Pool Wall Bowed In At Uprights

by Anny
(Montreal, Qc, Canada)

We live in Quebec, Canada and our 8 year old 21' above ground pool has managed winters beautifully until now. This year, all the water leaked out of the pool during the winter and the ice shredded the bottom of the liner.

We had the liner changed in April as soon as the big block of ice melted. We refilled the pool expecting the water pressure to push the walls back out and straighten them, but it hasn't. The water level is about 1 foot below the skimmer right now and there is still a 1-2" gap between the wall and 8 of the posts (on our 21' AGP).

We don't know what to do at this point as we are worried about the structural integrity of the pool. Should we continue filling? What if it stays bowed like that? Could the bottoms pop out of the rails and collapse the pool. Any advice?

Hi Anny

It looks to me like the ground rose during the freeze. This caused the uprights to raise and probably caused the liner damage.

The uprights need to be lowered by scraping some dirt out from under them. This can usually be done successfully with the pool full of water.

I use a flat blade screw driver and slowly remove soil from under the upright until it settles back into place the the wall becomes straight again.

It is also possible that as the ground thaws this will happen automatically. I live in Arizona so harsh climate ground movements are not something I encounter a lot.