Planning to Sink Doughboy

by Phoenix
(Phoenix, Arizona )

From: Phoenix Arizona

We are about to purchase the "Desert Spring" 16 x 52 round. My husband wants to partially sink it roughly 2-3 feet in the ground for aesthetics.

He was planning on having the hole dug and then stabilizing it with interlocking curved retaining wall bricks, and then some back-fill in-between the bricks and the pool.

Is the brick retaining wall overkill, or a good idea?

Also, since you've seen it all - how do YOU feel about partially sunk in the ground pools? Is it wracked with problems and maintenance issues?

And for good measure - I am having a hard time finding the Phoenix city code which states the required distance from pool installation to the the fence. (if by chance you know that)

Thanks, Phoenix

Hi

I'm not sure on the code for fence distance, every town is different, and it changes from year to year.

I'm not real crazy about the retaining wall. I have seen pools done this way but a good rain fills that area with water, leaving the pool sitting in a puddle.

Then I read your question again and you were going to fill that area with dirt. Sounds OK but what is the purpose of the wall?

I prefer painting the wall with roofing tar and backfilling with dirt. Once that dirt has packed solid it is not really that big of a deal if the wall rusts or not, you are packed in with solid dirt.

Make sure the hole is dug plenty big to allow you working around the outside of the pool while you install it. I like close to three feet working room to make things comfortable.

The pool should be full for a few days before backfilling, you want to make sure there are no problems before packing dirt around it. After that just be sure to keep water in the pool at all times.

After a couple years the ground has packed enough to allow for safe liner changes, should you ever need to.

Keep at least a foot out of the ground, the more the better, so if you do happen to loose a little water the outside does not cave in. The water should at all times be above the dirt level. I would also not use rocks around the pool, during a liner change they can easily start slipping in causing a cave in.