Hi Ron, I knew what you meant, I just did not explain myself correctly. The mortar sand if perfect. You can compact the sand either way, by hand or by power.

I would hold off on renting the power unit as you may not get that far over the weekend. I'm just guessing on that. I would make sure the ground is perfectly level and smooth. You will then need to lay out the pool frame. I am sure there are some connecting straps that need to run across the bottom of the pool. This needs to be done before the sand. When the pool is ready for the wall panels I would bring the sand into the pool and pile in the center. You will spread this out after the entire pool has been built and just before the liner installation.

At this point you could decide how you want to tamp it. Either way is fine.

Later, Dennis