Soft Underlayment For Above Ground Pools
Increase the safety and comfort of your above ground pool with a soft underlayment beneath your pool.
Published Jun 26, 2007 by mjkunzLast updated on Jun 29, 2007
There is nothing more refreshing than jumping into the cool water of a swimming pool on hot summer day. Most people would love to have a swimming pool at their home but lets face it they can be very expensive. That is why the smaller above ground pools are quite appealing. They are also simple to maintain. I'll show you how to make that above ground pool safer and more comfortable to use.
To really enjoy an above ground pool you want to avoid having to move the pool or take it up and down several times. Why would you move it? Well most people tend to place their above ground pools on their lawns and have to move the pool frequently to avoid killing their lawn. 
The solution to this is to place the pool on a concrete slab or other solid surface that can be covered without killing any vegetation. People will tell you that this is not a good idea as well because you can either puncture the pool liner or cause accidents by having the hard surface beneath the pool. To get around these problems place a soft underlayment beneath the pool. I've found a material that is ideal for this and it's inexpensive and widely available. This material is foam board insulation. It is very common and comes in various sizes. Often it is referred to as blue board. These sheets of foam board insulation come in 4' x 8' sheets and vary in thickness. The 1/2" thick size is sufficient as a pool underlayment. You can purchase these foam insulation boards at any Lowes, HomeDepot, or other builiding materials store and can expect to pay around $6-$8 dollars per sheet. There are several different brands of insulation board. The one I chose, for no special reason, was a board called Insulfoam.
Before setting up your pool determine the area of the pool in square feet and purchase enough foam insulation board to fill that area. 
Your above ground pool is probably round so you can cut the foam board to fit the pool. If you look at the picture of the round pool on the left you can see the foam board protruding slightly from beneath the pool. You don't have to leave it square. Lay the foam board out where you are placing the pool so that it covers the area where the pool will be. I suggest taping the seams or joints with duct tape to prevent the foam board from shifting while you put the pool in place. Whenever you cut foam it has a tendency to cause a mess. If you decide to cut the foam board you can place duct tape on the cut edges to reduce the pieces of foam that chip off and cause the mess. Once the pool is over the underlayment just proceed as normal and fill the pool as you normally would. Now you have a safer more comfortable pool. You will notice this as soon as you set foot in the pool and walk on the soft underlayment. The risk of someone hitting their head on the bottom of the pool and injuring themselves is greatly reduced.
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