Pool Installation and Yard Flooding

Hi, we're taking down 2 trees tomorrow and having the stumps removed in hopes of putting a pool there. We're going to use fill where the stumps were to ensure stable ground.

My question is - our yard floods usually twice in the spring. Will this cause the pool to collapse? We're thinking maybe as an alternative, we can build a wooden frame, fill it with item 9, then sand and then install the pool. Do you have any experience with this type of issue?



Hi. I have installed many pools in irrigated yards. These yards get flooded every two weeks with about a foot of water. We use a couple of different strategies for these yards.

The first one is a birm around the pool area. We give at least three foot past the pool, for a dead ground area, then build a fat dirt birm. Inside this area gets landscape plastic and decorative stone, or patio pavers. Outside the birm is the grass yard that needs the irrigation. You do not want any vegetation near the pool, so this three foot area is very useful.

Another way we have dealt with this is to build up the entire area. You can use dirt, crushed granite or crusher run, anything that will pack solid. The area can be built up, leveled, and be a perfect foundation for an above ground pool.

Another option, not one that I recommend for an irrigated lot, but one you may want to consider. You could set the pool slightly into the ground. When a pool has a foot or so of dirt packed in around it the water will have no affect on it. The outside the pool landscaping could then be designed to run the water around the pool so that it has a place to run off. The water settling into the ground around the pool may cause a little rust, but it will not cause the pool to collapse.

If you are concerned about rust, you could always coat the wall with roofing tar. It does a great job of adding a little protection to any portion of above ground pool wall that is below ground.