One Upright Slightly Tilted Outward

by Danny
(Fremont, N.C.)

I have a 27' round pool with a 52" wall. One upright is slightly tilted outward by the skimmer, nothing drastically noticeable but tilted none the less.

Should this be a major cause for concern? Water level is equal all around to the best of my knowledge. I put a level on each section of top rails with little or no variation.

Hi Danny.

In order to be sure the pool it level you should measure from the top rail to the water level. Do this every ten feet or so around the pool. Hopefully all your measurements will be within an inch.

A post leaning slightly in or out is not unusual and most likely not a problem.

A leaning post is usually caused by a footplate that is either a little high or a little low. With a high post you can sometimes scrape a little dirt out from under it with the pool full.

An outward tilt, like you have, means the upright would need to be raised. This it not something I would do with a full pool. If it is not to bad just keep it in mind the next time you have to drain the pool for any reason.

Sometimes it is as easy as loosening the top rail screws and pushing or pulling the post. It would be hard to push a post in with a full pool, but very doable with a half full pool.

If the pool is level and it does not look bad, I would just live with it until a time when you need to take some water out of the pool.

Bent/Cracked Uprights

by Brittney
(Indiana)

In a wind storm the winter cover ripped off the pool and this is what happened to 4 of the uprights. Is it possible to repair this? The wall is also out of the tracked in the top rail in several places and is bowing out as well.

Is this a safety issue or can I recover it and deal with it in the spring? Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi Brittney

I can't see where there is much you can do with this until spring. I do not see it as being a danger. So I would cover it up and deal with it in the spring.

When it comes time for repairs it should be a simple matter of letting some water out of the pool and straightening things up.

If parts are available for you pool you may want to order some uprights and have them on hand. They are easy to change out when the time comes.

If parts are not available you may have to be satisfied with just pounding them out the best you can.

Buckled Vertical Pool Post

by Scott
(Halifax, NS, Canada)

Is our pool "at risk" of collapse with a vertical post pushed in toward the water?

We have a 27 foot round above ground pool and 1 of the vertical posts appears to be slightly bent in.

Can this be fixed?

Thanks very much, Scott

Hi Scott.

One post bent slightly inward should not put your pool at risk in any way. Usually when this happens it is because of a leveling issue. The post may be just a little higher than the ones on each side of it.

Fixing the problem can be done by either re-leveling the footplate under the post, or loosening the top rail screws and pulling out on the top of the post. Pulling the post out and re-tightening the screws will usually work if the leveling issue is minor.

The other possibility is the pool being slightly out of round in that area. This can be fixed but not without draining the pool.

Post Bent

by Nick
(Toronto)

Had to replace the Wall. Once we re-opened this year we found a hole in the liner. This post area was where the hole was and washed away quite a bit of sand/dirt as it escaped right at that bottom right.

Re-patched the liner and refilled the pool, it's 3/4 full but all posts look fine except that one. Not flush against the wall and a little warped halfway down.

Can I reinforce this area somehow (brace) or how safe/unsafe is this?

Hi Nick It could easily be reinforced. It looks like something shifted due to the leak. The level maybe or possibly the coving on the inside. It's probably safe but can't say for sure.