Pool Wall Pulled In At Top

by Deb
(Worcester, MA)

After a record snowfall here in New England, I have a pool problem I've never encountered before.

It seems the top of my pool wall has pulled away from the top of the posts. The walls don't seem to be buckled anywhere. It appears to be a problem totally confined around the very top of the walls/posts/liner clips.

The clips that secure the liner to the top of the wall have also separated a bit in between each clip, as you can see in the picture.

There is about a foot or two of water still remaining in the pool, and was told that I should leave it in there instead of draining in so that my liner doesn't shrink and make bigger problems.

LOOKS like an easy fix; just don't know how to go about fixing it!

THANKS

Hi Deb

It should be an easy fix if you do things just right. Your j-hook liner has not pulled free of the wall, so that's a good thing. You really want to keep it that way.

You definitely want to keep water in the pool and not let the liner shrink. When things begin to melt and the weather warms you will want to make your repairs.

The top rails will need to be removed. This is OK even with water in the pool. Hopefully the pool will be about half full. With the rails off, and warm sunshine hitting the liner, the wall should go back up allowing the top plates to once again hang over top of the retaining rods, holding them in place.

What may have happened, and you may want to look into this as the weather is warming, is that the ground froze, and raised, causing a kink in the lower pool wall. When this happens the wall becomes slightly shorter. That might be the reason it came out from the top. It may not have been tall enough to hook under the top cap.

This can all be repaired, just be very careful of not shrinking the liner, otherwise that will need to be replaced. Not a real big thing, just more money.