Appropriate Water Level for Unlevel Pool

[jachol]

Hello! My fiance and I recently bought an 18x48 Intex Easy Set and as we set it up (on what appeared to be level ground) and started to fill, we realized there was about a 4 to 5 inch drop from one side to the other. I had done a lot of research and new that was unsafe, so we drained it and built up the low end with sod that we happened to have (we had just dug out a garden in our front lawn). We packed it down the best we could, used a level, it seemed to be good to go. We have been filling for a few hours and it still seems like at its worst it is 3.5 inches unlevel, which is frustrating considering all the sod and grass we stacked up underneath. Anyway, we have decided now that we are going to continue with filling, but we are just not going to fill it as full.

What is the highest level we could fill the lower end to? If we fill it to just below the top ring, will that be okay and stable? There are no kids--it's just my fiance and me and we will just be floating around and hanging out, so there will be no hanging on the sides or anything.

[BigDave]

I wouldn't leave it more than 1" off. I've had a couple donuts and at less than 1" off level, the pool moves to the low side, stretching over time. It's very difficult (almost impossible) to build up and compact enough to support the weight of the pool. I recommend you dig the high side until you have enough level (measured level not looks pretty level), undisturbed soil under the pool. A water level is a good, cheap way to measure level across a distance. Ben posted this yesterday:
Take a look at this -- over long distances, a "water level" is more accurate than an expensive transit level!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pusDOh_5kTc
A roto-tiller can make digging easier.

[Penuche]

That water level is a cool idea! I don't need one to level a pool, but I may make one for checking grading in our backyard. Thanks for posting the link!

[PoolDoc]

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