Pool Unlevel and Posts Leaning

by James
(Kentucky)

Unlevel Pool

Unlevel Pool

I have read similar questions that you have answered but we are all looking for assurance or guidance. I just bought my first pool ever. I painstakingly dug the ground level by hand, buried and leveled my patio blocks, and me and my friends installed the pool. We thought we had it close to round, but as the install progressed and closing the gap of the wall, I suppose it became off round. We actually had to trim the last top rail an inch to get it to fit.

All that said, the water has been filling and is now 17" deep on one end and 15" on the other. So 2" deep in level. From water to top rail though, it is only 1 3/4 inches. The liner is holding fine.

The pool looks round and looks stable, however, I noticed a couple uprights leaning either in or out. I know this is due to the roundness being off and the patio blocks being either higher or lower than the others. One of the bottom cuffs is hovering slightly above the patio black (very small gap).

I am attaching photos of the leaning posts.

My question is, do you think we are ok to leave as is with no problems? This thing went up with blood, sweat, and tears and I don't know if I could handle trying it again. One thing to note is that the deeper end is on the skimmer side, so hoping that helps.

Hi James The installation does not look that bad, from what I can see. It is important to keep an eye out for any changes. If it does not appear to be moving or settling in any way, that's a good thing.

Keep in mind also that the more dirt you can pack around the pool the safer it is. A pool 2' in the ground can be 6" off level and not be in danger of collapsing.

So keep a close eye on it and pack it in good.

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May 26, 2014
 Other worries
by: Anonymous

First, thank you so much for responding. This has to be the best ABG pool FAQ site around. Second, I am not up to 35"-36" of water in filling the pool. All seems to be moving fine. I have two concerns that I hope you can help me with. 1. One of the uprights on the deep end has expanded. It isn't completely flat, it just has widened noticeably from the pressure. It is the only one and it is on the deeper end. I plan to put at least 12 inches of soil sloping away and build a deck that will have a support post against it. Do you think this is ok? 2. Water has began pooling in the right hand side of the dig site from the pool. My initial thought is that since I put the pool up the day after a heavy rain, the 104,000 lbs of water is quickly pressing the moisture out of the sand and the water is quickly rushing toward the low point. I have a 4-5" moisture ring around the entire base so I am assuming the moisture is just being pushed out. Do you think this is the case?

I am very paranoid about this installation mostly because I have a 9 year old girl and a 5 year old girl that are counting on me to build them a nice pool.

Thanks for your comments and all you do for us worriers!

Hi The post that is flattening should be fine as long as you get that dirt around the pool. The water could be a leak or it could be as you suggest. I would mark the liner and let sit for a day and see if you are loosing any water. It is better to catch this before the pool is full if it is in the liner. If it is moisture getting pushed out it should start to dry soon. Being wet all around is probably a good thing. Wet in just one area would be an indication of a liner leak.

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