In Ground Vinyl Pool

I have a 16' x 32' foot pool. It had a 7 ft deep end. Last year our old liner ripped and I decided to make the deep end 10 ft.

Well, I've hand dug out the extra 3 ft and am now working on the slopes, which is where I'm running into a problem and was wondering if there was any tool to smooth out the sides and make them level? I've been using a hoe and pick ax but it is very time consuming. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi

My selection of tools for a deep end are just your basic shovels. Most of my shaping is done with either a large square shovel or a smaller square bladed spade. Once the sand has been spread out I start to smooth it using the back side of my rake. After the rake I go over the sand again with a large, soft, push broom. For deep ends I often use a smaller household type broom. It is easier to work into the corners and angle areas.

Thanks for the photo, looks like a nice pool.

In Ground Pool Caved In

by Becky
(Mabank Tx)

Our above ground pool was installed in the ground about 4 years ago. There is a deck around the whole pool even with the top of the pool. The other day part of the pool has caved in, and has pulled away for the deck. Can something like this be fixed? Thanks

Hi Becky

Yes, cave ins can be fixed, but not easily. Most of the time this is caused by the pool not being kept full of water. If the water gets below the level of the outside ground cave ins can easily occur. Two very important rules about setting above ground pools in the ground are always keep the pool completely full of water. The second is you should always leave at least six inches of pool out of the ground. One foot is even better.

If the pool was not completely empty, and the cave in only effected a small portion of the pool, you might be able to get under the deck and remove the dirt from around the pool. The wall might them pop back into place without too much problem.

So many of the ones we see are complete cave ins. The pool was left empty, the walls cave in, and the repairs are expensive. The pool needs to be completely removed from the hole. The wall needs to be rolled out on concrete and hammered flat again. In order to reset the pool properly the dirt needs dug out from around the pool by at least two feet. This also means all the decking will need to be pulled back away from the pool.

So it could be fairly simple or a very complicated expensive process. But no matter how bad it is, it can be fixed.

In-ground Pool Wall Bent

by Manny
(NJ)

I have an in-ground pool with a wall bent and I think it is because one of my downspouts was clogged/broken, so I guess all of that rain water went thru that side of the pool (deck) and pushed the pool wall.

The pool size is 16x32ft, and the 32ft side of the wall has been bent to about 3-5 degrees. What would be the best remedy for this? Or how will, or should, this be fixed by any contractor? Any advise or comments are greatly appreciated.

Manny of Metuchen, NJ

Hi Manny

From what I can tell by the photo the pool is still full of water. If so, good, I would leave it that way. Digging the dirt out from around the outside of the pool might allow the wall to push back into shape by itself. If not then you need to decide if it's effecting the pool in any way. If it's not effecting anything you might consider leaving it alone until you need a liner change.

Draining the pool to make repairs will probably ruin the liner so only do this if you are prepared to replace it. If so, you would need to drain the pool and pull the liner back from the damaged side. With all the dirt removed from the outside you should be able to push, or pound, the wall back into shape.

If you are looking to have the work done for you I would try to get several estimates. These may vary greatly and the more opinions you have on it the better.

Draining Pool In Ground

by Teresa
(Georgai)

I have an above ground pool that is sunk in the ground to about 6-10 in from top. My problem is that I cannot get it clean and I need to drain it. The first time we drained it (a year or so after installation) one of the side buckled.

I tried to drain it last year and the same thing started to happen. We have had this pool for about 6 years and I thought the ground would be packed by now. Any suggestions on how to drain it with sides caving in?

Hi Teresa

I would do everything I could to clean the pool without draining it. Normally running the filter non-stop for a week or so, shocking the pool a time or two, and vacuuming to waist will clean a pool up.

I never like draining vinyl pools unless I am ready to change the liner. Vinyl liners shrink and do not stretch back out. When draining is necessary I always leave a few inches in the bottom and refill immediately.

In your situation you might consider just draining half way and then re-filling.

The ground should have packed after a year or two, but not always. Sandy soil will never pack solid.

If you have any type of rock around the pool pull it back. Rocks around the pool will cause a cave in every time.

If worse comes to worse, and you have to drain, and the ground is unstable, dig it out. It is less work to dig the dirt back away from the pool before draining than it is to repair a cave in.