Filling in a sloped portion of backyard (1 Viewer)

[Loose Cannon]

So I got a redneck pool that's 14 feet in diameter for the summer, since my kid loves water and I'm assuming a lot of public pools and swimming holes will be shut down. Don't judge me.

Anyway, my entire backyard is on a slope of about 5-10 degrees. I've got a spot for it off of the grass in an area that's mostly just dirt (I had it tarped over to build a garden on, but the pool took its spot).

I need to figure out how to make that grade flat, or at least relatively flat. I'm not looking for the best practice here, I'm looking for the cheapest and easiest way that will hold up for three months. Because at the end of the summer, or whenever this Covid thing is done, I'm going to undo whatever I did and throw away the pool, because we will be putting the house on the market.

Right now my plan is a retaining wall of cinder blocks. No idea what to fill it with. I'm not sure whether to attempt to move dirt from the "top" of the pool area to the bottom to flatten the area out. That would be the cheapest way, but it's pretty much hard-pack.

For those of you who are more handy than me, how would you make this happen?

 

[gavinj]

Sand is pretty easy to work with.

 

[gboudx]

Pic might help.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Pic might help.

I'll see if I can go out and snap one tomorrow - my turn to cook dinner tonight.

 

[Loose Cannon]

Sand is pretty easy to work with.

What do I do with 200 lbs of sand when I'm done with it (legit asking)?

 

[LonghornSaint]

Back in the day when I was a draftsman for a civil engineering firm, one of my goals was to balance the cut/fill amounts. But, I could only do that after getting a contour map from the surveyors. If you have any construction surveying friends, now would be a good time to bribe them with significant amounts of beer. Especially if the slope is not uniform.

You can try to do it by eye, and if you do, plan on making the area to be level significantly larger than what you actually need for the pool.

 

[efil4stnias]

5 degree slope don't sound like much... Maybe over a 14 ft run its significant.

I mean cheap way would be backfill from "bottom area" (furthest from house) back toward house and level it. If you have, put stake at top and bottom. Tie string ground level at top stake and then tie several inches up (eyeball level) bottom stake taut.. Then take level and walk down the string and adjust. Then you know how much sand you would need to level off. But it will degrade over time due to rain, water out pool etc.

Personally I would do in reverse. I'd dig out the upper part to level off with bottom and use minimal amount of sand to finish off.

I had an extension to my patio poured. Only a 14 by 16 area but even they pulled out surveying equipment to make sure it was level. I was like daaang these dudes are good lol

 

[gavinj]

What do I do with 200 lbs of sand when I'm done with it (legit asking)?

Shovel it into boxes or trash bags, put it out front, and post a curb alert on Craigslist

 

[bclemms]

If you really want to do the redneck pool right then don't worry about the slope and you will have a pool with a deep end like the rich folk.

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

What do I do with 200 lbs of sand when I'm done with it (legit asking)?

Start a cat litter company?

 

[Loose Cannon]

Start a cat litter company?

Or I could run a bootleg bed and breakfast for cats outta the back yard.

 

[CapitalCitySaint]

Or I could run a bootleg bed and breakfast for cats outta the back yard.

Good luck selling the house after summer. LOL

 

[dtc]

5 degree slope don't sound like much... Maybe over a 14 ft run its significant.

I mean cheap way would be backfill from "bottom area" (furthest from house) back toward house and level it. If you have, put stake at top and bottom. Tie string ground level at top stake and then tie several inches up (eyeball level) bottom stake taut.. Then take level and walk down the string and adjust. Then you know how much sand you would need to level off. But it will degrade over time due to rain, water out pool etc.

Personally I would do in reverse. I'd dig out the upper part to level off with bottom and use minimal amount of sand to finish off.

I had an extension to my patio poured. Only a 14 by 16 area but even they pulled out surveying equipment to make sure it was level. I was like daaang these dudes are good lol

Dig out the high side to recess the pool into the ground. You could use the dirt you move to raise the low side, but it would likely erode away quickly if you get any good rain, but for 3 months it shouldn't matter much.

If you go the sand fill route, top dress the grass with it when you're done.

 

[RKNSaint]

Personally I would do in reverse. I'd dig out the upper part to level off with bottom and use minimal amount of sand to finish off.

What I was thinking. He already has the material, plus this way there is less chance of the new fill settling out of level.

 

[Brad Mojo]

What do I do with 200 lbs of sand when I'm done with it (legit asking)?

I wouldn't bother doing anything with it, Just cover it with some topsoil and let the grass grow over it.