks actually being under the plates when the pool is finished.

With the rail down and blocks in place, I would then lay out the carpet and cut it to fit just inside the bottom rail. The carpet can then be folded up into the center of the pool and out of the way. When the wall has been installed, the carpet can be unfolded, and it should fit perfect. Install the coving over top of it and you are ready for the liner.