Concrete Expansion Joints Under Pool

by Sant Cruz
(Burbank, CA USA)

I am confused about the sand issue. Last year I used the Gorrilla pad and the pool tarp underneath. After a few swims I noticed where my cement underneath had lines, so did my pool.

So how do I place sand in these lines? Do I put the sand in wet or dry? The lines are less than 1/2 inch but the debris goes right in the lines so it is a pain for me with my suctioner. I need help!!!!

Hi.

I think I would try using something else besides sand. I had a customer one time buy a case of silicone caulking and we filled the cracks in with that. It worked out great.

You could also cut some pieces of something like the Gorilla pad and put in the cracks. You could go over that with a layer of duck tape to hold it in place.

There are many different types of concrete fillers available that might work good also.

Comments for Concrete Expansion Joints Under Pool

Click here to add your own comments

Jun 17, 2009
 Great Tip and How much is to un leveled for above the ground pool?
by: Anonymous

I searched the web for hours, I mean hours to get this type of advice. Will the cement filler come out after I take the pull down? I am a woman so I am not to good with knowing the answer to this, but I'm a fast learner. Also should I put tape over the filler too?

One other question, I read about the pool that went down in the middle. Mine is at a slant because it is on the cement it leads to a drain for water. So when it is up it will slant down about 4 - 5 inches on the down slope. Last year, being an ER Nurse I was terrified of it just falling over to that side. I always checked the beams for any bending. There wasn't any but it made me nervous. I did talk to the maker of the pool and the girl told me over the phone they have never had a pool just give out.I just told her my fear was we'd be in the pool and the legs would give and we'd all washout in the wall. Now people laugh at me but should it be of concern because she made me feel better, but coming from you all the more! Thank you so much for the advice!!!

Hi. Thanks for the kind words. You would need to check for sure with the hardware store person but I know you could buy a patch material that would chip out at a later time. I would tape over this just to smooth it out.

I would not consider a pool safe that far out of level unless it were part way in the ground and had solid dirt surrounding it for support. Above ground pools should generally be within an inch of being level.

The easiest way to level a concrete slab is to set the bottom rail and footplates on roofing shingles. These are thin enough so that you can gradually increase and decrease the raise and fall of the bottom rails and keep them all level. Since this will raise half you pool several inches off the concrete it would be best to use sand to level the area inside the pool. So you would need about two inches of sand on the high side and then about six inches on the low side. This would level the bottom out and make installing the liner much easier.

Using the shingles and sand method means you would not need to worry about those cracks in the concrete. They would all be well covered.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Above Ground Pool Base.