Pool Wall

by Scott
(Kathleen Ga, USA)

I just installed a 27' AGP. After it finished filling with water, I noticed that the wall was buckled a little bit in a couple of places. I took pictures of the worst one.

Will it hurt anything to leave it like it is or does it need to be fixed? It looks like the upright got pulled in some while the pool was filling.

Hi Scott. It does look like the post is pushed in some. Your problem might also be that the rail is a little high in these locations. You could use a screwdriver and scrape some dirt out from under the rail and see if it settles a little. If it does the wall should go back into shape also.

Neither of these situations should cause any pool failure so it would probably be just fine to leave it as it is. It's mostly just a matter of looks.

Pool Wall Out Of Track

by Jen
(St Walburg SK Canada)

We have a 24' round pool. We live in Canada and I have noticed over the winter that a few of my uprights have lifted and the pool wall in about 4 or 5 sections has lifted out of the track. I am wondering how serious this is and what do I do to fix it.

Hi Jen. It seems the cold winter has done this sort of damage to a lot of pools. The pool sidewall out of the track is never a good thing so I would definitely try to fix it.

You will want to wait until the ground has completely thawed to see if the problem fixes itself, if not you may need to drain the pool.

The Pool Out of Level page may be of some help. You want to make sure enough water is left in the pool so the liner does not shrink. You also need enough water out so someone on the inside of the pool can pull the liner back far enough to allow you to reset the bottom rails and pool cove.

Doing the repairs and refilling in direct, warm, sunlight is a big help. Vinyl is more workable when it is warm, when it’s cold it can be brittle, hard to manage, and will not stretch back into place.

It might be possible to do a little leveling with a pool full of water, but not much. If a footplate is to high, and in not sitting on a block, you might be able to use a screwdriver and work some of the dirt out from under it. This might allow the pool to settle back down. You may also need to push, or pull, the wall back in alignment with the bottom rails for it to go back into place. This can also be done with a full pool if you are careful and the wall co-operates. If this does not work, or does not seem possible, draining the pool is the best option.

How Much Wind During Install

by CK
(Saint Louis, MO)

We were having a pool installed by a "professional" and a micro burst storm came through and ripped the wall down and destroyed the pool.

The installer is claiming no liability on his part even though he didn't have the wall braced in any fashion. If this had been a proper install and properly braced, what kind of wind should have been tolerable?

Weather records show gusts up to 30 mph. I'm asking because this is going to court to cover costs of my brand new pool and need an "expert" opinion on if this was truly unavoidable or if he had braced the walls if we probably wouldn't be in this situation.

Hi. If he had properly supported the wall it probably would not have happened. But I was not there so it is impossible to know for sure.

I do however know a few things for sure. I never leave a wall unsupported during an installation, they blow over way easy. On the other hand, I have seen walls get blown over with minimal damage. You flatten out a few dents and are good to go. So I have no idea about the extent of the damage, whether it's repairable or not.

I always carried liability insurance that would cover disasters. I never had to use it but I always knew I was covered.

Most of the time if I damaged a pool part I would replace it at my cost. The pool stores I worked for were always happy to help out, selling me all the parts I needed at their cost. I was, after all, keeping their customers happy.

I made a profit on most of the jobs I did, but not all. There are times it's better to admit you made a mistake, take a loss on the job and keep a happy customer. That's how you build a reputation that sustains a 30 plus year career.

Pool Wall Keeps Falling

by Tasha
(Florida )

We are installing an oval pool. Right now we are trying to install the wall that goes into the track but it keeps coming out as soon as we move to next area and the wind is knocking it over. What can we use to stabilize it?

Hi Tasha

I build the pool frame at the same time I am installing the side wall. Once in a while I will just use the stabilizer rods taped to the wall, but either way the wall will always be supported, otherwise, well, the wind blows it over. Or with an oval pool the sides will just fall in by themselves, the wall has to be taped to the side supports or the top rails installed over top of it.

I always recommend building an oval pool complete, with top rails and uprights before you even begin to spread out the sand and prepare the base. You want to make sure everything fits in advance of putting in the liner. When you have water in the pool is not the time to find out the top rails don't fit or the sides aren't straight or the ends aren't round. Build the pool and check it for level, for straight sides and make sure everything fits.

I install my overlap liners by stretching them over the existing framework so the pool needs to be built anyway. With a beaded liner install the bead receiver before the top rails and they don't ever have to come off.

I don't like walls falling down so I always keep them supported.