How to make a base for a frame or inflatable pool

Recommendation points

• What are the requirements for a pool site
• Preparing the site – removing the sod and planning the soil
• The device is a rigid and level platform
• Semi-submerged pool option
• Pool on the podium – why and how

An inflatable or frame pool in the country can be installed on the ground. But it would be more correct to create a foundation for it. Today we will talk about the principles of preparing the foundation for temporary pools. Simple execution technique, as well as the use of inexpensive materials, make it possible to do the work yourself.

What are the requirements for a pool site

Most temporary pools are very, very demanding in terms of ground preparation. And the more cubic capacity of the capacity, the stronger these requirements are expressed..

What is most important is the presence of a perfectly flat plane lying in the absolute horizon with a deviation of no more than 2–5 mm per meter. Almost all modular pools are self-sustaining, but this property appears only when the load is evenly distributed. Otherwise, the walls will deform, and the difference in levels can lead to malfunctions of the water treatment plant..

Both inflatable and frame pools are flexible containers made of waterproof fabric. A load of several tons of fluid for such a tank is not a problem, but the slightest stone with sharp edges on the litter may well become it. Of course, there is a repair kit in case of minor damage, but draining 3-5 cubic meters of water is a pleasure below average.

Frame pools are more complex and, in addition to a flat and smooth base, require correct installation of bearing profiles and their anchoring in the ground. This can add some peculiarities to the process of preparing the foundation..

Preparing the site – removing the sod and planning the soil

If small pools up to two tons can still be simply put on the lawn, then with larger fonts such a number will not work. A massive “washer” will sag unevenly, besides, the pool walls will almost always be damp and slippery.

Let’s start marking the terrain and for a start we will determine what form “in plan” the base will take. For round pools, the markings are applied along a string tied to a center peg. Pools in the form of a capsule are marked with two such circles connected at the tangent by straight lines. Bowls, close to an ellipse along the contour, are drawn with three circles: one large in the center and two small ones at diametrically opposite points, then the pairing is done manually.

The markings should outline an area that is 30-50 cm wider than the pool on each side. First, we pass along the contour and undermine the turf with a shovel, driving it with a whole bayonet. Remove the top layer and take away the resulting “bumps” – a good material for creating a new lawn. With a long rule and level, we prepare a preliminary horizontal plane, remove the influx of soil with a shovel.

In the center of each of the holes on which the marking is based, we drive in a 20 mm tube about 300 mm long so that its upper edge is at a level of minus 5 cm from the plane of the adjacent territory. For further alignment, you should prepare a radius rail – a bar through one edge of which a pin is rolled, inserted into the tube in the center. Tightly fasten the rack level on top with adhesive tape, fasten a distance board 100 mm wide from below.

The device is a rigid and level platform

For good load distribution, we prepare a dry mixture of 10 parts of “dirty” crushed stone (ASG) and one part of grade 300 cement, which can be replaced with light friable clay, increasing the binder content by 1.5 times. We fill in a layer of about 5-6 cm, then level it with a batten in a circle. We compact with our feet, add the mixture and level again.

Please note that if the pool frame requires embedments in the ground, they must be arranged before filling the lower layer. It is only necessary to slightly trim the edges so that the difference in the level of diametrically opposite points does not exceed 10 mm.

Now you need to twist the distance board from the rail and pour the washed quarry sand into the pit to a level of minus five centimeters to the bar. After that, the sand needs to be compacted with a manual rammer, fill up the missing, and tamp it again, then spill with a small amount of water. To align, you need to stock up on a second 50 mm shorter bar, which will scrape off excess sand in a circle. Remember to pull out the centering tube after alignment.

A damper pad is placed over the sand cushion. For it, most manufacturers recommend extruded polystyrene boards with a thickness of 30-50 mm. Laying should start from the center, gluing the joints with reinforced tape. At the edges, where the contour of the pool forms roundings, the slabs are cut with a knife with a release 7-10 cm from the bottom of the bowl.

Next, the issue of dynamic compensation is solved: the water in the pool works as a counter-balancer, swinging the bowl from side to side. In the plane of contact, where the pressure is very high, such vibrations can undo the substrate plates, and if there is a small pebble or sand on the surface, they will wipe the bottom over time. Therefore, the EPPS bed is covered with a slippery synthetic pad. Someone uses banner fabric for this, others use plastic wrap.

The edges of the “bedspread” are made 100–150 mm behind the substrate and sprinkled with sand. The plane must be washed with water, after which the base is ready for installing the pool.

Semi-submerged pool option

There are other options for the device of the bases. For example, a pit for a frame pool can be dug up to one and a half meters deep so that the walls protrude only partially above the ground. Of course, such projects cannot be described as typical, because in different situations their own methods of excavation and strengthening of the pit walls are applicable..

Having deepened the pool, you can do without an uncomfortable ladder (most important for deep bowls), and in general, the font looks more neat and proportional. Also, just as importantly, a heavy tank will rest on a denser layer of soil, therefore, buried pools of a large volume are less susceptible to punching and roll on soft soils..

If the preparation station has a heating function, then the pool should certainly be deepened, even if it is of a small volume. It is quite easy to lay a small amount of thermal insulation at the walls of the pit, which, together with the bottom substrate, will create a thermos effect, at least at the border of dense media, where the heat outflow is most pronounced.

Pool on the podium – why and how

Another version of the device is to create a rigid and protruding base for an inflatable pool. Two basic examples: a monolithic concrete slab and a boardwalk on piles or brick bollards.

A stationary base allows you not to be puzzled by the arrangement of the site in the spring of every year. If the pool is used regularly every summer, a stationary base will securely support it and provide a dry, comfortable approach zone 1 meter wide from the walls. At other times, the same place can be used for feasts or as a play area.

The higher you raise the pool, the higher the likelihood that neighbors will unwittingly witness your relaxation..

Of particular cases of high superstructures, it is worth mentioning separately the deck for the pool. It gathers in a wide arc at the edge of the stationary base and rises to the level of the sides, thus, the temporary pool acquires all the features of a stationary.