Need help to keep pool from settling again

[ritzmom]

We live in South Texas with a hard, clay soil. On top of that our pool has to sit in a low spot of our yard due to utility easements and code for distance from the house. The pool is 6 years old, and we are just now having it leveled out for the 3rd time. This time we have hired an installer and they have taken the pool down and are reinstalling it. My question is, is there anything we can do around the outside of the pool to keep water from pooling around it and causing it to sink? We are thinking of putting a retaining block wall around the pool and filling it with rock, but the installer says the water will just go through the rock and won't solve the problem. Should we fill it with sand or dirt and compact that and then put rock on top of it for decoration? Any help would be appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

That Texas soil is pretty much a Texas problem . . . which means those of us elsewhere have no experience solving that sort of problem.

They build paved roads in Texas, these days ;), so I'm sure somebody there knows what it takes to get that soil to stay where you put it, and not swell all up, or shrink all down. But, that person is not me.

However, this is not a pool-specific problem, so if you have a friend who is a Texas road or house builder, they may be able to advise you. Just keep in mind, you're looking for someone with on-the-ground construction experience in the parts of Texas with this problematic soil. Not all of Texas is that way, so just any old Texas contractor may not help you.

[CarlD]

Can you put a French Drain all around the pool and do the local experts think it will help?