We poured our own 6-inches of concrete around our pool (pavers wouldn't fit inside the aluminum coping).

I put a three-foot wide sheet of plastic around the edge of the pool with a couple of floaties underneath at the corners to hold it up. Our pool is a 36 x 44 L shaped, and there was no problem with the plastic staying afloat.

My husband didn't think the plastic would float or stay on the surface long enough to help (I think it took us three days to finish), but was REALLY happy afterwards -- it worked like a charm! Jo