Putting in a pool

[BigE_]

LBrown, hey, if it gets the job done and moves the dirt....

Cat Driver - I like the peat moss idea, but I think I like the foam insulation idea even better.

I thought about using the loader to haul the dirt, but there are several problems with that idea not evident from the pictures. Where I was getting the dirt, it was solid and full of roots, and the loader couldn't dig it very well. So, the backhoe was required there just to loosen it up. With not much room to maneuver in the woods, I'd be doing a lot of forward and back just to turn around, and there are a few places I have to raise the bucket all the way up. With the ground so uneven, I really didn't want a full load in the FEL with it 8' off the ground. Also, the little trailer holds a little more than the bucket on the FEL. I'm hauling the dirt about 1/3 of a mile, so fewer trips is better. Finally, I got the wife to run the lawn tractor....

I was driving through town and saw a little 15' pool like the one I'm trying to set up. They just had it out on their front lawn, probably brought it home and had it set up in an hour or less. Hmmm, sometimes having a nice flat surface is a bonus....

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have seen it suggested you put sheets of closed cell foam insulation (Home Depot sheets of insulation) under the pool. Insulates and keeps rocks from poking through.

 

[dodge man]

You just don't want anything under the pool that would crush. The amount of weight will be incrdible.

 

[Danno1]

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Fresh water will excert a pressure of ~.43 PSI. As long as the foam can support this pressure (and most any closesd cell foam will), it doesn't matter what the total weight is.


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[BigE_]

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Fresh water will excert a pressure of ~.43 PSI. As long as the foam can support this pressure (and most any closesd cell foam will), it doesn't matter what the total weight is.
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That's 0.43 PSI per vertical foot. This is a 3 ft deep pool, so the pressure will be about 1.29 PSI. Still probably OK.

Wow, I just calculated out the weight of all that water. 15' diameter. 3.14*(7.5)^2 = 176.6 ft^2. 3' high, so 530 ft^3. At 62.4 lbs/ft^3, that's over 33,000 lbs!

 

[woodlandfarms]

Makes you rethink a 6 foot Tsunami wave or watching Deadliest Catch when the take a 40 footer over the bow...

Also, we have put in a couple of residential sized koi ponds. In those, we used Carpet Padding or old carpet remnants. Insullates and keeps the sticks and stones out.

And yes, I checked, closed cell foam can and is used..

 

[BigE_]

Area where I took out the dirt. Another 6 months and you'll never even notice it missing.

Starting the retaining wall. My wife is doing this part. Unfortunately, she'll have to take the bricks back up, take out an inch or two of gravel, and move the bricks back to the front of the trench.

The first row of bricks should be below grade, and the front should be up against solid dirt...