Burying a swimming pool

[roxynoodle]

I have a friend who buried her above ground swimming pool this weekend. I am wondering if anyone else has ever done this? I am about 98% convinced the sides will cave in and someone could be hurt or worse. This pool is a few years old and was like the $400 special at Toys R Us. I just don't see how it could hold up. I tried to warn her before she did it, pointing out that even basement walls bow and crack, and the pool is not as strong as those. She thinks I'm being worrisome and ridiculous, but my degrees are in math and physics so I don't think I'm the nutty one here.

Can anyone tell me if they have done this and if it worked out fine? She is having a party tonight and there will be a lot of kids in this pool if it doesn't storm. I'm pretty worried.

 

[Dargo]

I'm pretty worried.

I would be too. The above ground pools are designed to have pressure pushing out on the sides, not pushing in. There is nothing in it's structure design to hold the walls out if pressure is from the outside. In general, what you described is a very bad idea.

I'm not the world's top expert on this, but I have put in a pool or two in the last 25 years including my own in ground pool. I see above ground pools as a great way to "test the water" so to speak to see if you really want a pool. They are relatively inexpensive and can be removed easy enough if you want it gone. I've seen some really nice looking ones with huge decks built around them. However, in those cases, the amount of money spent would have bought a pretty decent in ground pool.

 

[Bird]

How deep is that pool? I'm inclined to think (hope) no one will get seriously injured when it caves in, but I don't think I'd want to be in it when it happens.

 

[roxynoodle]

It is 4 feet deep. They are having a party tonight and I expect several people to use the pool. They managed to rent a Bobcat skidsteer with a backhoe attachment and the company delivered it to their house. I had figured on them asking me to tow whatever they rented if they really decided to do it and I was going to say, "Nope, too busy with my own projects". Originally they thought they could tow such a thing with a 20+ year old S-10 pickup with a 4 cylinder engine and I said they will not rent it to you if you show up with that. I didn't realize anyone would deliver it. So here I was thinking they would never actually do it, but it is done. I thought the basement wall analogy would make sense to them, but apparently it didn't. So now I can only hope that if it caves it happens while the pool is empty.

 

[gotrocks]

So now I can only hope that if it caves it happens while the pool is empty.

I would think that is the only time a danger of cavein would occur. After it is filled the pressure from the water should be at least equal to the pressure from the fill dirt. I had always been concerned about an above ground with metal sides spliting and having someone get cut when the water pushed them through the split metal side.

 

[riptides]

Wow!

They are called above ground for a reason. But, pressure being one thing, wait till winter and the freeze-thaw cycle sets in.

Wow.....

-Mike Z.

 

[Dex]

I live near the ocean and alot of people here bury above ground pools. They do not have any problems since the forces equal out from the dirt and the water. Long term is the problem of corrosion. The aluminium sides are not meant to be burried. I do not like them and that is why mine is an inground pool. Don't worry too much I have not heard of any collapses.

 

[RonR]

We had an 18,000 gallon above ground pool (48" tall walls) with a special liner that allowed 1/2 the pool to be inground another 2 ft.

I was never worried about it caving in, but figured if a wall gave way, it could dump a lot of water in a hurry--and don't think it could as the side was bolted to itself, forming a circle. Unless all those fasteners gave way or it rusted through, the skin itself should hold the wall up. It also had structural posts around it.

It lasted 15 yrs and was fine, but we wanted someone else to own it.

ron

 

[roxynoodle]

Well, so far the liner seems to have shrunk and it tore loose from the walls yesterday, creating quite a mud pit. They had to pump out all the water and buy a new liner. So far the pool hasn't been used.

 

[Dargo]

Well, so far the liner seems to have shrunk and it tore loose from the walls yesterday, creating quite a mud pit. They had to pump out all the water and buy a new liner. So far the pool hasn't been used.

No surprise, huh?! Afterall, as someone else pointed out, there are in ground pools and above ground pools. Burying an "above ground" pool is just a very bad idea. An above ground pool is not designed to be an "in ground" pool. As you suspected, there is a difference.