Cutting Into Hillside

[lardlad]

I am going to have to do quite a bit of digging for my new pool. I measured it out and for a 21' round I am going to have to dig 3' on one end. Has anyone else had a similar project? I am just trying to imagine how much dirt this is going to be. I am going to rent a skid loader but finding somewhere to put it is going to be tough.

So if you have had an experience like this, how would you rate this project on a 1-10 scale? 1- Very doable and 10- quite challenging. Any advice?

[Pathfinder]

Doable but can be a Pain in the As* You are going to half to spend extra money for a retaining wall and proper drainage. if you dont do that you cna be looking at some big problems down the road.

[lardlad]

Doable but can be a Pain in the As* You are going to half to spend extra money for a retaining wall and proper drainage. if you dont do that you cna be looking at some big problems down the road.

Yeah I kinda figured, but that is ok. Also I was thinking of building a deck on the high side, that may make things tough, incase the wall has to be repaired.

[Pool-it]

I am going to have to do quite a bit of digging for my new pool. I measured it out and for a 21' round I am going to have to dig 3' on one end. Has anyone else had a similar project? I am just trying to imagine how much dirt this is going to be. I am going to rent a skid loader but finding somewhere to put it is going to be tough.

So if you have had an experience like this, how would you rate this project on a 1-10 scale? 1- Very doable and 10- quite challenging. Any advice?

There is hardly a flat yard anywhere (and shouldn't be, as you would want drainage away from house).

A 3' grade is something I face everyday.

Where Mr. Pathfinder is correct to suggest drainage and retaining wall, my advice is to over dig the area the pool is going in.

Do you have the room to do that?

You have to make the circle much larger than the size of pool and slope the ground back, where you have to dig down the most.

If the retaining wall is too close to pool wall than someone can easily climb into your pool.

Building codes across the nation require that the pool be a minimum of 4' high, deeming that un-climbable.

If the ground is higher close to the pool wall or another structure is close to the pool wall, making for easy access, than you would have to add a fence to your pool.

If you got the room, dig it big.

Oh yeah. The dirt. It is going to be a pile the size of a medium shed; approx. 25 yds.

Don't build up the low end unless you know how to address compacting the dirt. It will settle and so will your pool.

Also, most people get lazy with the dig, even with a Skid-Steer Loader. First take all the grass off the entire area.

So many people cheat, and dump dirt from high end onto grass on low end. Don't.

Many people try to build their own pool.

And many first timers are successful.

In general, its a good way to ruin a few weekends for rookies.

I hope you win.

[Strannik]

I did few aboveground pool installations, some of which were fully in ground, others just partly in ground

In general, i wouldn't suggest a retaining wall, just backfill the space between the pool wall and ground with special mix of concrete and sand.

[Pathfinder]

Theres a usually a big dif between a model you can sink and a model you have to keep above grade. Most pools that are average in price would not be able to take the weight of the backfill pushing on the wall. I ve see on many retros where the pool was buried and the ground pushed the wall out of the receiving track. Unless you buy a model you can put into the ground, the previous post IMO is bad advice.

[Strannik]

The trick is to backfill and fill water at the same time. If your pool is full of water the weight of water will equalize the weight of backfill. Installing above ground pools fully in ground is quite common thing over here, and they are not some special type of pool, same as any above ground pool.

[Pool-it]

The trick is to backfill and fill water at the same time. If your pool is full of water the weight of water will equalize the weight of backfill. Installing above ground pools fully in ground is quite common thing over here, and they are not some special type of pool, same as any above ground pool.

There is no trick!

What are you talking about?

Like you said, "You have dug a few."

It is a crap shoot at best.

I have seen above ground pools buried that have lasted for years,

and some that haven't made it one year.

People's eyes light up when they think they can get an inground pool for the price of an above-ground.

But it is risky business and home owners/ pool owners should know that.

Bottom line, is it is not your money.

Years ago I encounter a customer that wanted to "buried" an above-ground pool;

Not me.

The home-owner can do it, but not me.

If you are only doing the excavation; take the money and run,

I don't apologize for the opposite opinion.

Why are there inground pools and above-ground pools?

My advice is if you want to "install" an above-ground pool in the ground, go a few feet deeper, bury it and get a tombstone that says, "Here lies my wasted money."

Bottom line- it ain't your money.

Do the dig;

Take the money and run.

Strannik, Are you an excavator or pool installer?

Viva the internet,

G G Gallo / Pool-it

[Strannik]

There is no trick!

What are you talking about?

Like you said, "You have dug a few."

It is a crap shoot at best.

I have seen above ground pools buried that have lasted for years,

and some that haven't made it one year.

So you agree with me that they can stand for years?

I guess it depends on who installs them and how installation is done. I have seen a few above ground pools which were not buried and they didn't last a month. Does it mean that they shouldn't be installed above ground? No!

But it is risky business and home owners/ pool owners should know that.

Years ago I encounter a customer that wanted to "buried" an above-ground pool;

Not me.

The home-owner can do it, but not me.

I wouldn't suggest that home owner does the installation himself even in case of above ground installation.

This is the job that should be done by professionals. The only exception being the owner who have worked in construction and know fairly well how to do things the proper way.

My advice is if you want to "install" an above-ground pool in the ground, go a few feet deeper, bury it and get a tombstone that says, "Here lies my wasted money."

When i was working as a pool installer probably every second pool installation was either fully or partly in-ground. We've never had any problems with those installations. My advice in this case would be - if you plan to do it in-ground - hire a person who has experience doing such installations.

Strannik, Are you an excavator or pool installer?

Neither. I'm an equipment distributor, as you can see by my signature. However in my previous life i have worked as a pool installer.

[lardlad]

I don't plan on burying it or building up the shallow end. I'd rather not do a retaining wall if I didn't have to.

I do have the room to dig out some more and slope the high end back.

So you think I can get the dirt in one trip in a 5 ton dump?

[Strannik]

Some pictures of the area would help a lot

[lardlad]

Here's the area.

Not that the image helps much now since it is all dig out. I still have a lot of dirt to move.

[Strannik]

I would backfill it. There isn't much work in it at all.

What do you plan to do in terms of landscaping? You're not going to just stick a pool in there and leave it like that?

[ignat]

You should buy King George for this project, This way you don't need to build the retaining wall!

[jcs1956]

Strannik,

we have just installed a 15x30.Had to dig down about 4 inches on the high side.

That is the side that the water will travel to.( closest to the house) what do you think about drainage.

My friend said to install some pvc pipe ,drill some holes on top and devirt the water away.

will the rain remove the sand from under the pool?.

Thanks in advance,Jennifer

[Strannik]

Hi Jennifer,

If you leave like that - yes it will eventually wash the sand out. We usually used to backfill such pool with a cement mix which doesn't let the water to get through, but you can install the pipe too.

[meezy]

We just did this. Probably a little steeper hill than yours, but similar. We did hire a contractor to excavate and build a nice retaining wall, which is backfilled behind the wall with gravel to facilitate drainage. We have a lot of drainage problems on our hillside, because we get water collected from property above us too, and this project helped us to direct it a bit. In the process we also installed a new drain pipe.

Your project may not be as complicated, but I highly recommend installing a retaining wall. If nothing else, it will make your area look a lot more neat and tidy.

Here is a photo of ours:

Good luck with your project.