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PE ground cloth or felt pool mat

Updated: 21.10.2026

You are looking at a £10 polyethylene sheet and a £30 felt disc, and the felt bullets say waterproof and also let water through. A PE ground cloth or felt pool mat is two jobs, not a thicker version of one cloth. Use PE for a thin splash layer under a seasonal pool on ground you have cleared and levelled. Use felt for a cushion claim you can check against the stated weight. Do not treat waterproof and breathable as one specification. The eleven listings are on the [pool pad comparison](/hub/pool-care/pool-pad). No millimetre thickness is stated on these listings. A purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at a £10 polyethylene sheet and a £30 felt disc, and the felt bullets say waterproof and also let water through. A PE ground cloth or felt pool mat is two jobs, not a thicker version of one cloth.

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
YumSur YumSur felt 4 m, 300 g/m²

Alternative

YumSur YumSur felt 4 m, 300 g/m²
5.4/10about £33.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a PE sheet is for
  2. 2.What the felt listings claim
  3. 3.300 g/m² is not one product
  4. 4.Seasonal pool or a wall that stays up

What a PE sheet is for

Bestway and Liberty Games describe polyethylene as a waterproof splash layer, cheaper on concrete and less durable than foam. The PE sheets here are Issimober 200 x 300 cm, two YISIZES squares at 274 cm and 335 cm, the YISIZES rectangle, and Bettsolt at 274 cm, from £6.99 to £10.99. None states grams per square metre. YISIZES reviews call the goods a thin sheet. The rectangle adds a rip, slip, and sun shrink. It can still be the right layer on a cleared patio if you believed that. It will not keep a lawn dry.

What the felt listings claim

Felt here runs from £21.19 to £37.99 across both TIHOOK pads, three YumSur pads, and KEAGAN. YumSur says moisture passes through. TIHOOK and KEAGAN say waterproof and also that water passes or is absorbed. Splash & Skimmer, a US article, warns about that pair, and the same clash is on these UK listings. Cutting is stated on the felt, not on the PE sheets, and only helps when the size lines agree. It does not fix 15 cm against 3.05 m. UK reviews say thin, and on KEAGAN they say stones come through.
TIHOOK TIHOOK felt pad 400 x 400 cm

Testsieger

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

300 g/m² is not one product

Only the £33.09 and £33.99 YumSur discs state 300 g/m². 1st Direct Pools lists that figure at £288 for 50 m² of liner underlay. Parts4Tubs sells a long 2 m roll and warns that overlaps can print through a liner. Certikin’s copy says the felt lets moisture percolate at a metal wall. A disc in a mailer is not that roll, and nothing here states millimetres. US pages say plastic under a permanent metal wall can trap condensation. That is not a ban on a Bestway pool you pack away. The centimetre check is the pool pad buying guide.

Seasonal pool or a wall that stays up

A seasonal frame on a cleared, flat base is the PE job: splash, a lower price, a shorter life than foam. A Lay-Z-Spa foam set from £35.04 is not in this set. Filled spa weight is on the hot tub ground mat page. A metal wall and a liner that stay down need the trade roll, not a £34 disc. Do not lay PE there because a seasonal article said plastic, and do not call a disc breathable when the bullet also says waterproof. Star samples against the long Bestway file are the best pool ground cloth UK page.

Common questions

Will a PE sheet keep the lawn from turning to mud?
It keeps splash off the soil in the way Bestway describes a waterproof cloth, and the grass still suffers. A sheet that blocks water also holds water at the surface and shades the lawn. The job on the Bestway page is the pool floor, especially on concrete, not a summer lawn. If the grass matters, a seasonal pool on that spot will mark it with or without the cloth.
Will felt let rain through?
YumSur’s bullets say moisture passes through. TIHOOK and KEAGAN say the felt is waterproof and also say water passes or is absorbed. You cannot answer yes for every felt in the set. A trade roll is described by UK sellers as a cushion that lets moisture percolate, which is closer to the YumSur sentence than to a waterproof claim. The parcel has to match one behaviour. The listing that states both has not chosen.
Why do felt ads say waterproof and breathable?
Because the bullets are written as a list of benefits, not as a test method. Waterproof means water stays out. Breathable, or water passes through, means it does not. Splash & Skimmer’s warning about that pair of claims is a US article. The same pair is visible on TIHOOK and KEAGAN without it. Treat the clash as a reason to doubt the spec, not as two features you have bought.
Is 300 g/m² on YumSur the same felt as a £288 roll?
No. The YumSur discs state 300 g/m² at £33.09 and £33.99, and their dimensions lines say 10 x 10 x 10 cm against multi-metre bullets. 1st Direct Pools sells 300 g/m² liner underlay at £288 for 50 m². Parts4Tubs sells a long roll and warns that overlaps can print through a liner. Same grams figure, different product, different price, different job.
Will plastic rust a steel-frame pool?
US installer pages say a plastic sheet under a permanent metal-wall pool can trap condensation and rust the wall, and they specify a breathable geotextile. That is not a UK ban, and it is not what Bestway is selling when it offers a PE cloth for a seasonal soft-sided pool. If your wall stays up all year with a vinyl liner, follow the installer felt advice. If you pack the pool away, the seasonal cloth advice still stands.
Which pads in this comparison can be cut?
The felt listings say you can cut them: both TIHOOK pads, all three YumSur pads, and the KEAGAN pad. The PE listings do not state a cutting claim. Cutting a disc that is larger than a measured pool is plausible. Cutting does not repair a 15 cm line against a 3.05 m bullet, because you do not yet know which size arrived.

Related pages

How to lay a pool ground cloth

Pool pad

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

What size pool ground cloth? Check the centimetres

Hot tub ground mat: weight, decking, and thin felt

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)