New Pool Install - Very confused

Ok we get our pool soon and the ground work has started. I posted a post earlier about patio stones under the wall supports. And it seems like most have done that by what was replied and what I have found on this site. How ever why then do some people say not to. As the dealer I bought the pool from. When they do installs they do not do that. His explanation made great sense. We live in Ontario Canada and we get snow and frost in the ground. He said with patio stones you are more likely to get some to lift on the stone with the frost and maybe damage the pool.

2ndly - Do you just level the ground and then set up the track and the wall on the dirt and put the sand inside the pool? 2" I have heard? I thought you laid the 2" of sand under the track and wall? So which is it ?

I am confused ?

Hi, second question first. Never install a pool on sand. It is a major pain in the rear. Pile the sand in the center and then install the wall. When the wall is connected and secure you should spread out the sand.

As for blocks, I work in Arizona, land of hard ground, and I seldom use them. If the ground is very sandy or soft I do. It just depends on the firmness of your soil and the size of your footplates. The bigger the plate the less need for blocks.

Good Luck, Dennis

Ys the sand it for the liner. You want the track directly on the dirt. I was going to used patio stones but decided not to in the end. I couldnt see the realy benefit.

on a round pool, there is absolutely no benefit by using patio blocks since there is no downward force on the columns at all.
On an oval pool, there is partial downward force on the columns, I say partial since it's actulally outward, but because of the way everything is connected, it get's transferred to a downward/outward force, so essentially, you want to use patio blocks which are long in one direction (place this direction out from the pool) it will be even harder for the uprights to try and push the patio stone into the ground that way.
I also live in Ontario and did NOT use patio blocks on my round pool, my one neighbour has an oval with butresses, also didn't use them, neither of us have problems with the pools.
I placed my sand in the center as mentioned prior, but I also placed a 2-4" thick ring of screenings (crusher run) around the perimeter where the wall sits, approx 1' into the pool and 2' outside of the pool, this was compacted with a rented compactor. This stuff basically sets up rock hard and provides a great base for teh wall, it also raises your wall off the ground so when you spread out your sand at 2-3" thick, you do not lose any depth in the pool since your wall was built on higher ground so to say.

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Originally Posted by nicker

Ok we get our pool soon and the ground work has started. I posted a post earlier about patio stones under the wall supports. And it seems like most have done that by what was replied and what I have found on this site. How ever why then do some people say not to. As the dealer I bought the pool from. When they do installs they do not do that. His explanation made great sense. We live in Ontario Canada and we get snow and frost in the ground. He said with patio stones you are more likely to get some to lift on the stone with the frost and maybe damage the pool.

2ndly - Do you just level the ground and then set up the track and the wall on the dirt and put the sand inside the pool? 2" I have heard? I thought you laid the 2" of sand under the track and wall? So which is it ?

I am confused ?

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If frost will heave the patio blocks, it will do exactly the same thing to the supports themselves.

Not really - patio blocks tend to go under the wall a bit, the posts don't, frost will likely work it's way around the slender wall and bulge up on eh outside - the post can heave all it wants without any problems, it's the wall you don't want going up - if your patio block is under the wall at all, the wall can either crumple there or push up causing you serious grief either way.

What the ?? we were told we needed 12x12 patio blocks for under our uprights on our buttress free oval. So how do we install those so they don't heave with frost? We live almost on the Canadian border and get very extreme winters. The whole area (Red River Valley) is notorious for frost heaves.

This pool claims it has more uprights and "oversized base plates for stability" Do we put our blocks under just the base plates or ??? If we don't need those blocks, I am bringing them back.