Advertisement
Hey ya'll,
Can I pick your delightful brains again? I bought an 8' diameter inlfatable pool with pump/filter etc. The ground under this little beastie has to be level to within an inch. There is not a single spot in my yard that is both 8' across and flat. It's full of dips and potholes, not one big slope or anything. I can't just remove the grass, because my soil is heavily unconsolidated sand anyway (and I don't know if I am physically up to that challenge between the heat and my arthritis). Here's what I was thinking of doing, and please tell me if this is stupid or you have additional ideas or something all-together different:
1. Staking off the area after finding a center spot that is level (I have a 4' level I can do this part with)
2. Laying down two tarps approximately 10' by 10' and using boards to get them as flat as possible
3. Pouring water to find the depressions
3. Filling in the depressions with sand and getting them as consolidated as possible
4. Placing the pool on top (maybe another tarp at this point, to protect the sand?)
Any adive or ideas that you have would be greatly appreciated!
Can I pick your delightful brains again? I bought an 8' diameter inlfatable pool with pump/filter etc. The ground under this little beastie has to be level to within an inch. There is not a single spot in my yard that is both 8' across and flat. It's full of dips and potholes, not one big slope or anything. I can't just remove the grass, because my soil is heavily unconsolidated sand anyway (and I don't know if I am physically up to that challenge between the heat and my arthritis). Here's what I was thinking of doing, and please tell me if this is stupid or you have additional ideas or something all-together different:
1. Staking off the area after finding a center spot that is level (I have a 4' level I can do this part with)
2. Laying down two tarps approximately 10' by 10' and using boards to get them as flat as possible
3. Pouring water to find the depressions
3. Filling in the depressions with sand and getting them as consolidated as possible
4. Placing the pool on top (maybe another tarp at this point, to protect the sand?)
Any adive or ideas that you have would be greatly appreciated!
posted by:
|
Texas
|
Advertisement
Advertisement
-
Make a very simple device called a water level... It is basically a clear tube filled with water. Water ... as you know seeks its level .. So all you do is place the tube across the area you want to level then attach a stake to each end of the tube so each (OPEN) end is verticle and points up a few feet fill with water so the water rises halfway up the verticle tubes ....
Stake one tube to the LOW end of your hill... Measure the verticle distance from the waterline to the dirt. Now move the other end of the waterline to the high end... (note your vertical parts of the tube have to be greater than the diference in levels) Now measure down from the waterline on the high side... that is how much you have to remove...
Once you get close to one inch then your method of watering the ground will be good.
-
Another thing... Once you get the site leveled and you want to level the surface you could also do this... Place 2 (flat not warped) 2/4 x 10's edge up into the ground so the edge is just barely 1/4 inch above ground level... make sure they are parallel and level to each other (level down the length, across the parallel and on the diagonals.) and 8/12 feet apart... Then you can pour sand across the surface and Drag a 2x4 (again make sure its not warped) across the top... this is essentially the same method that you use to rough in and level flat a pour of concrete.
-
Unsu...
It's slope that is the problem. Slope will let the things wash away when it rains. I don't believe that sand will solve for slope. Sand is loose and won't compact like the earth.
-
Unsu...
we harvest rainwater. we use an above ground pool as the cistern. we have it on a DECK thats 8 ft. ABOVE GROUND. maybe consider a simple deck to set it on?
-
Thanks for the suggestions guys. (Steve, I just had a deck built, unfortunately it's 2' too small). I've picked a spot that is more or less even around the perimeter with the depression (slight) in the middle, to keep the water pressure from the sides. The issue will be getting the perimeter level and protecting the sand. I was thinking about doing exactly what was mentioned above - putting a little water in the pool to get a feel for the level. But yes, as you said Cliff the sand washing away with rain is an issue. That's why I was going to have it between tarps, but even still I don't know if that it will keep it from eroding.
Haaaa, at this rate I'm about ready to hire someone to come pour a 10' x 10' concrete slab. I don't know how much it would cost, but I'm sure I could use it for other things if the pool doesn't work out. Less ground to mow also!
Thanks again for all of the advice, I'm taking notes. -
-
Don't use the sand as a way to make the grade level... Dig -out the uphill side to make the site level, then add sand to truely flatten the area. I wouldn't bother with the concrete... I have set numerous 3000 gallon water tanks on a fairly good slopes (good slope meaning I had to dig about 1 -2 feet down for ten across) using this method , they are still there
-
-
I'm a single mother who has finally decided to treat my kids and myself to a summer pool. I'm looking at one thats around 15-18' x 48". I am undecided on the Easy Set vs. the steel frame variety. Anyway - my yard has a minor slope, approx 12 to 18 inches over the span of the pool size. This is a rental and I don't want to dig the yard if I can avoid it. My idea is to build a retaining wall with rail road ties to raise the low end up, fill that with sand, and lay the pool on top. This way future renters here can use the space either for a pool, pic nic table or playground spot, etc. And frankly, my kids won't be any help digging out that much and I'm not a young woman (although they are young kids, 1st & 2nd grade so not a lot of help with such a heavy task). Do you think the retaining wall idea is OK?
-
-
Just beware Shawnee, when an above ground pool that big is filled with water it weighs more than a fully loaded semi truck. each cubic meter of water weighs 1 metric ton so if it's only a meter deep (approx 3'6") it will be close to 80 metric tons of water. If you want it 2 meters deep(deep enough to dive into) then double that! ....this kind of load needs a very solid base even if it is spread over a wide area.
-
-
Terracing, such as Shawnee has come up with, is a respectable traditional solution. As she said, you wall up the low end and then fill in. Cut and fill. The terrace will take enormous weight as the force of the in-fill goes straight down rather than sideways. Look at the rice terraces of Asia - a thin mud wall holding back an enormous amount of water.
Yes you can make the retaining wall of ties, logs, rocks, bricks, old tires,... I have done this many times and in many places and it works -
-
I was only saying that it needs a very solid base Briggi, that's a big volume of water she's working with.
-
-
If she is doing this solo, I say, " more power to ya, and good luck "!
Digging to level out 18' with a 12-18" drop, is a lot of digging. even with digging out the high, and filling the low, held by a retaining wall/ Or a higher retaining wall -18" and back filling with gravel and sand, anyway you look at it. 18"slope over 18ft, is a lot when you go about leveling it. This may be her largest hurdle, an ass buster either way -
-
hey work is work. you know i mean? At least it is constructive labor - for the children
-
-
Would it be child labour to make the kids do it, then they would really appreciate the pool and what it took to fit it.
-
-
1st & 2ed grade, if they're old enough for school, they're old enough for work ! That's why they make those garden size matics and shovels.
Maybe some of their little friends would like to join in the fun ! -
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.Little kids in America are not really trained, raised, nor expected to do much of what we call work. The little kids in India, especially the poor kids, would not only have figured out how to get it done, but would have banded together to execute the project without adult interference. Also Mexican or African kids are cool at this sort of thing.
-
-
I wasn't serious...
-
-
I was serious, Kids love to feel like they're helping out. It would be good for them to see what goes into a job like that so they never take these things for granted. In years to come they may even be better adults for having had a wide variety of similar experiences as children...I never said they should do hard labour, these projects can be; and should be fun. Just make sure that reaining wall is strong enough and everything is done in a safe method.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Joe Gudice's three little girls are helping their dad and uncle with construction and working in cement in one episode of the REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY :-).
Azeeza
-
Hi Dan:
LOL! I learned a lot by watching my parents change toilets and by watching dad change brakes on cars and helping him with car engines (mostly distributor caps and shock absorbers, etc) and helping mom mix paint while she painted the walls inside and outside the house, etc.
It's kind of good and that's how I turned into a DYIer and that's also how I learned how to cook easy meals and how to measure and to sew a little and be more creative without having to RELY on how to books.
:-),
Azeeza
