Fiberglass Pool Installation Process

Use a mallet to pound wooden stakes into the ground at the locations indicated on the diagram, and wind string around the tops of the stakes to form an outline in the desired shape. Keep the string at the desired level of the pool’s top.

Dig the ground between the stakes and inside the string outline using a backhoe or shovel. Refer to the pool’s installation instruction guide for the depth of the excavation, digging it 12 inches wider, longer and deeper to allow for the support bed underneath. Check that the depth of the excavation is level throughout using a story pole.

Dig a 12-inch-deep, 6-foot-long trench in the deepest part of the pool excavation to create a sump. Keep this trench 3 feet wide.

Add gravel to the sump excavation until it's half-filled. Set a 2-inch PVC pipe vertically over the gravel in the hole, with one end sticking up, and backfill the rest with gravel. Attach a sump line to the PVC, extending it along the hole’s base and side, leaving the top open.

Prepare the pool’s excavation. Pour builder’s sand over the base of the trench to cover the extra depth you dug. This sand bed improves drainage and provides a cushioning for the pool’s shell in the excavation.

Spread the sand with a two-by-four screed board to ensure it is smooth and level. Tamp the sand with a hand tamper or rented compacter until it is firm. Pull out the stakes and string from around the trench and set these aside.

Center and lower the pool shell into the excavation when it is delivered, using a backhoe or crane. Do this carefully to prevent any accidents. Leave the supporting bars that come factory-assembled along the outer edge of the shell.

Level the pool shell on the sand bed by standing on all of its corners, in turn. Check the pool’s height at different points using a story pole. If the pool is not level, lift it out of the excavation, and level out high spots before replacing it. When it is level, remove the ropes that connect the shell to the crane.

Add 2 feet of water into the shell to anchor it into the hole. Backfill the voids between the pool’s shell and excavation with sand. Slowly add more water into the pool, until it is one-third full. Remove the support bars from the pool’s outer edge. Continue to add water into the pool until it's a few feet below its edge.

Hire a professional plumber to install the drain, pump and sump using 2-inch pipes. Settle the PVC pipes into the sand around the pool’s shell.