That sounds good for you. I had to use a packer to compact the soil for mine. It compacted in excess of 4 inches. As far as the pool, we love it. We had it installed 32 inches in the ground. I have seen three other pools done in this manor and all are 5 to 10 years old with no problems. You will spend more up front undercoating and epoxying the side in contact with the ground but it was worth it. Downside is I voided the wall warrante only. I hope you are as pleased with your pool as we are and I'm glad to hear there are no major problems.