Bow in Pool Wall

Bow in pool wall

Bow in pool wall

I had a replacement 18' round above ground pool installed. The old one lasted 15 years. The pool is about 1/2 full at this point. The wall section where the wall ends are joined appears to be starting to kink badly and I am afraid to fill the pool any further to avoid damage to the wall/liner. The old pool never had any such problem and I had replaced the liner myself once.

If the picture is not quite clear on the problem, the wall appears to be bulging out 6" from the bottom and bows inward about 3 feet up.

What could be causing this?

Thanks

Hi

There could be several different causes for this. The return fitting hard plumbing could be putting pressure on the wall. It is possible that the wall did not line up properly and was pulled into place instead of going back and readjusting the footplates. The wall may not be completely in the bottom rail or possible even the top stabilizer rod. It is also possible that the footplate under the wall joint is higher than the ones on either side.

I would do a visual check of these things and see if I could spot a problem. I would then continue to fill. The chances are real good the wall will push itself back into position on it's own.

Comments for Bow in Pool Wall

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Apr 19, 2010
 Update
by: Anonymous

I had a feeling that this was the case.

When observing the crew assembling the pool wall, instead of correctly starting all the bolts/nuts BEFORE tightening ANY of them, they just started at the bottom and inserted/tightened as they went up the wall.

To correct this fault I drained all but about 2-3 inches of water, was able to loosen all the bolts from the outside of the wall (did not have to lift liner off). As the last two bolts were loosened the wall almost straightened itself out perfectly, I did do some gentle persuasion to assist the wall in its alignment and retighten all bolts from the midpoint to the ends.

As I had learned many, many years ago from mechanic work ? never tighten any bolts holding anything together until all the bolts are started.

Still irks me though ? this was allegedly a professional installer.

Hi

That is such a good point you have made. I make sure the wall is well within a half inch of correctly meeting. I then use a screwdriver to align the bottom holes. With the screw driver in the bottom hole I go to the top and insert a bolt and attach the nut. I do the same at the center and then again at the bottom, replacing the screw driver. While my helper is doing other things I start at the top and do the nuts and bolts, all loose, down as far as I can reach. My helper then comes back to help me finish. With all the bolts in place we start at the bottom and tighten them. You are so very right, do not tighten anything until all the bolts are in place.

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