Asphalt Around an Above-Ground Pool

Asphalt can be a walkway around an above-ground pool if it drains away from the pool wall and the house and splash does not sit in a birdbath. It gets hot and can mark under chair legs. It is not a structural pad for the pool, and it should not trap water against the wall.

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A walkway, not a pool foundation

Pool water, chlorine, and wet feet will land on whatever you pave beside an above-ground pool. Asphalt can serve as that walkway when it drains away from the pool wall and away from the house, and when splash does not sit in a low spot. It is not a structural pad for the pool itself. The pool stands on the foundation the manufacturer specifies, which is a different question from the color of the walk. Do not pave against the wall in a way that traps water, hides corrosion, or blocks the access the manufacturer wants for the liner, the skimmer, or the frame. Leave the clearance they call for. A stone or concrete coping is often the better surface right where people walk wet, because it stays put under chair legs and does not go soft in the sun the way asphalt can.

Heat, marks, and chemicals

Dark asphalt in full sun is hot on bare feet at midday. That is a comfort problem, not a medical diagnosis, and it is a reason some owners keep the wet walking ring in a lighter concrete or stone and use asphalt only on the path out to the gate. Chair and ladder feet print into warm asphalt. Use wide pads under legs if the furniture sits on the mat. Chlorinated splash is water first. It should not pond. A birdbath of pool water against the wall keeps the base damp and the edge soft. Sealcoat is optional cosmetics and protection on a sound, weathered walk. It does not make asphalt into a pool deck, and it should not be used to glue the mat to the pool wall. If the walk is new, let it weather before you seal it, and follow the product label.

Drainage and the tons for the walk

Slope the walk so water leaves the pool and the house. A ring that pitches back toward the wall will sit wet all season. Figure tons only for the asphalt area. The planning formula is length times width times inches divided by 12, times 145 pounds per cubic foot, divided by 2000. A 4-foot walk that runs 40 feet is 160 square feet. At 2 inches, 160 times 2 divided by 12 is about 26.7 cubic feet, times 145 is about 3,867 pounds, divided by 2000 is about 1.9 tons. That is a planning estimate, and narrow handwork often runs above the formula. The plant ticket is the real weight. Plant minimums may be larger than 1.9 tons. Do not add the pool's footprint unless you are paving it, which you should not do as a support for the pool.

A practical sequence

Keep the pool on the foundation the manufacturer specifies.
Pave asphalt only as a walk that drains away from the wall and the house.
Leave the access clearance the manufacturer wants around the frame.
Estimate walk tons at 145 pounds per cubic foot and confirm with the plant ticket.

The mistake to skip

Paving tight against the pool wall so splash sits and the frame cannot be serviced.

Questions people ask

Will chlorine destroy the asphalt?

Splash and chlorine are a wet, chemical exposure, and a pond of that water is bad for the edge and the base. A walk that drains and dries is a different case from a soak. Keep standing water off the mat, keep the pool on its own foundation, and do not count on sealer to turn asphalt into a structural deck.

Can the pool sit on the new asphalt?

No. This walk is not a structural pad for the pool. Follow the pool manual for the base under the wall and the liner. Asphalt beside the pool is only a walking surface, and only if it drains and leaves the access the manufacturer requires. Setting the frame on a fresh mat can dent it and can block drainage. Build the pool support first, then pave around the clearance.

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