How Many Bags Of Sand For 16 Ft Pool

What Type Of Sand Should I Use

For your pools base, you want sand thats very fine and free of any rocks or pebbles. This type of sand is referred to as mason sand, masonry sand, or sometimes mortar sand. While mason sand is the most popular choice, another option is concrete sand.

With filter sand, you should check the manual to see whats recommended for that specific pool sand filter. The grains of this kind of sand are generally between 0.45 and 0.55 millimeters.

Why Do I Need Sand For My Pool

When you think of sand, chances are youll probably think of the beach rather than a pool. Using sand to build a pool may seem unusual, but its crucial!

This is because sand is used to ensure a stable, even foundation for an above ground pool to rest on. And, sand adds a protective layer between the liner of the pool and the ground. If you were to use a different material other than sand for instance, dirt it could have little pieces of rock in it that can end up tearing the pool liner.

You also need sand to build an above ground pool is because the sand used to actually clean it. This kind of sand is called filter sand or silica sand, and it catches debris so that it doesnt end up in the pool water.

Above Ground Swimming Pools

Staten Island Pool and Spa offers the best in above ground pools and can supply all of your pool equipment and pool maintenance needs. Our swimming pools are easily installed above ground or semi inground so that you and your family can enjoy a full season of fun and relaxation in your new swimming pool. We carry the highest quality above the ground pools available. Our pool store is open 7 days a week.

Whether you are looking for a good quality above ground pool at an affordable price, or our best aboveground pools on the market, Staten Island Pool and Spa has the swimming pool for you. We also offer everything you need for your new above ground pool. Use our Custom Pool Package Builder to decide which pool is right for you, where you can select a pool filter, pool liner, pool ladder, and accessories to compliment your new pool.

You will also need pool chemicals which we offer for your convenience.

Also Check: Vdara Pool Hours

I Cant Locate My Pool Filter Manual

So, what happens if you cant locate your manual? Dont worry, its not uncommon!

If for whatever reason you cant locate your physical manual and the Internet gods arent being friendly, keep us in mind. INYO understands how difficult it is locating information on an older or discontinued filter. As a result, we wanted to create a single, more succinct list of sand requirements for the most popular sand filters.

Using the charts below, you can find out how much sand you need for your specific make and model sand filter.

Which Sand Is Best For Your Pool

Since the purpose of the sand layer is to protect the lining from tearing, youll want a soft and fine type of sand. Ordinary beach sand or playground sand wont do because those have sharp pieces of rock, so choosing the correct kind of sand is essential.

Mason sand is the best for your pool. Its also known as masonry sand or mortar sand. This sand is fine and free of sharp rocks and gravel. A good alternative to mason sand is concrete sand.

Its important to pick the best kind of sand for your pool. It needs to be free of gravel, glass pieces, and sharp rocks otherwise, it could tear holes in your pools lining. However, some kinds of sand may be too fine, so its important to go for something in the middle. Both mason sand and concrete sand are the perfect size and consistency for your pool.

Read Also: Build Inground Pool

How To Use The Paver Sand Calculator

This paver sand calculator is easy to use and its very helpful too. With it, you dont have to wonder how much paver base do I need for your pavement needs. Simply enter the required values and youll have all the information you need. To use this online tool, here are some steps to follow:

• First, enter the value of the Width and choose the unit of measurement from the drop-down menu.
• Then enter the value of the Length and choose the unit of measurement from the drop-down menu.
• You can also enter the value of the Area if you have it and choose the unit of measurement from the drop-down menu.
• Next, enter the value of the Depth and choose the unit of measurement from the drop-down menu.
• Finally, enter the value of the Density and choose the unit of measurement from the drop-down menu.
• After entering all of the required values, this paver sand calculator automatically generates the following values for you: Volume Needed, Weight Needed, Price, Price per Volume, and Total Cost.

Video Answer: Intex 15 Foot Prism Frame Above Ground Pool Setup Review And Mistakes

A light layer of sand does a great job of filling these in and smoothing them out. The reason sand is not recommended by the manufacturer is that it is very susceptible to erosion. When the sand erodes out from beneath the pool, the liner will stretch, or the pool will become off-level.

Place a cinder block inside the foundation area where each pool post will be resting and layer the inside of the boarded foundation with pea gravel, and then sand. Make sure the sand and cinder blocks are flushed with each other, and then rake another layer of pea gravel over the entire area.

How much sand will I need for POOL installation?

• How Much Sand Will I Need For Pool Installation? Pool Cove is foam that easily peels and sticks to the inside base of the pool wall. The foam pool cove is 3-3/4 inches high and must be installed on top of 3 inches of sand.

What kind of sand do you put under a pool?

• When installing your above ground pool, you need to make sure that you use the correct type of swimming pool sand for the bottom of the pool and a different type of sand for your sand pool filter. The sand that lies underneath your pool is called mason sand, while the sand for your filter is simply called filter sand or silica sand .

Don’t Miss: How To Heat An Above Ground Pool Cheap

How Much Sand Do You Need To Build A Pool

Its hard to beat the refreshing feeling of jumping into a pool in the middle of summer. But, the expenses with building a pool can add up very quickly. Building a pool of your own is one way of bringing that feeling home and getting to enjoy a dip whenever you want, while saving some money in the process.

If you decide to do part of the work in constructing a pool yourself, there are several materials you cannot substitute. Before taking the plunge, its important to keep in mind that sand is necessary when building an above ground pool. Thankfully, you can factor in how much sand youll need and how much it will ultimately cost you, by using a sand calculator.

How Do You Test Your Salt Levels

Its pretty simple. Your salt chlorine generator should give you a reading for how much salt is currently in your pool. However, if you dont have that reading, you can use a salt testing kit to get an accurate measurement. Once youve done that, youll know if youre above or below the ideal salt range that I mentioned above. If youre above it, youll need to replace your current pool water with new water. If youre below it, you add more salt.

Also Check: Cost Of Swimex Pool

Calculate How Much Sand You Will Need Using The Sand Calculator

You start by finding or building a straight 2×4 that is 1 foot longer than your pool diameter. In our case, we had a 15 ft pool so I attached two 2×4’s together to make one long 16 foot 2×4, as shown below. You will use this long 2×4 for leveling the sand as well along with any inexpensive carpenter’s level.. Click on photo to enlarge

Then, place one end of the 2×4 on the high side of your pool site and raise up the other end until it is level. Measure the distance in inches that you must raise the end up. In the photo below, I had to raise the end 4 inches. This distance is what you enter in the calculator below. Note that if you have more than a 2″ drop, you should level out your site by removing soil from the high side – otherwise you may have problems with the pool sinking into the softer end more. Then measure again.

Swimming Pool Site Sand Calculator

Note that this calculator adds 3 feet to your diameter and calculates the sand to level your area. It then calculates an additional 2 inches of sand to place over the leveled area. If you have more than 2″ to level out, you should level out your area by removing soil from the high side first. Then remeasure.

Kidney Or Irregular Shapes

There are two methods used to calculate the capacity of irregular shapes. First, you can imagine the pool or hot tub as a combination of smaller, regular shapes. Measure these various areas and use the calculations described previously for each square or rectangular area and for each circular area. Add these volumes together to determine the total capacity.

0.45 x x length x average depth x 7.5 = volume

The total of measurement A plus measurement B multiplied by 0.45 multiplied by the length gives you the surface area of the kidney shape. . The rest of the calculations you are now familiar with. Try this volume calculation:

0.45 x x length x average depth x 7.5 = volume

0.45 x 18 ft x 25 ft x 5 ft x 7.5 = 7593.75 gallons

Parts Per Million

One of the most important calculations you will use is parts per million . The amount of solids and liquids in the water is measured in parts per million, as in three parts of chlorine in every one million parts of water, or 3 ppm.

To help, this list shows common terms and their equivalents:

Square foot = 12 inch wide x 12 inch long

Cubic foot = 12 inch wide x 12 inch long x 12 inch high

Cubic yard = 36 inch wide x 36 inch long x 36 inch high

One cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons

One cubic foot of water weighs 62.4 pounds

One gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds

One part per million represents 8.3 pounds of chemical per million gallons of water.

Related Articles

Don’t Miss: Cap050550440rt

Masonry Sand Volume Chart For Above Ground Pool Installations

Try to order by the yard if possible. Volume is more accurate than weight. Sand could have a high content of moisture and therefore weigh more. Always round up the next higher amount if they will not deliver 1/2 yards. There will generally be sand left over after the installation.

NOTE – VERY IMPORTANT: Always insist on masonry sand! Sand must not contain any rocks, stones, pebbles, twigs, trash, grass, etc. It must be pure, fine masonry sand.

Got a question, send us an email! Or call us Toll Free: !

Images Disclaimer: We have made a concerted effort to provide images that accurately represent the actual color, style, size & shape of each product. However, due to all the possible variants, including but not limited to: light source, monitor quality or settings, etc. we can not guarantee that these images represent the actual colors of the product. Returns due to color discrepancies will be considered a return of a non-defective item as detailed in our “Legal / Return Policies” link in footer below.

Video Answer: How To Level The Ground For An Above Ground Pool

For your pool’s base, you want sand that’s very fine and free of any rocks or pebbles. This type of sand is referred to as mason sand, masonry sand, or sometimes mortar sand. While mason sand is the most popular choice, another option is concrete sand.

Mason Sand, For Your Pool’s Base It is usually measured in yards. It is very fine and should not contain any rocks or pebbles. This will create a very smooth bottom and is the most popular method to use when installing an above ground pool.

Sand is the recommended base material upon which an aboveground pool should sit. Sand is used under an aboveground pool to protect the pool’s vinyl liner from rocks and objects that could tear the liner. Also, sand under an aboveground pool acts as cushioning for its floor, making it more comfortable for feet.

Also Check: When Does The Ymca Outdoor Pool Open

Video Answer: How To Install A Fiberglass Swimming Pool

Should you put sand under your above ground pool? For portable pools like the Intex Easy Set Pools, sand is not recommended. Although it’s easy to put down and level and it may seem like an ideal material, it can easily erode and get partially washed away in heavy rain.

Sand is the recommended base material upon which an aboveground pool should sit. Sand is used under an aboveground pool to protect the pool’s vinyl liner from rocks and objects that could tear the liner. Also, sand under an aboveground pool acts as cushioning for its floor, making it more comfortable for feet.

You could go with a thin layer of sand. Smooth it out, wet it down and pack it down good. Over top of that you could use carpet foam, carpet felt, indoor/outdoor carpet, something along those lines that can be found in the remnants, cutoffs or discount racks of carpet stores.

For your pool’s base, you want sand that’s very fine and free of any rocks or pebbles. This type of sand is referred to as mason sand, masonry sand, or sometimes mortar sand. While mason sand is the most popular choice, another option is concrete sand.

Convert Cubic Feet To Number Of Bags

Like I said earlier, each sand bag should be 0.5 cubic feet. So, if you need 15 cubic feet of sand as an example, you will need to buy 30 bags of sand.

If youre not sure which type of sand to get, we like Quikrete play sand which you can order online or probably find at Lowes, Home Depot, or another local hardware store. You can also head over to that DIY sandbox article that we linked above for more instructions.

• This 50 lb. Play Sand is a specially graded washed sand that has been dried…
• Unfortunately, not all of us have a beach nearby, so sandboxes are great…
• You cant just pick any sand to go into your sandbox! You need to make…

Don’t Miss: Target Pool Supplies

When To Change Pool Filter Sand

This depends on the size of your sand filter in relation to the pool, but somewhere between 2-7 years.

Small sand filters of 16, 18 or 21 diameter need to replace the sand more often, every 2-5 years, sooner if the pool is used heavily, or has sticky tree debris, or a pump that is too large for the filter size.

Larger sand filters with 24 to 36 diameter tanks can often go longer between sand changes, simply because of the larger filter area. 5-7 years is the normal interval for larger sand filters.

The best time to replace filter sand is before you need to, but if you notice poor water quality, short filter cycles , or dirt passing through the filter, it may be time to replace the filter sand.

Types And Grades Of Sand

Contrary to what you may think, there is more than one type of sand, by the size of its pebbles and it’s intended use . Selecting the right type and size is crucial, as some sands have a different application than others.

Standard sand, in addition, shall be light grey or whitish color, should be free from silt and the grains should be angular, but a small percentage of flaky or rounded particles are permissible. Some manufacturers express the grade and type of the sand in other ways, e.g. “river sand” , “masonry sand”, “M-10 sand” , “play sand”, each being finer and more expensive than the previous one.

Recommended Reading: Pool Balancing Calculator