Pool Wall Buckled After Draining Pool

by Terri
(Columbus Ohio)

This is only the second season we had our pool. Stupidity caused us to completely drain the pool because we could not get the green murky water cleared up after our algae problem. We did vacuum to waste. The water levels were all good and still the water would not clear up.

We were wasting money putting chemicals in it so we drained the pool. We cleaned the liner real good with disinfect and started refilling it when heavy rain caused the earth to sink in damaging the bottom rail on a couple of wall sections. So of course the wall buckled in.

If we replace the bottom rails will the wall structure be safe once filled all the way? It holds about 13,500 gallons of water. We will fix the cove area of course. We paid about 1700 for the pool just this time last year. I'm hoping that my money is not wasted because of the damage. Please help. This is a hard lesson learned.

Hi Terri

Any time you drain an above ground pool you run the risk of the liner shrinking and of rain and wind causing pool damage. It does not sound like your damage is too severe. Bottom rails can usually be straightened instead of having to replace them. They are not that important structurally and a hammer and a couple pairs of pliers can make them as good as new, in most cases.

Your liner would be my biggest concern. You need to get water back in the pool as soon as you can to prevent shrinkage. Be sure to do your filling during the heat of the day. That way the sun can help the liner stretch back out if it needs to.