Doughboy Pool Wall Seam Problem

by Misty
(Sullivan, IL, USA)

Doughboy Pool Burst At Wall Seam

Doughboy Pool Burst At Wall Seam

I bought a used Doughboy pool, but when putting it together we did not have the correct joint piece. Once we began filling it the pool busted our makeshift joint piece and collapsed on one side.

The opposite side is still standing and looks fine, but the side that collapsed has a few bends(no creases) in the side wall. Is it safe to put this back together if we get the correct joint piece or is it now scrap metal?

My husband thinks it has been compromised and therefore is unstable. I just want to be sure before we junk this beautiful pool. We had it filled over half way when it busted open. It is obvious that it was the joint piece that gave way.

Hi Misty

Doughboy pool parts are the easiest parts in the world to get. Any Doughboy dealer can order them for you. Even a dealer in another town. You can order over the phone and have them shipped to your door.

I do not see anything in your photo that can not be fixed. The wall should straighten right up. I have hammered out walls in much worse shape than yours.

My only concern would be the lip at the end of the wall. The lip the wall bar slides over. If this is bent beyond repair the wall is probably shot. If the lips are usable, and a new bar can be located, you can definitely make use of that nice pool.

It is one of my favorite pools of all time. A pool well worth investing a little more time and money into.

Comments for Doughboy Pool Wall Seam Problem

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Jul 27, 2012
Lip on wall joint
by: Misty

What is damaged beyond repair? One side pulled the lip out a little bit but I have found if I gently bend it with needle nose pliers it moves back where it should but this method will be a long tedious process. I have all the replacement parts from the damage caused from our burst and we are ready to attempt to put it together. A friend of ours has his joint piece reinforced with brackets and bolts. Is this a possible answer to our issue?

Hi Misty

Damaged beyond repair would mean you could not bent it back with pliers. That is what I would do, and yes, it is tedious. With that done if you think it needs brackets for support that would work, but not something I would do if you did not need to. You are the one that will have to determine whether the wall is bent back to original condition or not.


Jul 28, 2012
got lip bent back
by: Misty

My friends say you have to take the whole thing down to bang out the bends but my husband says we don't. I am confused but am trying to do this now. I am so ready to get this up and usable as are my doctors(they say it's the best thing for my arthritis). I really appreciate your help in this more than words can express. I did discover tiny pin size holes in the liner but it is above where we fold it over the top of the wall. Do we need to repair these? Once again thank you so much for your advice. I really think this is going to be worth it if we get it up.

Hi Misty

Sometimes it is easier to just take the whole pool down, but it can be done either way. The dents can be pounded out with the wall standing straight up.

The liner may shrink some so the holes may end up being inside the pool. In that case you would need to patch them, but if they are in the fold there is no problem.


Aug 06, 2012
joint piece on
by: Misty

We have the walls put back up and the joint piece in. It looks pretty strong but hubby wants to reinforce it to be safe. We have a deal if it blows again then we are done with it and I will let it go. It isn't perfectly level but it is just a tiny bit off. The bubble is mostly in the lines. So many keep telling me it's too late but I figure we still have a couple of months and it will be ready for next spring.

Thank you for your help. Although the parts cost another 230 that still leaves my price for this at 260 I figure it is worth more than that if it holds up.


Apr 07, 2013
doughboy pool wall seam
by: carl

Misty, the exact same thing happen to me this weekend. I had a local shop make my seam strip and it looked exactly the same and held until pool was 85% full. My question for you is how is your pool holding up since the repair and what repairs exactly did you need to do? Also did you have to replace your vertical supports?

Apr 06, 2015
Metal Tear
by: Paula

16X40 pool . Bottom of metal rusted before pool was even opened this year and the pool metal tore clear up and the rush of unbridled water even move my shed ! Can it be fixed? I know a liner is a given but the metal around the pool?

Hi Paula

Once a wall has rusted so bad it splits all the way up the side it is time for a new one.


Apr 09, 2015
Torn metal.
by: Paula

So how much is a 16 x 40 foot metal? Sincerely Paula

Hi Palula

I don't sell the parts so I can't say for sure but they are not cheap. You need the same wall that is in there now. So if it is a Doughboy pool you need a Doughboy wall.


Apr 10, 2015
Pool is great
by: Misty

Pool is doing great! We bought a joint key, had to replace a few of the base plates and one of the support poles(but they don't make those any more, our pool store called Doughboy who happened to have one sitting around). The base pole had been damaged when the pool burst. I use the pool almost every day during the summer and close it up in the winter (and I mean freezing weather winter). Thank you all for your advice to repair it, I couldn't be happier. I am actually getting ready to open for this year.

Apr 10, 2015
Thank you
by: Misty

I just wanted to thank you guys for your help in whether to spend the money on pool parts to fix my doughboy pool. The picture of the pool I posted with my question just looked so hopeless. I have been enjoying my pool every day that I can for the last couple of years. It has been a wonderful to have the pool and I couldn't be happier. I ordered about $200 worth of parts(but some of them were fine I just wanted to have new parts for more reassurance). I did run into the problem of the bent base post next to the filter because they don't make mine any more but my pool store called Doughboy and they had one they sent. The pool store told me I spent about $230($30 is what I paid for at a rummage sail for everything including brand new liner still sealed in the box) for what is valued at $3000-$4000 pool set up.

Thanks so much Misty, nice to hear.

There are deals out there, and when the pool guy says, "oh no, you can't fix that, you need a new pool", get a few more opinions. One of them just might fit your budget.


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