Sand over Concrete

by Mark
(Chicago)

We have a 15 foot above ground pool that I will be putting up. The challenge here is that I have some concrete patio that is partial going out into the yard where the pool will be going. I would say that the concrete would cover about 25% percent of the ground if the pool was on top. My question is? Can I just poor sand over the whole area and level it out rather then having to cut the concrete for the area the pool will be going over? I guess my thought would be that if I have enough sand and it's deep enough it won't make a difference. But my other question is will the sand are that doesn't have concrete underneath begin to settle and push down. If so I will have a lip of concrete the I will be able to fell on the floor liner.

We are on a tight budget and so if sand is okay and I don't have to work about settling, then I will just place sand over concrete. Please help with your thoughts.

Hi Mark

Your best option would be to remove the concrete and do a proper leveling job on the pool site. The second option would be to raise the remaining pool area up to the concrete level, with something other than sand. You never want to level a pool with sand.

You should be using either dirt or some type of crushed granite, something that will pack solid.

Once you have a level solid base then you can add a couple of inches of sand. Pile the sand in the pool center and spread it out only after the wall is installed. Nothing is harder than getting the bottom rails full of sand and then trying to install a sidewall into them.