How to Install Artificial Turf Around a Pool Deck

This guide is for DIYers and homeowners overseeing an installer on a pool surround. It assumes you know the basics of turf installation, covered in our main installation guide, and focuses on the details unique to working next to a pool. It covers soil-based installs, installs over existing concrete or pavers, and protecting the pool and equipment.

What is different about installing turf next to a pool?

Three conditions change the job: a fixed, finished edge (the coping) that the turf must meet cleanly, a body of water that must not receive sand, soil or debris, and much more water on the surface than a typical lawn. Each step below is adjusted for those.

How do you protect the pool during installation?

Do this before any excavation or base work begins:

1. Lower the water level only if the pool builder or equipment requires it; otherwise leave it at normal level.
2. Put a skimmer sock or fine filter bag in every skimmer basket.
3. Cover the pool with a solid cover or weighted tarps along the work sides, or at minimum lay plastic sheeting over the coping and the first foot of water edge.
4. Turn off automatic pool cleaners so they do not ingest sand.
5. If you use a cartridge filter, have a spare clean cartridge ready. For sand or DE filters, plan to backwash after the install.
6. Shield equipment pads from dust with a tarp, leaving ventilation if equipment must run.

How do you prepare the base next to coping?

On soil, excavate 3 to 4 in deep (deeper on clay, see our clay soil guide) and follow standard base preparation, with these pool-specific details:

• Do not undermine the coping or deck. Hand-dig the last 12 in next to the pool. Pool decks and bond beams can be damaged by machinery and by removing soil that supports them.
• Respect the pool's plumbing. Return and skimmer lines often run just below grade around the pool. Call your pool builder or use the as-built plans before digging, and probe carefully.
• Grade away. Set the base at about 2 percent away from the pool for the first 4 to 6 ft.
• Set the height. Finished turf surface should sit 1/4 to 1/2 in below the top of the coping or hard band so water steps down onto turf.
• Compact thoroughly at the edge. The strip against the coping is where settlement shows first. Use a hand tamper in tight spots.

Use the base material calculator to estimate aggregate for the area.

What edge details work best at the coping?

Our preference is a hard band of at least 12 in where space allows. It keeps infill and fibers farthest from the water, gives a firm step out of the pool, and hides minor height mismatches. See edging and borders for materials.

When the turf meets the coping directly, trim it tight with a sharp blade, fold the edge so the backing sits slightly under the coping lip if there is an overhang, and fix it every 3 to 4 in with nails into a border or glue onto a concrete strip. Never rely on infill weight alone at a pool edge; foot traffic pulls loose edges up. Our guide to cutting around obstacles covers trimming around steps, rails and drains.

How do you install turf over existing pavers or concrete around a pool?

Many homeowners want to turf over an aging deck. It can work if the deck drains away from the pool and has no movement.

1. Confirm the deck falls away from the pool at 1 to 2 percent. If it falls toward the pool, stop; turf will not fix that.
2. Repair cracks, re-level heaved pavers, and clean the surface.
3. Leave deck drains, expansion joints and skimmer lids accessible; plan cutouts.
4. Lay a drainage mat or channeled foam pad with channels running away from the pool.
5. Roll out turf and seam it as usual.
6. Glue the turf only around the perimeter and at seams, never full spread, so water can still move underneath.
7. At the outer edge, leave a drainage gap or slotted trim so water can exit.
8. Add infill sparingly, or skip it if the product allows.

The full method for hard surfaces is in turf on concrete, and the drainage reasoning behind these steps is in drainage over concrete and rooftops.

How do you keep infill out of the pool?

Infill migration is the most common pool-turf complaint. Several layers of defense work together:

• Choose the right infill. Rounded coated sand or 16/30 mesh silica sand moves less than fine sand. Avoid anything that floats.
• Use less near the water. Reduce infill to about half the normal rate, or none, within 3 to 4 ft of the coping if the turf is dense.
• Apply on a calm, dry day. Spread with a drop spreader moving parallel to the pool, never a broadcast spreader near the edge.
• Brush away from the pool. Always brush infill in strokes that push toward the outer edge.
• Install a hard band or curb. Even a slight lip stops most migration.
• Rinse away from the pool. Direct hose water outward when cleaning.

Use the infill calculator to work out a reduced-rate quantity for the pool-side zone, and our how to apply infill guide for technique.

How do you protect the pool filter after installation?

Even careful installs put some sand in the pool. Clean it before it wears equipment:

1. Remove pool covers carefully, folding debris inward and away from the water.
2. Brush the coping and deck clean, sweeping away from the pool.
3. Vacuum the pool floor manually, ideally to waste for sand or DE filters, which sends debris out instead of through the filter.
4. Empty skimmer socks and baskets.
5. Backwash sand and DE filters, or rinse or swap the cartridge.
6. Check pump strainer baskets for fibers.
7. Repeat skimmer checks for the first two weeks while loose infill settles.

Pool deck turf installation checklist

• Pool covered, skimmer socks fitted, cleaner off.
• Plumbing lines located before digging.
• Hand digging within 12 in of the coping.
• Base graded 2 percent away from the pool.
• Turf surface 1/4 to 1/2 in below coping or band.
• Firm edge fixing every 3 to 4 in at the pool side.
• Deck drains, skimmers and joints accessible.
• Infill reduced near water and brushed outward.
• Pool vacuumed and filter cleaned after install.
• At least 2 to 3 ft of hard surface around equipment pads.

If hiring this out, ask the installer how they handle each item on this list before signing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I install pool turf myself?

Yes, if you are comfortable with base work and precise trimming. Pool surrounds are often small and straightforward in layout. The riskier parts are digging near pool plumbing and getting a tight, secure coping edge. Many DIYers hire out the base and edge work, then lay and infill the turf themselves.

How long after installing turf can we use the pool?

You can usually swim the same day once the pool is uncovered and the floor vacuumed. Allow adhesive to cure as directed before heavy foot traffic on glued edges, often 24 hours. Avoid brushing and heavy splashing near the edge until loose infill has settled and been swept.

Do I need to drain the pool to install turf around it?

No. Turf installation happens entirely on the deck. Draining an in-ground pool can even be risky if groundwater is high. Keep the water at normal level and use covers or sheeting to keep debris out. The only exception is if separate deck or coping repairs require it.

Will turf installation damage my pool coping?

Not if done carefully. Use hand tools near the coping, avoid driving stakes into the bond beam area, and protect stone coping from adhesive and compactor contact with tape and plastic. Never pry against coping to lever borders into place, and test adhesives on a hidden spot of natural stone first.

What happens to pool-side turf in winter?

Turf handles freeze and thaw well if the base drains. Pool covers and winter chemicals near turf call for the same care as summer: rinse any chemical spills and keep drains clear. Avoid piling snow from the deck onto turf edges at the coping.