Question
Hi!  I was wondering if it's alright to put dirt directly on the side of a pool.  My friends just put up an older pool and had to dig out part of the yard to make it level.  They want to fill-in the gap with the dirt - I told them I thought that was a bad idea.

Also, they did not put any cement blocks under their support posts - which are resting on the dirt.  I am concerned that the water from splashing and such will create an erosion issue and compromise the posts.

Am I being too critical?  I don't want to say anything yet I hate to see them have to repeat this process from taking entirely too many shortcuts.

Tks,
Diana

Answer
Sounds like an ABOVE GROUND pool, and if so you are correct: no dirt should be in contact with the supports (expecially if they are wood), as the pool is designed to stand all on its own.  wood + dirt is a bad idea.  As far as supports, if the ground is firm enough, they can probably get away with it for a season.

If they want a level area next to the lip of the pool, it would be better to build a wooden or vinyl deck at the same height as the rim of the pool.

Of course, when they take the pool back down for the winter, they would now have extra dirt that needs to go somewhere, too.

Marc