Pool Wall Busting

by Steve
(St. Louis, MO)

I recently bought a home and the pool was in bad shape but got up and running and crystal blue. The problem is that I have noticed the side of it has collapsed.

Well, as you can see the outside wall has busted and is now poking out the bottom. Is this in need of a whole new pool or is it replaceable. Thanks for taking a look.

Steve

Hi Steve

You have a very old Home and Rome pool. You would never be able to find parts for it so my advise would be to replace it. The wall is definitely beyond repair.

The first thing you need to do is get the water out of the pool. It is about to burst and you will have thousands of gallons of water all over your yard, all at one time.

If the filter and other equipment are still in good condition you could probably find a good year end sale on just the pool. Used pools sell pretty cheap this time of year also. The end of the season is the best time to buy a pool.

Building my Pool from Scratch

by Judy
(Calhoun, Ga)

Last fall the side of my 24' pool burst. So being do-it-yourselfers my husband and I decided we can make it better.

We have put together sheets of 20 gauge galvanized steel for the walls. We've heard that a 24' is not always exact, will a liner work if its a few inches more or less?

I don't want a big wrinkle on the wall. Also do we need a bottom rail? We are going to use the top rail of the old pool, we're placing the new pool inside the walls of the old one (the 3/4's that's still standing and in good shape) we were going to slice the length of a garden hose and place on the bottom to prevent it from sinking. What do you think?

Hi Judy

It sounds like it would work. You could clean out the bottom as close to the tracks as possible and rest the new metal there. The cove would then hold it in place. I would not worry about the garden hose, it should not sink and the hose would make it awkward to work with and not fit as close to the old wall as it should.

The biggest problem you might have would be around the top. I have found from experience that the two pieces of metal, the new material and the old wall, will never come together as one. This can make it very difficult to fold the liner over and get the coping and rods to stay in place properly. I would suggest cutting the new metal so it fits about four inches lower than the old wall. Go around this area with a couple of layers of duck tape.

You now have a single layer of wall to fold the liner over. The only problem with this might be if the old wall is too broke down in places to hold the small amount of weight the liner puts on it. It might become necessary to rivet the two walls together in a few places to give it a little more strength.

Any 24' liner should work, the exact size is not that critical.

Crack In Wall Of Aluminum Pool

by joe
(pottsmouth, nh)

Over the winter our pool wall came apart on one side. We were told by one pool guy that we'd just need to reinforce then get a new liner. Next time we saw him he said there was a crack and we'd need a whole new pool. Any thoughts?

Hi Joe

Any wall can be repaired but you need to be very careful and do it right. It is also very important to asses the integrity of the rest of the wall. If you repair one section will the rest hold up?

Using heavy flat stock and double rows of nuts and bolts a bad section of wall can be repaired. An old pool wall works ideal for this. Snip about six inches off the top so it does not interfere with the coping and bolt it in place, problem solved. As long as the rest of the wall is good.

Top Galvanized Metal Ring Rusted

by Bob Potter
(Fort Myers, Florida)

I have an 18' above ground pool in SW Florida with a salt water chlorine system. I have had it set up and running for around two years. The top galvanized ring sections that go over the plastic sleeve that holds the liner in place has rusted nearly through. I knew that this might be a problem with the salt system. I keep the salt and chlorine as low as possible.

I have searched for a resin or aluminum ring to replace the rusted one without success. Does anyone sell something that is more resistant. It's hard to believe that I am the only one with this problem.

Hi Bob

This problem has been going on for years, even here in Arizona. The old Muskin pools were the worst. I understand your problem and wish I had a better solution.

If you are lucky enough to find parts for your pool I would get them. So many pool owners are just out of luck with getting replacement parts. Once you have them I would give them a coat of paint before installing them, that might give you an extra couple of years.