leveling out

Hello all im josh. My family purchased an intex 18'x48' last September. We set it up and it performed great for the rest of season. The location we chose for the pool used to be a play set area made by the previous owners so it has about 4-5in of bark. (It was a fast set up for kids bday party we had just bought the house)

We set up the pool on the tarp provided ladt year with no leak problems however it was pretty uneven as you probably figured. So I discovered this site and before setting it up this year I want to do things right.

My question is can I put sand on top of the bark? Or would you advise to remove bark then level then fill with sand? Will be renting a compactor for the job if that helps...

Inflateable ring or metal frame pool? Either way, bark's probably not a good foundation for a pool. It will waterlog and rot leaving shifting base. Sand may be OK for a inflateable ring pool if it's contained and won't wash away. The legs on a metal frame pool may sink into sand.

Since you're willing to do the work and rent a compactor, how about crushed concrete, QP (Quarry Product - thanks CarlD), or base material for a paver patio compacted level? You'd still need a layer to protect the liner

Its a metal frame. The area is contained as it used to be a playground area for kids. My plan it to build a deck around the pool so I dont know about a patio paver system. And forthe legs I was going to use concrete blocks for those. But I dont want a sinking pool. So whatever needs to be done.

If its unstable I can always dig out the bark and put some fill dirt in then the sand. No big deal.

Bark's problem is it's organic and decays, which means it "moves" and changes and settles.

So it sounds like im digging out the bark. Which isbt a big deal. But I only have to dig out where the pool will reside? And where the bricks will be for the legs? Is sand still a good idea for a base? It will be a couple inches thick and compacted. I can get yards of filtered sand for cheap so if we have to get more than expected its no big deal.

If you can keep the sand from migrating, it works OK.