Above Ground Swimming Pool Blog
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Landscaping Do's and Don'ts
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The Do’s and Don’ts of Landscaping
Landscaping around an above ground swimming pool is something that every pool owner will be faced with. Two important things to remember when deciding how to landscape around your above ground swimming pool are that the eventuality of all vinyl liners is that they will need to be replaced and so your pool will be empty at some point and water weight will not be there to balance the weight pushing into the pool from outside the wall; and that all vinyl liners are susceptible to intrusion from ants and or termites. With that in mind let’s look into the different options available for landscaping around an above ground swimming pool.
Pea gravel/rock: One of the most widely used landscaping materials, pea gravel or rock add a stark beauty to any backyard. The fact that an assortment of colors, shapes, and sizes are available puts these ground cover materials at the top of the homeowner’s list when landscaping. Personally I love the way an above ground swimming pool looks when landscaped with pea gravel or rocks. There is just one problem that occurs with rock: when it is time to replace the liner in your pool the water must be drained. This means that there is no water weight to balance the weight of the rocks around the outside of the pool. Without that water weight the rocks push the pool wall inward and in severe cases can collapse the pool wall. To prevent this from happening make sure that when using pea gravel or rock to landscape around the pool that you do not use more than two inches of gravel or rock. Keeping this low depth of material will allow the liner to be replaced without the risk of damage to the pool.
Wood chips/pine bark: Wood chips and pine bark have been ground cover staples for landscapers for decades. While adding to the aesthetic quality of your pool these two types of landscaping materials may be hiding your pool’s worst enemy. As these materials decay they become hotspots for ants and termites to build their dwellings. Ants and termites account for 75% of the liner replacements that my company does each year. The ants and termites like to dig through the sand beneath the pool liner, presumably because the sand is much easier to dig through than dirt is. While doing this the mandibles put tiny pinholes into the pool liner. These holes in extreme cases number in the hundreds and cannot be sealed. The only option when dealing with a liner that has ant or termite damage is replacement. To combat ant and termite damage we strongly recommend that wood chips and pine bark are never used as landscaping material around an above ground swimming pool. You don’t want ant or termites around your pool so don’t provide them with a home and a food source as you are landscaping.
Pine straw: In the above ground swimming pool industry pine straw is as faithful as the sunrise. Though it’s most glaring drawback may be that it must be replaced every year or two, pine straw is one of the best ground cover materials when landscaping around your above ground swimming pool. Cheap and easy, pine straw provides an elegant look without the negative aspects of rock or wood chips.
Bottom line is that you can landscape around your above ground swimming pool with whatever material you desire, but make sure that you are aware of the pros and cons of each. Also, check your pool’s warranty information regarding how far up the pool wall you can place material. Oh yeah, and always, always treat for ants and termites.
Comments
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Thursday, 12 July 2012
I wish I could be your hero and tell you that there was an easy way to fix this without draining the pool...but there isnt. You feeling on cutting the yard down from the low side was right. The problem with building the pool on sand is that sand is easily manipulated by water and rain. This causes it to sink and sand natural packs with weight on top and this causes it to sink as well. At this point the only solution I know to give you is to drain the pool and use dirt to fill in the box that you have made. You can save some of that sand to make it smooth on top but you only want to leave an inch or two. This way it will pack nice once the pool is filled.
With what you have now, you will probably find that the pool will be settling more and more over time. Maybe you can make it through the season and fix this in the off season.
Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but you really cant fix anything with that much water weight in the pool. -
Sunday, 15 July 2012Hi Joel,
Here in New England there is a new trend starting to develop. Rubber mulch is a good alternative to wood chips and rocks. It doesn't contribute to rusting a wall from scratching it with rocks and it keeps termites away by not attracting them.· Chad likes this comment. -
Friday, 14 September 2012
Hello Chad,
With your awesome You Tub videos - we were able to set up our 24' pool we pruchased used. THANKS!!!! NOW - we are ready to put it to bed for the winter... 2 things: 1) One side of our pool is flush with the terrain and the other side is about 1.5 feet lower (but it's level) - do I fill the low side with dirt and then top with 2" of pea gravel??? Not sure about filling in with dirt??
2) Do you reccomend a faceplate cover (Aquador) or a Gizzmo for the skimmer?· Chad likes this comment. -
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Good. Im glad the videos have helped you. You are on the right track with what you want to do landscaping wise, but if you fill in your section with dirt, you want to make sure that your dirt will pack and not cave in if the pool is ever emptied. Here in Atlanta we have clay for dirt and it packs really well. In different parts of the country dirts differ. Call a local pool store and see if they have success with filling the side of the pool with dirt.
Yes, I love the gizzmo. Not so much the skimmer faceplate cover. I would recommend the gizzmo to anyone.
Have a great winter!
Hi there, I need some advice. We bought an above ground Intex pool, you know the kind with a metal frame and rubber bladder? Well thinking that our ground was relatively level we happily installed the thing with ease but only to find out that it was an entire foot lower on one end than the other once we filled it. 4400 gallons later, we had to drain it. My fiance decided that we would then build a level "sandbox" to relocate it to. So basically destroying half my beautiful yard we capped off some sprinkler heads, brought in a couple of tons of sand and boxed in an 18'X18' square pad. Well we had to build up one side about 6-8 inches and then the other side of the pad was just flush with the yard. Ummm, I'm thinking now that we shouldn't have built up the low end, but rather dug out the high end to match the low spot in the yard. We repositioned, refilled and low and behold it's sinking on one end. So frusterating I'm about ready to trash the entire project... We have now roughly 600.00 invested in this thing not to mention half my yard isn't any good for anything now. What do you recommend? Is there anyway to "fix" the sinking side with out draining the pool or worse tearing out the sand pad?