Pool Installation Over Old Pool Base

by Robert
(Maine)

I am replacing my old pool with a new one. The old pool was up for well over 10 years so the base is hard with just a few inches of stone dust on top that can be easily shaped or worked with.

Can I use this existing base or can I just use it for the pool frame and then add sand or a pool pad for the liner install?

Also, since the existing base is so compacted do I have to dig out the ground to set the supports on blocks as the directions state? This will be difficult to sink blocks into the hard base. Thanks, Robert

Hi Robert. I sounds like you have a few options. If digging in the compacted base is difficult then it is probably going to be just fine without blocks.

If you were happy with how smooth the base was with the old pool you should not have much to worry about. You would just need to add a good cove, once the wall is up, and do a little more smoothing before installing the liner.

Your situation would also work well for adding the foam cove and a foam liner pad. That would depend on whether you had enough material to build a cove and whether you were happy with the base the first time around.

What I normally do in similar situations is to have the customer order a couple tons of mortar sand. I smooth out the existing area, pile the sand in the middle, erect the pool and then smooth out the sand. I use the sand to build a cove and a thin coating over the existing base.

Installing a 21' AGP Where an 18' AGP Currently Is

by Amy
(Wisconsin)

Hi, My husband and I have purchased a 21' round by 54" deep pool to replace the current 18' 48" deep round pool we currently have.

When we originally put the 18' pool up, we made an area that encloses the pool area, with landscape timbers. It is basically a hexagon shape, with many more sides, two levels of timbers high. It has worked well.

The problem is, it only extends about a foot out from the 18' pool we have there now, so the 21' pool will not fit on the platform.

Additionally, we have a small deck along one side, as well as piping and electrical for the pump/filter on the other side, so it will take a lot of effort if we have to actually extend the hexagon on all sides.

My question is, do you think we would have to extend the hexagon on all the sides? Or, do you think we could get by with leaving at least the deck where it is and work outward from there?

I want to have at least 2' of walk space on the outside of the pool once the 21' pool is up.

Also, could you recommend the best way to do this?

I love reading all the submissions from others that you send!

Thank you so much for your help!!

Hi Amy You would need to start by getting the old pool out of there and then start working with a tape measure.

Work with a center point and a 10' 6" radius. This should tell you everything you need to know.

It is very difficult to install a pool right up against an existing deck. I prefer enough space to walk around the pool while installing it, so you may need to move a little away from the deck.

Replacing A Partially Sunken Pool

by Steve
(Michigan)

I had a large rusted split in my pool wall. The pool was sunken into the ground about 1 1/2' and there is a wooden deck surrounding 3/4 of the pool, ground level. I tore out the old pool and bought a new one.

My problem is that when I install the new one, I will have to attach the uprights to the bases before installing the walls, which is the opposite of how I see it typically done. I can't rip out my deck and remove all the dirt. What is the problem, if any, with doing this way?

Hi Steve There are many problems in doing it this way, but most of the time it is doable. Your first consideration is whether or not the new pool is the same as the old one. The size and shape of the uprights change. The lengths of the bottom rails varies between pools. If you are installing the same make and model, you should be OK, if not you just have to lay it out and hope for the best.

The actual installation is a lot different. I start by laying out the bottom rails and connecting them to the footplates. Hopefully at this point everything fits. If so you can start unrolling the wall. I install an upright to the footplate and then insert the wall. I do this one at a time so the uprights do not have a chance to fall over. I also have someone following behind installing the pool rods to keep the wall from falling over.

The wall seam can be the most difficult. If it is a Doughboy with a wall bar it is pretty easy to install the upright, get the wall ends to line up, and then hammer down the bar. Nuts and bolts provide a different problem. It's not easy getting in behind an upright to hold a nut in place, again doable, just a pain.

I've done this with pools buried all the way in the ground so only being a foot and a half should be a little easier. But then there is the deck, they can sure get in the way.