Putting an above ground pool inground

[gypsymoon]

We are planning on putting a used above ground pool inground on one side in our sloped yard. We are planning to coat the whole thing in rustoleum and then the outside in roof coating. It's not going to last forever but, later it will be replaced with a resin pool. I only gave $150 for it. It's getting stainless screws , pvc piping and a new liner.We are doing wall foam,cove, and something on the bottom not sure what. Can anyone think of anything we need to do we've forgotten? Would building a retaining wall on the buried side make it last longer ? We are bringing old castle portage stones flush on that one side for a patio. The other sides will have nothing there.

[PoolDoc]

You're tackling quite a project there, but it's outside my experience range.

Maybe someone else will have suggestions. I'm moving the thread into the AG pool construction section, and upgrading your registration.

[gypsymoon]

Thank you !

[BigDave]

What's downhill from your pool? If it fails, what will happen? You already know this but, buried steel will rot - sooner than later.

[kevincad]

If you put dirt against the pool as soon as you drain it, it will collapse.

[bodyshop]

I buried my 24' X 48" Doughboy 30" in-ground, I have an 18" "side clearance" that I backfilled with river rock, it will ebb & flow with the ground movement without over stressing the walls. it's been inground 10 years now with zero problems. I don't think I would put one clear up to the top rails though.

I never have drained it completely, just to ground level or slightly below for winterizing.

[BigDave]

I buried my 24' X 48" Doughboy 30" in-ground, I have an 18" "side clearance" that I backfilled with river rock, ...

bodyshop; Did you put drainage of any kind at the bottom of the "clearance"? are you in an area that the pit would never fill or hold water?

gypsymoon; sorry for hijacking your post, how's it going?

[bodyshop]

Hey Dave,
we didn't put any kind of drainage in, I'm in Kansas and I think the 2 feet of topsoil soaks up the water, but I'm sure it's constantly damp at the bottom. It does have a vermiculite concrete bottom too, so that may help.

[kckpool]

Last year I installed a 27' Esther William that is half buried. My backyard is on a hillside that slopes down to a wooded area in which I dug out a 'shelf' into the hillside using a skidsteer. The front half of the pool is buried about 38" into the ground. I wrapped the buried part with tar paper to give some extra protection and installed perforated drainage at the pool base and covered it with pea gravel. I filled the pool before backfilling the remaining void with topsoil that I had dug out earlier. Its been almost a year and no issues. I've also dished out the middle of the pool so I have a nice 5'8" deep center. I'm confident that when I eventually have to replace the liner that the fill will be solid enough that there won't be a chance of collapse.


I bought the pool used on craigslist and the previous owner had the pool half buried for about 15 years and I found very little corrosion on the pool when I removed it. Esther Williams pools are made of individual extruded aluminum panel so this may of helped protect it better vs steel. I did repaint every piece with aluminum primer and multiple coats of white oil rustoleum enamel.

If done right I don't there is an issue with burying a pool. I would recommend an aluminum pool vs a steel one. Craigslist usually have ones for a good price.