Enjoy your pool longer with a gorilla bottom floor pad. Image Credit: Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
Gorilla bottom floor padding provides a layer that effectively protects the bottom liner of an above ground swimming pool. This product prevents damage, tears and leaks that may form in the swimming pool's liner so the liner's lifetime can be extended. Some gorilla bottom floor padding customers install the padding on top of sand, while others install it directly onto the ground.
General Information
Gorilla bottom floor padding is made from geotextile material, which is difficult to penetrate. This type of material has replaced similar pads were made from foam. These foam pads eventually showed signs of grass growing through the holes in the foam and puncturing the liner. Gorilla pads are much more durable and help prolong the life of the liner. Each Gorilla bottom flooring pad is cut to fit the exact size and shape of a customer's pool.
Advantages
Gorilla padding helps protect materials from puncturing the pool liner. This includes both natural materials, like grass, roots and rocks, and unnatural materials like glass and other sharp points. This additional protection prevents leaks. The padding also makes it more comfortable for the swimmers' feet, which also helps extend the lifetime of the liner. This additional cushioning also helps to eliminate the footprints that commonly form on the bottom of an above ground swimming pool.
Installation
The pool area must be level before installation of an above ground pool and Gorilla pad. This requires the area to be excavated and any debris to be removed from the area to create a level surface. Some pool users then add a 2-inch layer of swimming pool sand. This layer of sand adds an additional layer of protection. Other users, however, skip the sand and move on to the next portion of the installation, the pool construction. After the pool is assembled, the Gorilla pad is laid on the sand or the grass. The pool is placed on top of the pad.
Considerations
Gorilla pads are strong, but cannot protect against all penetrations. Although they are impervious, nut grass can break through a Gorilla pad. The area where the pool will be installed should be treated and any debris should be removed prior to the pool's installation.
