Leveling issue, clay soil

[HeatherU]

Hi everyone! I am a new pool owner (16'x48" metal frame) and this is my first post.

I live in East TN. We have a sloped yard and we paid someone to level the ground and put up our pool. We expressed concerns about it clearly not being level before the pool went up but we were assured it was level because a very expensive transit was used. Underneath the pool is bumpy which doesn't bother us so much, but the pool itself looks awful and possibly unsafe even though the waterline appears to only be about 1-1.5" off at the worst spots. It isn't all leaning to one side or anything like that, however. If you were to draw an x over the pool, both ends of one diagonal line of the x are high and both ends of the other are low (almost exactly the same amount). The center is fairly level except for the bumpiness we believe.

What options do we have when we take the pool down so it has a more level base for next year? I know the correct answer is to dig to match the lowest points, but since part of the issue is that he dug too deep on the high side of the slope, if we do that at this point the entire pool site will be at least 2-3" lower than the lowest side of the slope, essentially placing the whole pool in a big hole.

Given the circumstances, what would be the easiest and least expensive option for leveling it out at this point without potentially causing some other issue down the road? Could some of the clay dirt be put back down and compacted if left alone to compact further all fall/winter/spring, or would it potentially still not be stable enough by then? Or could a thin layer of cement or some kind of soil/sand/cement mix be spread on top to fill in the low spots? Any ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated! I wouldn't be opposed to just having a concrete slab poured, but cost is a huge factor as we've already spent a ton of money on this $270 pool so it has already gotten quite out of hand lol. Also, anything that would require digging any deeper than the existing lowest point is out because he already hit and removed some of the rocks surrounding the septic tank drain field.

I have attached an image for reference, but it does look a bit worse now so I will take some new images tomorrow. Thank you! Heather

 

[Casey]

You could use crusher run or also known as 2A modified. Its basically road base. Rent a compacter and level off with that.

Welcome to TFP.

 

[HeatherU]

You could use crusher run or also known as 2A modified. Its basically road base. Rent a compacter and level off with that.

Welcome to TFP.

Thank you so much, Casey! Would I need to put anything on top of it other than the ground tarp to prevent any sharp edges from coming through?

 

[Casey]

You could use gorilla pad.

 

[crokett]

I live in NC. I am familiar with clay as a pool base. I am also familiar with crusher run. I would not use it as a pool base without having something over it, either clay, sand or some kind of foam, and having something like landscape timbers to keep it from spreading. Crusher run is a mix of gravel and fines. The fines tend to settle and bring the gravel to the surface when you rake it, compact it, etc. It will also spread out. In your case after I took the pool down, I think I'd get a tiller and till up the high side to loosen it, then rake it over to the low spot. Or if you want to bring in fill, bring in more clay. Its a big job by hand, but doable. After I got it raked to grade I would compact it with a plate compactor. I would do this as soon as I could after the pool came down to give the disturbed soil the entire winter to settle. You can use string on stakes to establish the grade and you can set those strings with a water level. That will be as accurate as a transit, and much cheaper, just get some clear tubing and fill it with water.

 

[Thorvald]

I had a similar issue with my Intex above ground years ago. I gave up trying to get the clay level, built a railroad tie / 6x6 fence post "flower bed" square around my pool with a foot or two to spare and filled it with a foot of beach sand from the local landscape supply.

Was dead easy to level after that and nice smooth bottom. Only thing is you need to get the 6x6 rails at least one or two deep in the ground and then build up from that. The guy I hired simply drive huge nails and rebar posts into the 6x6's to ensure they did not "cave out" from the weight of the sand and pool. Was very impressed in the end. As I recall he made it a single 6x6 above around level height wise when finished.

 

[Thorvald]

This should give you an idea of what I mean:



Cheers
Tim

 

[HeatherU]

I live in NC. I am familiar with clay as a pool base. I am also familiar with crusher run. I would not use it as a pool base without having something over it, either clay, sand or some kind of foam, and having something like landscape timbers to keep it from spreading. Crusher run is a mix of gravel and fines. The fines tend to settle and bring the gravel to the surface when you rake it, compact it, etc. It will also spread out. In your case after I took the pool down, I think I'd get a tiller and till up the high side to loosen it, then rake it over to the low spot. Or if you want to bring in fill, bring in more clay. Its a big job by hand, but doable. After I got it raked to grade I would compact it with a plate compactor. I would do this as soon as I could after the pool came down to give the disturbed soil the entire winter to settle. You can use string on stakes to establish the grade and you can set those strings with a water level. That will be as accurate as a transit, and much cheaper, just get some clear tubing and fill it with water.

Awesome, thank you so much crokett! I still have a pretty big pile of the clay dirt that was removed (I've been using it to fill holes and ridges in the yard) so I can do a combination of both lowering the two high sides and filling in the lowest spots. That was my initial idea but my main concern was if it could be compact/stable enough by next summer so that's great news. I really wanted to get or build a dome of some kind and try to keep it open all winter but it definitely can't stay up like this lol.

Hahaha, I don't have too much faith in the accuracy of transits at all at the moment. I trust strings and a water level much more at this point so that works for me.

- - - Updated - - -

I had a similar issue with my Intex above ground years ago. I gave up trying to get the clay level, built a railroad tie / 6x6 fence post "flower bed" square around my pool with a foot or two to spare and filled it with a foot of beach sand from the local landscape supply.

Was dead easy to level after that and nice smooth bottom. Only thing is you need to get the 6x6 rails at least one or two deep in the ground and then build up from that. The guy I hired simply drive huge nails and rebar posts into the 6x6's to ensure they did not "cave out" from the weight of the sand and pool. Was very impressed in the end. As I recall he made it a single 6x6 above around level height wise when finished.

Thanks, Thorvald! Another great idea!

Oooh, and where did you find that shelf? I've been looking for something like that. I have clear baskets zip tied on either side of the ladder for now lol.