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What size pool ground cloth do you need?

Updated: 21.10.2026

You have measured the garden in feet, and the listings have answered in three units. What size pool ground cloth you need is the footprint in centimetres, plus a margin you can see, before you look at stars. This check is for a Bestway or Intex frame pool, or a paddling pool you will fill this weekend. Prices and review notes for the eleven sheets sit on the [pool pad comparison](/hub/pool-care/pool-pad). Figures below come from those listings, from Bestway, and from two UK shops. They are not a lab test. A purchase through amazon.co.uk can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have measured the garden in feet, and the listings have answered in three units. What size pool ground cloth you need is the footprint in centimetres, plus a margin you can see, before you look at stars.

Our top picks

TIHOOK TIHOOK felt pad 400 x 400 cm

Best overall

TIHOOK TIHOOK felt pad 400 x 400 cm
7.4/10about £21.19
View offer
YISIZES YISIZES PE cloth 274 x 274 cm

Best value

YISIZES YISIZES PE cloth 274 x 274 cm
6.8/10about £9.99
View offer
YISIZES YISIZES rectangle ground cloth

Alternative

YISIZES YISIZES rectangle ground cloth
4.7/10about £8.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Measure the footprint first
  2. 2.Why UK shops disagree on overhang
  3. 3.When the listing disagrees with itself
  4. 4.PE sheet, felt, or a trade roll
  5. 5.What you can decide today

Measure the footprint first

A foot is 30.48 cm, so a 10 ft pool is about 305 cm. The frame feet may sit further out than that water circle. A 274 cm square does not cover it. An 8 ft pool is about 244 cm, so a 274 cm square can leave about 15 cm a side if you centre it, until a foot lands past the cloth. A 200 x 300 cm title can suit a paddling pool. A 5.0 star line does not turn it into a 10 ft cover.

Why UK shops disagree on overhang

Liberty Games maps 335 cm to 8 ft pools, with a cloth at £21.99. Outside Play sells Bestway 58001, 335 cm, at £9.50 for pools up to 11 ft. Bestway sells a 16 ft cloth for 15 ft pools at £22.99. The ground article says remove stones and treat a cloth as the cheaper layer on concrete. It does not make 335 cm one foot size. A Bestway 3.3 m cloth on the amazon.co.uk best-seller list was £9.99 with 12,064 ratings on 19 October 2026, and it is not in this set of eleven. The best pool ground cloth UK page sets that long file against thin-sheet reviews.
TIHOOK TIHOOK felt pad 400 x 400 cm

Testsieger

TIHOOK TIHOOK felt pad 400 x 400 cm
7.4/10about £21.19
View offer

When the listing disagrees with itself

One YISIZES title is 2.4 m by 3.4 m, a rectangle, and a bullet says 336 cm square for pools under 300 cm. You cannot average those shapes. A 274 cm square whose lines agree is still too small for about 305 cm. Felt listings include a 3.05 m bullet beside 15 cm, and 3.3 m or 4 m bullets beside a 10 x 10 x 10 cm dimensions line. Do not keep the figure that matches the pool and delete the other one.

PE sheet, felt, or a trade roll

PE sheets here are £6.99 to £10.99 with no grams per square metre. Felt is £21.19 to £37.99. Only two YumSur discs state 300 g/m², which is not a trade roll under a vinyl liner. A pond liner is not in this comparison. UK reviews still call several sheets thinner than the picture, so clear any stone you can feel before you spend more. The clash of waterproof and breathable is the PE ground cloth or felt pool mat page.

What you can decide today

Write the pool in centimetres, including feet that stick out, and reject a listing that changes its own shape. Choose PE or felt in those price bands and read for the word thin. When the sheet arrives, level the ground and stop the first fill if the water runs to one side. That sequence is how to lay a pool ground cloth.

Common questions

Should frame feet sit on the sheet?
The listings in this set do not say that the feet must sit on the cloth. Bestway treats a board or a pad under a sinking leg as separate from the ground cloth, because soft ground lets feet sink even when a sheet is present. If a foot lands past the cloth, that is an overhang you should have measured. If the foot sinks, the sheet will not hold it up.
Is a £10 PE sheet enough on paving?
Bestway describes a ground cloth as the cheaper layer, especially on concrete, and the PE sheets in this set are £6.99 to £10.99. Enough means the size agrees and you have removed stones. It does not mean the sheet is thick. Several UK reviews of sheets in this set call them thinner than the photos. If you can still feel a bump through the plastic, the bump has to come out, or you are looking at felt or foam rather than a second cheap sheet.
What does 300 g/m² mean on a hot-tub disc?
It is a stated weight per square metre on the two dearer YumSur listings, at £33.09 and £33.99. No other pad in this set prints a grams figure. It is not the same object as a trade roll of 300 g/m² felt sold for a vinyl liner. The YumSur dimensions lines also say 10 x 10 x 10 cm, which fights the 3.3 m and 4 m bullets, so the grams line does not settle the size.
Can I trust a bullet that says one size and a title that says another?
No. A 2.4 m by 3.4 m title and a 336 cm square bullet are different shapes. A 3 m bullet and a 15 cm size line are different scales. Choosing the number that fits your pool is how you order the wrong sheet. Leave that listing until the lines agree, or buy one whose centimetres already match and then measure the parcel on the day it arrives.
Does a higher star rating mean a thicker pad?
It does not. A 5.0 from one rating in this set has no review text at all, so it cannot describe thickness. Sheets with more ratings include buyers who say the goods are a thin groundsheet, not the padded mat in the pictures. Use the stars as a count of opinions, then read whether those opinions mention tears, shrink, or stones you can still feel.

Related pages

Hot tub ground mat

Pool pad

Best pool ground cloth UK: who should skip a thin sheet

How to lay a pool ground cloth, then stop the fill

PE ground cloth or felt pool mat: choose one claim

Sources

Public UK sources for ground preparation, filled-spa weight, product safety, and the shallow-fill check, taken from the research digest. Listing prices, stars and review counts are from amazon.co.uk on 19 October 2026.

  1. Bestway UK — how to prepare the ground for a pool (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Bestway — 16 ft ground cloth (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. Lay-Z-Spa — setup essentials (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Lay-Z-Spa — FAQ (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK — General Product Safety Regulations 2005, Great Britain (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. RoSPA — drowning prevention (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Intex Ultra Frame pool manual, 2014, ground-cloth page (retrieved 19 October 2026)