Above ground pool on deck?

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Wife bought a round 10'x30" pool for the kids with the intentions of it going on the ground-level deck and thus saving her lawn from a circular brown spot come winter. I read the instructions and it says don't place it on a deck (or patio). Are they just covering their butts or does it depend?

Info:
At 90% fill (where the 'fill to here' mark is) it will hold 1,185 gallons of water which is 4.95 tons. The intended deck is sturdy but since I didn't build it I can't vouch for how well it's constructed. It's 16' wide so it will hold the 10' circular pool in its bounds easily. Boards are about 1/2" at their widest gap but the majority of them are gapped closer. The boards are 5.5" wide, 16' long, and held down every 39" (roughly).

Could I put down plywood to further help spread the load or will that make any difference -- I'm kind of thinking it won't but...

Yes, No, Maybe?

 

[signcrafter]

My gut says NO.

But what is the framing for the deck? The gaps in the deck boards won't make as much difference as the actual framing. The posts transferring the deck load to the ground, footings, deck joists, etc. are what is going to make the difference.

 

[Sureshot]

I think you need to look at the legs/foundation to see if it will hold or sink in the ground. You may have to add some bottom end.

 

[JakeKohl]

um...no. That FAR exceeds the loading capacity of the deck. That's equivalent of putting nearly 60 people on that 10' diameter circle.

 

[theoldwizard1]

At 90% fill (where the 'fill to here' mark is) it will hold 1,185 gallons of water which is 4.95 tons. The intended deck is sturdy but since I didn't build it I can't vouch for how well it's constructed.

So how much homeowners insurance do you have ?

 

[p_mori7]

Boards are about 1/2" at their widest gap but the majority of them are gapped closer. The boards are 5.5" wide, 16' long, and held down every 39" (roughly).

Could I put down plywood to further help spread the load or will that make any difference -- I'm kind of thinking it won't but...

Yes, No, Maybe?

By saying held down every 39", do you mean the deck joists are spaced 39" apart ?

Just based on your description, without even knowing the dimensions of the joist or how the structure transfers it load to the ground; my answer is an unequivocal NO.

5 tons is A LOT of weight, with the pool flat on the ground, the pressure per square inch is very low...by putting that same weight over much fewer contact points, you increase your ground pressure exponentially, which will cause the whole thing to sink.

 

[Zeke]

 

[rburke65]

In my opinion........I vote "no".

 

[Big Bad Dad]

The building codes usually defer to "Manufacturer's Instructions" when there is a question. You have read and posted the instructions say not to do it. If you put it on the deck, the liability will be all yours and the homeowner insurance probably won't cover any incidents!

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Good answers. Yes, we have home owners insurance but, no, I don't want to find out if we'd be covered. The footings are those cement pyramids with the steel pole (only a couple of inches) that hold the joists. My gut tells me "don't do it, stupid" and the consensus here backs it up. Just good to get a second, third, fourth, etc. opinion, especially since the background of this group is so diverse.

Thanks, I'll tell the missus "no" and we'll figure which part of the lawn she doesn't want.

 

[jd_1138]

I wouldn't risk the deck just to put a pool there. I'd just put it on the lawn. Homeowner's probably doesn't cover misuse of the deck.

 

[Gerald O]

That much water weighs about 12,000 lbs (6 tons).

 

[JCoggin]

No way....Please don't do it....

 

[24ModelTFord]

Just adding another "NO".

Think of it this way - when the deck collapses at its weakest point (and it will), the pool goes off kilter and the water starts running out because the side collapses. If it is the side closest to the house, guess where the water will end up?

 

[crazytrain]

Another NO here as well. When the deck gives way the kids will probably be in the pool. I would hate to see any kids get hurt by broken decking going through the pool and cutting them.

 

[Kny21]

You don't want dead grass then do pavers. Problem solved.

 

[Steroblan]

Really now? Homeowners insurance won't replace your kids when it collapses around them. My advice is to drain it at once.

 

[atfulldraw]

Negative....

 

[jwith68]

Another way to look at it is that the deck (IF built to code) is probably built to handle no more than 40 lbs/sqft "live" load, might be considerably less. 4.95 tons of water spread out over a 10' diameter circle is ~126 lbs/sqft, more than 3 times the likely maximum. Another NO vote here.

 

[PT Doc]

what's the worst that can happen?

please take photos!

 

[NUTTSGT]

2 places not to put your above ground pool, on your deck or on top of your septic tank.

 

[Ed Litsch]

I'd say no. Those little cement blocks that people build on are not code for building a deck. Those are for a small shed or a very small structure. I have seen people (like my neighbor across the street) build elaborate structures and decks and when I looked at the foundation- they used those little square blocks to set a deck on. Holy ****!! The first big rain and the blocks are washed out. When I built my 14x12 foot deck the city stressed that people might be standing on them one day and if the deck collapsed or sank or shifted and became uneven, I'd be liable for any injuries if they tripped or fell. So, I had to dig footers 30" deep and have concrete footers every eight feet for the 2x10 joists. And they wouldn't let me go any farther without an inspection. Using those little concrete blocks for a footer for a deck is a big NO-NO. Leveling a small 8x8 foot shed is one thing. But not for decks. And I wouldn't even use them for a shed, either. Plus, if your deck is treated wood, you are taking the chance of a splinter punching a hole in the bottom. So, my answer is no. But to each his own.

 

[dirttracker18]

I'd say no. Those little cement blocks that people build on are not code for building a deck. Those are for a small shed or a very small structure. I have seen people (like my neighbor across the street) build elaborate structures and decks and when I looked at the foundation- they used those little square blocks to set a deck on. Holy ****!! The first big rain and the blocks are washed out. When I built my 14x12 foot deck the city stressed that people might be standing on them one day and if the deck collapsed or sank or shifted and became uneven, I'd be liable for any injuries if they tripped or fell. So, I had to dig footers 30" deep and have concrete footers every eight feet for the 2x10 joists. And they wouldn't let me go any farther without an inspection. Using those little concrete blocks for a footer for a deck is a big NO-NO. Leveling a small 8x8 foot shed is one thing. But not for decks. And I wouldn't even use them for a shed, either. Plus, if your deck is treated wood, you are taking the chance of a splinter punching a hole in the bottom. So, my answer is no. But to each his own.

This ^^^

People use those little blocks but they are not even code in most places, and for good reason.

I can say for a good degree of certainty that the deck would fail.

 

[Falcon67]

Put down sand, then a tarp, then the pool on the ground. If she wants a waterin' hole, then she'll put up with the circle in the yard. We're looking at an 18' x 48" cheap one at Sams until we can afford a proper 24' steel wall model. It's was 106F yesterday, screw the grass.

 

[kc-steve]

I don't know about Portland, but lawns here in Missouri turn brown in winter no matter what.
Most often they turn brown in August.

Steve

 

[mrodgers]

Put down sand, then a tarp, then the pool on the ground. If she wants a waterin' hole, then she'll put up with the circle in the yard. We're looking at an 18' x 48" cheap one at Sams until we can afford a proper 24' steel wall model. It's was 106F yesterday, screw the grass.

Proper way is to dig the ground perfectly level, then use sand or common today, foam as a nice base to walk on only. You have to level the ground or the pool can collapse. You have to dig to level it because sand or dirt fill will shift.

People are using the extruded polystyrene foam sheet now as a base because a sand base can shift around creating wrinkles or be washed out. I have foam and it is awesome as a base. I dug 18" of ground 24' around first to level though.

 

[IONH]

Deck is not going to work, no way around that.

Should have done some research about the logistics of locating it on the deck. Heck, a lot of decks wouldn't handle a hot tub and those are substantially smaller than this proposed pool.

I'm guessing you shouldn't put it on pavers because that is still a heck of a lot of weight (more than a snow load even) and you may end up with sunken pavers in that area. They don't want you to sue them to fix your pavers.

 

[joe_padavano]

OK, time for some math. Assuming you fill that pool to the top, that's nearly 13,000 lbs of water. The area of the pool is about 78 sq ft, so that's about 160 lb/sq ft, or about 1.2 psi.

Now, from the responses, it doesn't sound like anyone fully grasped your "ground level deck", which I assume you mean is less than a foot off the ground. Is it possible to build a platform that can support 13,000 lbs? Of course it is - there are thousands of bank barns around with wood floors and tractors weighing that much parked inside them - and the load from the tractor is concentrated on a much smaller area than 78 sq ft. Can you do it using conventional deck construction techniques? No. You need to properly design the deck structure and footings.

More to the point, instead of a round brown spot, you'll get a square brown spot on the lawn. The deck will be just as effective at killing the grass as the pool, so why bother?

 

[porschedude996TT]

or on top of your septic tank.

That would make the deep end of the pool stinky!

 

[porschedude996TT]

So cut a circle out of the deck and add a step all the way around. When your done with the pool for the season, remove and build insert sections to fill in the cutout. Or a big fire pit and use the steps built for the pool as seating.

 

[NUTTSGT]

That would make the deep end of the pool stinky!

That smell would be the least of my worries, the collapsing of the septic tank and the pool water escaping into the septic is what would bother me. I've seen the pictures of the back flushing on the net before, it's not pretty.

 

[cgrandahl64]

second vote for photos!

 

[crazytrain]

2 places not to put your above ground pool, on your deck or on top of your septic tank.

Or on the drain filed either!

My parents bought a house with a 24 foot diameter above ground pool. Home inspection done and septic tank checked. However they never checked where the drain field was. The PO had set the pool on the drain field and crushed it. Parents spent thousands to have a new system put in minus the tank. When we replaced the liner the first year there we found the problem. Sand under pool was a nasty wet mess and smelled like sewage.

 

[mrodgers]

I'm guessing you shouldn't put it on pavers because that is still a heck of a lot of weight (more than a snow load even) and you may end up with sunken pavers in that area. They don't want you to sue them to fix your pavers.

Actually, with above ground pools, you at least want to bury a paver even with the ground surface for each leg of the pool so that the legs don't sink into the ground. Using pavers under the entire pool would be no problem at all. A little hard on the feet and very hard on the head if you are doing anything, say, acrobatic in the pool, but why would there be a problem? Most pools that are still standing have a paver under each leg.

 

[Always_Thinkin]

I would not recomend doing this.

 

[dd564]

I don't think there is a "deck" around that can handle that weight. It's a bad idea.

 

[joe_padavano]

I don't think there is a "deck" around that can handle that weight. It's a bad idea.

Again, using normal suburban deck construction, no. Can you build a platform of wood that can support 13,000 lbs? Sure.

 

[Duck tape Bill]

That smell would be the least of my worries, the collapsing of the septic tank and the pool water escaping into the septic is what would bother me. I've seen the pictures of the back flushing on the net before, it's not pretty.

...it's not very fun, I know from experience. I built/repaired pools for 7 years and one of the worst jobs I ever did was a 30'x50' inground pool where the septic tank 20ft away ruptured and spilled into the pool under the metal side wall... you can imagine what happened when 50,000+ gallons of water mixes with that mess.

To answer the OP's question, I would never recommend putting a pool on a deck, even one that low to the ground, it's just too much weight. Even the largest hot tub is only a few hundred gallons, and usually the deck they are placed on is specifically built to hold the weight.

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Thanks for the additional input. No way it's going on the deck and she's fine with that. This is just a kiddy pool really -- water depth is 30" so I can stand in it without getting water spots on the family jewels. Northern Oregon doesn't get hot enough for a full-time pool in my opinion...plus pools require upkeep and we all know who will be doing that (me). I'd rather tend to my shop...

We are tied to the city sewer and it's in the front of the house. The biggest nuisance in the back yard is going to be Douglas Fir needles and our cat, Spider, who seems to always be thirsty.

 

[oldldh]

On deck---BAD IDEA...

Above ground means "ABOVE GROUND" ---not "ABOVE DECK"!!!!