ruskent

I did not know what forum to post this in, but i figured you guys would know the most about it.

Have you guys ever used flowable fill? I been reading alot of about it lately. I just became a fiberglass pool dealer and i was interested in using it as back fill instead of sand. The most important part of the fiberglass pool installation is the back fill. If the stairs arn't back filled enough the weight of the water will crack the pool. I'm thinking if i used flowable fill for the first 2 feet of the backfill i could eliminate any chance of not having enough backfill and any chance of cracking. It could be a good selling point.

Granted, it is expensive, i think the labor savings of wetting the sand with a water wond and stumping with my feet, may make it more cost effective.

Matt

Dirtguy

We use it periodically. Mainly in a trench backfill application. If we have the parking lot flexbase installed and the owner decides to add an irrigation or lighting conduit somewhere, we will always backfill the trench with flowable. It really helps to keep the trench from settling.

jmic

Yeah we also use it for backfilling any utility work done out in the State roadways. (required)

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Joe

dayexco

we've used it on water main tie ins that require a lot of room around the pipes and because of other utilities in the way, make it impossible to recompact the soil around them, works excellent

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ruskent

But do you guys think it would be safe to use as fill around a fiberglass pool. I really just want to use it for the first half of the fill to make sure the stairs/steps have enough support. All the plumbing would sit on top of it, and then i'd fill the rest with sand.
I think i could upsell it without a doubt.

Matt

dayexco

russkent, i think it would be a wonderful idea. i've dug pool holes, but never installed one. would you have to "secure" that pool liner when you put in the flowable fill to keep it from "floating" on you? other than that, i think that would be a great application for the product.

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ruskent

day- the pools are fiberglass. I fill the pool with water as i back fill. First i put some water in the pool to keep it from moving and than i back fill a foot and so on.

Matt

tgeb

Sounds like you have it all worked out.

I think the flow-able fill is a good idea for your pools. Have never used it personally.

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rino1494

You said that your plumbing will be sitting on the fill ?? If it was me, I would use some 2A modified and earn my PhD.

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ruskent

Rino- What i was saying what i'd use the flowable fill up to the level of the lines. Then go with sand from there up. This would provide a good base for the lines.

Matt

rino1494

Right, I understand that. I am more concerned with the cost of flowable fill. Personally, we have never used it, but I would think that it would be more cost effective to use some sort of stone. Also, I would be a little careful with dumping the flowable fill around the pool so that it doesn't move.

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ruskent

Yes the flowable fill is substancially more money. But there is no second guessing if all the stairs and steps were backfilled enough. As long as the excavator digs the hole as close to exact specs as possible i should never need more than 15 yards of flowable.

I'd save money on the backfilling time. I also save money on the water truck. As i am backfilling the pool, the water truck has to be there so i can fill it up. The flowable fill will save me a ton of time backfilling. That saves me man hours and also saves me $60 bucks an hour for the water truck to sit there as i backfill.

When its all said and done i bet it only cost me an extra 500 a pool which easy to sell.

Matt

denick

rus,

We only used flow-able fill one time to backfill the interior of a foundation that was going to have a slab poured on it.

There seemed to be an awful lot of bleed water coming out of the fill. If this is common you may still need to have that water truck there. If there is no place for that bleed water to go it will raise that pool. Unless you can fill the pool quicker and send the truck away. Flow-able fill is still concrete and the hydraulic pressure is considerable.

The other guys who have used it more can probably tell more on this.

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ruskent

denick- Yes i would still need to have the water truck there, but it would be there less. I would be alot quicker to dump flowable fill around the pool vs hitting sand with a water wond for hours.

I know the hydrostatic pressure needs to be considered. Thats what i am trying to find out. I just want to make sure the pressure isn't going to be greater then the water in the pools.

I guess i really need to find someone who has alot of experience with the stuff to see how it acts and all. From what i read on the stuff, when it hardness, it has the same compaction rate as virgin dirt. If thats the truth, i can't see the pressure being greater than anything else.

Matt

ruskent

The only think i could think of that could be a negative thing might be that flowable fill really is not going to drain like sand would. It maybe a issue with the freeze thaw. But how much does it really have to drain? How much water would get through concrete or paver decking?

Matt

tnmtn

as far as drainage issues you might try talking with the pool manufacturer. maybe at some point they had an engineer to help with the design. maybe this is something that he addressed. good luck and i'm curious to see if it works.
metin

POOLMANinCT

rusk...
your doing package/precast pools , get the manufacturers ok, not ours.

btw hows everything going?

ray

PipeGuy

Flowable fill is light weight and can be easily excavated after it's 'cured'. It also has a very low 'shrinkage' factor. Its compressive strengths are about that of well compacted dirt.

You might want to check with a supplier for any potential reactivity/corrosive properties that could become an issue with the material(s) it'll be in contact with.

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PipeGuy

Great point

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