Above Ground Pool Unlevel

After paying a lot to have a pool installer put up my 24' round above ground pool, I have found there is about a 3" difference in the pool levelness. I know this because the water is at the bottom of the skimmer, and at about the top of the pool liner across from the skimmer.

I am afraid I will not be able to get the water level up high enough for the skimmer to work properly before the water reaches the top of the pool at the low spots.

How can a pool be leveled after installed and filled? Or am I looking at taking it down and putting it up again?

Hi.

You are in a situation where something needs to be done. If the skimmer were on the low side it would not be such a problem. You can't have water overflowing one side of the pool just to have the level high enough on the other side for the skimmer to function.

Ideally the pool should come down and the entire area leveled properly. This can, however, create an expense and a time delay in using the pool. The pool would have to come down and the pool base completely moved out of the pool area. The ground could then be properly leveled, the base brought back in, and the pool reassembled. If the base is sand, and it gets moved, new sand will have to be added to it. Since it is so easy for the sand to get contaminated with rocks and dirt sometimes it is best starting over with a whole new batch.

Installing a liner that has been used, in other words, it has a hole cut out for the skimmer and the return, is not easy. Lining the openings up where they were takes priority over

installing the liner with a smooth base and wrinkle free. There is a world of difference in the quality of install between a used liner and a new one, so for the best job, a new liner would be needed.

There is a way to make this pool level without going to all of this expense. This may be the option you choose for the time being and redoing the entire pool could be put off until the first liner change is needed.

If your installers are willing to stand behind their work you may even give them an option. They could take the pool down and reinstall it level, with new sand and a new liner, or they could level the pool enough so that you could keep using it for the time being. They could sign a statement saying they would do these repairs free and split the cost of a complete rebuild at a later time. Something like that might work, but yes, they are responsible for doing bad work and should be held accountable.

The pool can be drained down to just a couple inches of water and leveled. The liner would need to be pulled back and held while the high area under the bottom rail was lowered. The liner could then be reset. The low side could also be raised using the same method. Raising the low side would keep you away from the skimmer area, always a good thing. But it might mean bringing in more dirt for under the rail and more sand for the base and cove. If raising the low side can be done safely and correctly, that would be my choice. If not, lowering the high side might just leave a little slack, or wrinkle, under the skimmer area.

Instructions for leveling an above ground pool using this method are on this page.

Pool Out of Level