Burying a swimming pool

[Nat]

I sold and installed pools for 20 years and can tell you definitly that it will work, for a while. Once it is buried and still has water in it it will hold up for a while then the ground will start pushing in around the bottom and then the interior shape will start to look funky then there will be a partial collapse. They will drain the water to repair it and when they do they will fill the hole in and no longer have a pool. since they have already done it stand back and watch. Later, Nat

 

[Dargo]

Hey, while they are at it, here is an idea for a nice storm shelter for them...

 

[roxynoodle]

Thanks for the great laugh! I needed that today

 

[Volp]

Most of the inground pools here in Sweden are constructed with thin galvanized (or stainless) steel walls standing on a leveled sand foundation down in the ground. A liner is fitted and you fill in sand outside the walls as you fill the pool with water. Every two meter of the wall is anchored to the side so the walls can stand if you drain the pool for repair but you have to fill it up at once to prevent the walls beeing pushed in. This system works very well even during the winter when there is heavy ice in the pool. My own pool, 4 meters by 10 meters, is of this type and has never given my any problems. I did not make the actual digging with my own backhoe but used a professional to get an absolute level floor and straight sides. In the winter I just cover it with a heavy tarpaulin and forget it until sprintime.

 

[Bird]

thin galvanized (or stainless) steel walls

Anders, I had an in ground pool built in 1978, and I've forgotten exactly what gauge the steel was, but it was a pretty heavy steel wall (copper bearing steel, they call it, to prevent corrosion), sand with some cement mixed in, placed in the bottom, then a vinyl liner, and a concrete deck or walk all the way around it. And even then, they did not recommend ever draining it.

 

[roxynoodle]

My friend's pool is round and looks like it has thin aluminum sides. Their soil appeared to be about half clay and half sand. They haven't backfilled it yet due to the liner issue. They also piled all the dirt they dug out right next to the pool. I'm pretty sure erosion from rain will send that mud running into the pool but they think it won't get past the 6" or so of the pool they left up. The dirt pile is about 8 feet high. Their son wants the dirt pile as a play mountain, which sounds fun, but I thought they were going to take it farther from the pool. Well, it isn't my pool so I'm not going to worry about it unless I hear of disasters. Hopefully it will be fine at least for awhile.

That was a nice looking pool, Anders.

 

[Volp]

I found some pictures from the time the pool was built. Here you can see the structures supporting the walls. They end in a concrete block. The white on the side is styrofoam insulation which is also covering the floor (a denser variety)

 

[Volp]

This is from another angle. Nice views!
I now have added solar heating to save electricity. It is very effective.

 

[roxynoodle]

Thought I'd update you on the pool situation. They saw an ad for a 33 foot diameter pool for $1000 and have now decided they must have that one instead. So they will be removing the pool they already buried, making the hole bigger and sticking the 33 ft pool in the ground instead. For the sake of friendship I am just going to keep my mouth shut

 

[dubba]