Several factors must be taken into account in the case of a pool substructure. Placing a swimming pool directly on the lawn or just spreading fleece can have unfavorable consequences.
Creating a substructure: reasons
The substructure of the pool plays a crucial role. Because it determines, among other things:
- the lifespan of the pool
- the safety of the garden
- the convenience of using the swimming pool
If the pool is not level, different potential problems arise. For example:
- overflowing water
- Overturning the pool
- Damage to the bottom of the pool
- uncomfortable bumps when running in the swimming pool
- grass rotting under the pool
- Insect colonization under the pool floor
It is therefore important that the substructure of the pool is constructed correctly. This applies to both inflatable versions or smaller versions with a frame as well as to recessed pools.
Demands on substructures
The pool substructure must meet various criteria. These are among others:
- Protect the bottom of the pool from damage
- Form a level surface
- Protect the soil
- Withstand the weight of the pool and water
- Give stability
Various materials can be used for this. Others, however, are not suitable.
race
Inflatable pools are often placed directly on the lawn. However, this has several disadvantages:
- Grass discolors and dies
- Putrefaction sets in
- Toxins spread in the substrate
- Insects, such as wood lice, spread
- small bumps and foreign bodies can cause damage
As a result, surrounding plants can also perish and the lawn has to be re-sown
and the basins each have only a short lifespan. Grass is therefore not suitable as a substrate.Note: Very small and movable paddling pools can be placed directly on the meadow. It is then important, however, that they only stand in the same place for a few days.
Gravel and gravel
Gravel and gravel make a wonderful base for the pool. However, this only applies as long as the materials are poured into a excavated foundation. In addition, there must be an additional cover or further protection between the subsurface and the bottom of the pool. These can be different substances.
For example:
sand
For very small and light pools, a small excavation is sufficient as a foundation. Grass and foreign bodies are removed and the earth is compacted with a vibrating plate or a flat vibrator, for example.
Afterwards, for example, crushed stone and gravel and finally sand be filled. However, a simple layer of sand is also sufficient. The benefits of the sand include:
- low cost
- easy spreading
- quick leveling of bumps
- improved Runoff of water
- ideal as a base for plates
Note: In any case, quartz sand should be used. This does not move as easily and offers a more stable substructure.
fleece
Garden fleece or more precisely weed fleece is a wonderful base for the pool. It prevents plants or their roots from becoming
Drill foreign bodies through other layers of the foundation and cause damage to the pool or substructure.However, the thin material does not protect against stones or existing roots or other foreign bodies. For this reason, it only makes sense as the sole base if the floor has already been prepared accordingly.
Tip: A layer of garden fleece is also a wonderful addition to a solid foundation, which is concreted or equipped with slabs. It provides additional protection and can prevent damage.
plates
Pavement slabs can be found in different designs and are wonderfully suitable as a base. Common materials for them are:
- Styrodur
- concrete
- Natural stone
Concrete and Styrodur are extremely inexpensive and wonderfully suitable for creating a base for the pool. Natural stones are more decorative, but also more expensive. In addition, they often turn out to be rougher and therefore dangerous for the pool floor.
For these reasons, only variants that have been polished or glazed should be used. It must also be clear that usually only a small part of the plates will be visible. A layer of weed control fabric can also be used to prevent weeds from growing between or in the joints.
Building protection mats
Building protection mats are rubber mats that have cavities. It is vaguely reminiscent of a doormat and offers various advantages due to its structure and material. For example:
- low cost
- Recesses in the structure can be filled with quartz sand, among other things
- the mats prevent the fine-grained materials from moving and spreading
- easy cropping and customization
As with the other materials, one is recommended Building protection mat but not as the sole document. Because of the recesses in the mats, the bottom of the pool would be uneven and walking on it would be extremely uncomfortable. Nevertheless, they are a wonderful addition to very flat foundations. It is therefore always worthwhile if:
- only loose materials such as crushed stone, gravel and quartz sand can be used
- the building protection mat serves as a cushion under panels
- an additional pad is required for heavier pools
Since the mats can easily be removed again, they are particularly suitable for rented or leased gardens, among other things.
concrete
If there is a fixed place for the pool in the garden, a corresponding solid foundation can also be used as a substructure. This can consist of crushed stone, gravel, sand and slabs with a fleece insert or instead of the
Pavement slabs are concreted.This variant is more complex than laying concrete slabs, for example, but it is also more durable. Larger and therefore heavier pools should always be set up on such a foundation. In relation to the service life, the costs are low and the surface is easy to use clean.
Tip: In leased gardens or on rented land, the approval of the association or owner should be obtained before laying the solid foundation. This is especially true on very small plots on which the seepage of water must be ensured.
Recommendation: combined substructure
All inexpensive materials have advantages and disadvantages, but are often only really suitable as a substructure in combination. It is therefore a recommendation to use several layers and layers for both small and large pools.
The structure and the procedure could look like this:
1. Dig the foundation
Depending on the size of the pool, a foundation is excavated with a spade or a mini excavator. The depth depends on the size and weight of the pool.
2. Compact and level the earth
For the pool to stand straight, it is necessary that the surface is level. For this purpose, foreign bodies such as stones and roots must be removed and the soil compacted with a flat vibrator or vibrating plate.
3. Lay out weed control
In order to avoid the growth of weeds and other plants and thus to protect both the foundation and the bottom of the tank, weed fleece is laid out.
4. Fill and pour
Building protection mats or crushed stone, gravel and quartz sand are filled in evenly and compacted.
5. Concrete
Either the foundation is concreted or sidewalk or Styrodur slabs are placed.
6. control
Check with every step whether the surface is level. That gradient may be a maximum of one percent. This means that there is a maximum difference in height of one centimeter per meter.
Note: The smaller and therefore lighter the swimming pool, the flatter the foundation and the individual layers can be. 20 to 30 centimeters and thus about a spade depth are sufficient for the common sizes of pools that can be set up.
