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How to set up an oval pool

Updated: October 2026

The pool is ordered, and the garden still has a crown in the middle of the lawn. Water will find that crown long before you notice it from the path. This is how to set up an oval pool once you have chosen the model: mark more ground than the water, level by the stricter rule in the manual you were sent, prove it with a shallow fill, and stop when the job becomes a slab or a new circuit. Which of the four listings to buy is on the [oval pool comparison](/hub/swimming-pools/oval-pool). There was no build in a test garden. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The pool is ordered, and the garden still has a crown in the middle of the lawn. Water will find that crown long before you notice it from the path.

Our top picks

Funsicle Funsicle Oval Oasis

Best overall

Funsicle Funsicle Oval Oasis
4.4/10about £748.46
View offer
Bestway Bestway Steel Pro MAX oval

Rank 2

Bestway Bestway Steel Pro MAX oval
6.8/10about £548.61
View offer
Summer Fun Summer Fun oval steel wall

Rank 3

Summer Fun Summer Fun oval steel wall
5.4/10about £1,528.90
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Mark more than the water
  2. 2.Dig down, do not build up
  3. 3.Assemble, then test the waterline
  4. 4.When you stop and hire

Mark more than the water

Start with the title size, and then add the ground the supports and the people will use. The Bestway at 10 ft by 6 ft 7 in, and the Funsicle at 9 ft 10 in by 6 ft 7 in, still need a path. Summer Fun’s title is 3.00 m by 5.00 m, and Planet Pool’s is 6.00 m by 3.20 m. These listings do not print the extra width for braces, so you measure a margin you can walk. Bestway’s UK ground page tells you to avoid an extension lead. Mark with pegs before you strip turf. The Bestway attribute prints a square 3.05 m by 3.05 m against an oval title. Mark from the manual once it arrives. If the pool is not chosen yet, the buying checks are on the oval pool buying guide.

Dig down, do not build up

Two public guides disagree about hollows, and the manual in your box wins. Bestway’s UK ground page says you can fill dips and then compact them. A steel-pool manual published by My Pool Direct tells you to be level within 1 in, which is 25 mm, to dig the high spots down, and to avoid filling hollows. A Doughboy oval sheet says the same dig-down habit. That sheet is somebody else’s manual. It is not the instruction booklet for these four pools unless the box says so. If your booklet bans fill in the low spots, follow the booklet. Dig the high ground back to the low ground, and compact what the manual allows. Twenty-five millimetres is the steel-manual figure when your own booklet is silent. It is not a promise that every brand accepts it. Summer Fun asks for a stable concrete base plate and states 13,500 litres, about 13.5 tonnes. The Bestway frame is 31.8 kg empty. The difference is on steel wall pool vs frame pool.
Funsicle Funsicle Oval Oasis

Testsieger

Funsicle Funsicle Oval Oasis
4.4/10about £748.46
View offer

Assemble, then test the waterline

Build on the ground you have just proved, and keep the water shallow until the line is even. The Bestway bullets claim a tool-free ClickConnect setup in about 40 minutes. The listing also says assembly is not required. Believe the bullets that describe a build. One person can manage a 31.8 kg frame kit on flat ground. A 250 kg Summer Fun shell is a different lift. Fit the frame or the wall as the booklet shows, then put in about an inch of water and walk the perimeter. The waterline should sit parallel to the top rail. If it crowds one side, the ground is still high on the other. Empty that test water, adjust, and test again. The Bestway claims a flow-control valve. Match the drain step to the UK booklet in your box. The Funsicle bullets state 110 to 120 V, so that pump stays unplugged on a UK socket. Bestway’s ground page says do not use an extension lead.

When you stop and hire

Stop when the base is no longer a lawn you can dig by hand. Summer Fun’s concrete plate, Planet Pool’s recess claim, and any ground that moves underfoot are that moment. A groundworker should judge a slab on poor soil. A pool builder should take a shell you intend to sink, because the Planet Pool bullets claim a partial or full recess and describe neither the excavation nor the backfill. Stop when the pump needs a new circuit. BS 7671 Section 702 treats a pool as a special location, and a new circuit sits with a registered electrician. No listing here claims a BS 1363 plug. Call 999 in an emergency. RoSPA’s advice on barriers applies from the first test fill. Lock the chemicals away.

Common questions

How level is level enough?
A UK steel-pool manual from My Pool Direct uses 1 in, 25 mm, and tells you to dig high spots down. Your own booklet overrides it if the booklet is stricter. Check along the length and across the width. The shallow fill is the check a straight edge can miss.
Do I fill hollows or dig the high ground away?
Follow the manual in the box. Bestway’s UK ground page allows filling dips and then compacting them. The My Pool Direct steel manual says to dig down and to leave hollows unfilled, on firm undisturbed ground. Those are different products’ habits. If your booklet bans fill, soil tipped into a dip can settle under a full wall.
Can I assemble the Bestway alone?
The Bestway bullets claim a tool-free build in about 40 minutes, and the carton is 31.8 kg, so one adult can move that kit on flat ground. A 250 kg Summer Fun shell is a crew, even though that listing says assembly is not required.
How do I drain a frame pool with a valve?
The Bestway bullets claim a flow-control valve. Match the step to the UK booklet in your box rather than to a US FAQ alone. A steel-wall shell may use a different outlet, so follow the Summer Fun or Planet Pool booklet for those walls.
Where does a steel-wall slab stop being DIY?
Summer Fun recommends a stable concrete base plate and states 13,500 litres, about 13.5 tonnes. When the ground is soft or sloping, that plate is a groundworker’s design. Planet Pool’s recess claim is a pool builder’s excavation.
Can I use an extension lead for the pump?
Bestway’s UK ground-preparation page says no. Use outdoor power that is already suitable, or have a registered electrician add a circuit. The Funsicle pump is printed at 110 to 120 V, so the lead is the second problem and the voltage is the first. Leave that pump unplugged on UK mains.

Related pages

Oval pool for a small garden

Oval pool

Best oval pool: the least wrong UK buy in this set

Oval pool buying guide: frame, pump and the footprint

Steel wall pool vs frame pool: base, depth and pump

Sources

Public UK sources for planning, pool electrics, barriers and water care. Listings are the amazon.co.uk captures for these four ASINs, not a live reload on 16 October 2026. Prices on amazon.co.uk move.

  1. Planning Portal, outdoor swimming pool (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. GPDO 2015 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. mygov.scot, engineering installation at home (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. BSI, BS EN 16582-3:2015 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. RoSPA, drowning prevention (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. SPATA, water treatment (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. IET, Part P frequently asked questions (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. RLSS UK, water safety in residential pools (retrieved 16 October 2026)