Swimming in Geofoam

By: Dale Mullikin, Sales Representative - Architectural Products

View of the Geofoam installation from the deep end of the Tipton High School pool

Summer is almost over and here in the Midwest the beaches and pools all closed for the winter. Six years ago the city of Tipton built a new indoor/outdoor state-of-the-art aquatic center. The community made a large commitment to developing this facility. The Tipton High School also had an indoor pool. This pool has been out of service for at least seven years. Operating a pool is expensive and does bring liability. The school wanted to use this space for athletic use but what do you do with an empty pool?

A number of design issues lead them to the use of Geofoam to fill the pool. Removing the pool was expensive and the tunnels around the pool ruled out filling the pool with traditional fill material. The engineers at Ament Engineering had heard of Geofoam but had not used it in this type of application. Using a lightweight fill material (Geofoam) put no lateral pressure on the walls of the pool, therefore the tunnels around the pool would not need any additional reinforcement.

The original design called for EPS 39 which is 2.40lb/ft³ that has compressive resistance of 15.0psi @ 1% deformation. After discussion with an ACH Foam representative it was determined that the loads needed did not

require EPS 39 so EPS 15 was selected to meet their needs. EPS 15 is .90lb/ft³ density with a compressive resistance of 3.6psi @1% deformation. This design change offered the owner a savings in the cost of materials that helped move the project to acceptance by the school board. ACH Foam Technologies wants to help designers choose the right material for their application.

Angle Cut pieces of Geofoam being installed at the bottom of the pool.

ACH Foam Technologies also helped the contractor, GL Stockham, in design of the layout providing cut blocks to help fill the tapered layout of the pool. ACH Foam also sent a representative to help in the initial installation of the Geofoam.

Geofoam is a product that solves problems. This pool will never be used for swimming again, but Geofoam helped the school reclaim space without having to construct a new building. Reclaiming this space will not impact landfills or add to the footprint of the school, which is the very definition of sustainability.

In the end the use of Geofoam helped the school save money with very little impact to the environment. You can’t swim in Geofoam, but you can use Geofoam to cost effectively fill a swimming pool. It may not be as much fun as a pool, but the Tipton High School athletes have new room for many activities.