leveling ground for pool

i'm sure this has been asked & answered but since i can't see anything i'll post as my first question :)

here's what we've got .. bulldozer came in, prepared ground for 24' AGP, guy used a transit & installed stakes to level .. my hubby has worked his tail off taking dirt off to level & i think he's trying to get the ground as level as glass .. so how many inches does it have to be within before we level with sand? kinda anxious to get the pool up & running before winter hits ;)

p. s. glad i found this forum, looks like i'll be checking in often .. thanks for your help!

Bumping this back up to see if anyone can help.

ok, thanks anyway! .. we'll go with what we have, i think we're doing it right :)

Same boat as you. Here is what we did. Excavator got to within an inch. From there you need not worry about the entire plane of the pool. Just make sure the rail itself is all sitting on the same plane the entire perimeter of the pool. We used a water level and set all our pavers for under each rail. We are plus minus an 1/8 inch on the pavers the entire way around. (O.K. we are a bit anal) We then set the rail and ensured it sat on dirt the whole way around. Once the rail was set you can use the sand to ensure the center of the pool meets your specs. Keep in mind that optimally you will have a two inch sand base so you can make up the variances in the center of the pool with that. Just make sure that rail is level for now.

The final product should be less than 1" off level, most pool manuals state this and I believe base their warranty on this as well.
A 24' round pool will hold a tremendous amount of water, so spending time properly leveling the base is critical.

Good luck!!!

#1 I have never built an above ground pool, take this for what it's worth.
#2 The AG pool instructions I've read say to dig a level area to build the pool on undisturbed soil and not to build up or fill in.
#3 The sand goes inside the pool and is levelled after the pool is built, it is also used to build the cove.
There are people on this forum that have experience with this. I chimed in because it sounded a little like you were going to build the pool on sand - that could be disastrous.

BTW you can see more of the forum if you log out.

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Originally Posted by BigDave

chimed in because it sounded a little like you were going to build the pool on sand - that could be disastrous.

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nope, he's just getting the ground level before we put the sand in .. thanks BigDave!

thanks so much stonedbeetle (gotta love that nic) & cramar!!! just now saw your posts ... exactly what i was looking for :)

Building up is tricky, digging down is easy. Sand is only for the very top, needs to be contained, and should be leveled wet, not dry, so it compacts. Renting a compactor for the site is a good idea, too. There's the jumping-jack type and the lawnmower type. Both work well.

Carl