Base for pool liner

by Peter Kozlowski
(New Zealand)

I am installing a used above ground pool. I have already come to the conclusion that the liner needs to be replaced. I was planning on using indoor/outdoor carpet (fake grass) as a subliner. Will this work or cause more headaches than it is worth? I am putting it over a concrete base that has a slight concave dip to it. Is the concave slope a good idea or should I level the base with another layer of concrete or even sand? There is approximately a 4 inch dip. The pool is a 15 x 30 vogue discovery. Cheers


Hi, yes definitely replace the liner. It just makes things easier all the way around. Indoor/outdoor carpet or even a carpet pad is an ideal base. Use preformed pool cove with it and you cannot go wrong. Normally the dip in the concrete would not be bad.

What concerns me is putting an oval pool over an existing concrete slab. There are just a couple versions, out of the hundreds sold, of oval above ground pools that will set up on a concrete slab. Without extensive modification, that is.

Most oval pools have a side buttress system that needs to set into the ground. I have done two things in order to install these on concrete. One was to saw cut the concrete where the braces needed to be set. I could then set the side braces low enough that the pool bottom rail was even with the top of the concrete.

When installing Doughboy ovals as indoor displays we would lay out a layer of 1 ½” styrafoam. We would make the notches in that for the side brace assemblies. That would put the bottom rail and foot plates on top of the foam and it would extend about a foot beyond the pool in all directions. Inside the framework we would ad another 1” layer of foam to cover the connecting straps and cushion the liner.

I have seen one version of an oval that could be built on concrete easily. The side braces were built to lay at ground level, as opposed to being recessed. The connecting straps were also at ground level and the entire oval framework could easily be covered with sand or carpet. If this is your situation the dip in the concrete might still pose a problem. The straps would follow the concrete and may shorten the distance side to side. Or, as the pool fills and the sides push out, the straps may want to raise and straighten out.

Some things to consider at least.