Help!! Sinking frame!!

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asumila

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Jun 25, 2010
12
Hello- we have just put up an Intex 18x48 metal frame round pool about 2 weeks ago. We live in central Illinois and since we have put the pool up it has rained almost every day since. We've had lots of storms, flash flooding and lots of accumulation. The problem is that
1. the ground is super soft and saturated with water
2. the pool is over filled due to rain water
3. the support poles are sunk into the ground 2 inches all around! :shock:
The pool is on even ground but we did not put a ground tarp down first (wish we would have)and when we have needed to let out extra water we splash it out over the top and of course it settles right at the sides which only make the ground softer. The plug at the bottom edge where you would hook a hose up to is now underneath and not reachable so we can't empty the excess water that way.
We have used a garden hose to get the excess water out and into the middle of the yard away from the pool- now it looks to be a little uneven- the water level on one side is about 1 1/2 inches lower than the other.

My question what are the chances it is going to collapse, and do we just need to drain and start over?????

Thanks for any advice you can give me!
~Frustrated!!
 
I know you probably won't like my suggestion, but it may be your best bet.
Drain the pool completely. Move it. Go to Walmart and buy about 20 bags of paver sand. Fill in that area with the paver sand, and pack it down good. Tarp it. Move the pool on top of the tarp/paver sand.
 
An inch and a half across the diameter of 18 feet sounds and "looks' probably worse than it actually is. If the ground is that wet still, I'd probably wait awhile, let it finish any settling it still might do, and enjoy it until things dry up a bit. This is all based on the assumption if it does actually happen to collapse, the water drain won't go in a harmful direction. I'd also use it with the water drained down to the absolute minimum for the skimmer to work. Good luck!
 
We have two poles of our 15' Intex frame pool sink nearly four inches due to ground wash out. We lowered the water level 4-5 inches, the higher hole is now the out flow from the pump and is above water level! This happened despite hard packing and a tarp. I would suggest lowering the water level and observing for a little bit, unless like Woody said, a collapse would be castastrophic (for me, one side would dump near the foundation of my house, so if this side was compromised I would have to drain immediately: as it is the wash out is opposite it).

Good luck.
 
You can drain and start over as TXParrothead suggested and if you do I would add 12"x12" concrete pavers under each upright support. The plastic feet used on the Intex poles are not large enough to support the weight on soft ground.

Another approach you can do is to relevel the pool support legs by jacking them up and placing the pavers under the legs. This is the method my brother and I used a couple of years ago when he experienced the same problem with his 18' Intex pool without fully draining it. He has not had this problem since.

In good conscience I must issue a warning here. The amount of weight in a half full pool is still considerable and there is a lot of stress on the frame of the pool. If you do attempt this proceed with care and caution.

Materials needed:

Enough concrete pavers to under each leg. 6x6" or larger.
Hydraulic automotive jack.
Approx. 3' length of 4x4 lumber.
A couple of cinder blocks.
A couple of pieces of 2x6's the length of the cinder blocks or longer.
A length of 2x4 lumber.
Sand.

Method used:

First drain approx, 50% of the water from the pool to lighted the load.

Next place the 2x6's 12 inches each side of the upright and then put the cinder blocks on top of the 2x6's.

This is to give you enough height to be able to use a hand shovel under the support once it is jacked up.

Place the 4x4 on top of the 2x6's bridging the gap. Place it so it's against the support pole.

Place the hydraulic automotive jack on top of the 4x4 next to the support pole.

Measure the distance from the top of the jack to the underside of the T connector.

Cut a 2x4 to this length and make a notch in the top of it the same diameter as the T connector.

Place the 2x4 on top of the jack and under the T connector right next to the support pole.

Slowly and gently begin jacking the support up checking as you go to make sure that the jack and 2x4 are in alignment and won't slip out or collapse. Keep jacking until the support pole is about 1/2" higher than you want the bottom of the leg to be.

Using the hand shovel dig out from under the support pole so that when you place the paver under it the top of the paver is at the height you want the bottom of the support pole to be at. (Use caution and keep hands out from under the support pole at all times.)

Slide paver under the pole making sure it is centered under the pole and level.

Using the sand fill the gap between the paver and the bottom of the support pole. (This is to prevent the paver from coming into contact with the liner.)

Slowly and gently lower the leg onto the paver.

Repeat for each support pole.

Refill pool and enjoy.

A couple of additional tips:
If you have access to or have a laser level use this to make sure all pavers are at the same height. Also, and I don't think this would be the case in your situation, if you have to raise the supports more that about 2 1/2 to 3 inches I would raise the support legs in two or more steps, that way you won't be stressing the metal support structure any more than you need to.

Good luck to you.

Glenn
 
It rained again last night! &%$*##!! All of the support poles are sunk evenly and what we've done is drain the pool to below the recommended level and we've marked the poles at ground level to see if they sink any more. If they do we will drain. I'm about ready to drain the pool anyway from the other problems we've been having. Been up for a week and a half and can't get the water clear. We've spent over $300 on chemicals and accesories. We just had our taxes adjusted and our mortgage is going to go up $250 a month so I can't spend a whole lot of money on chemicals every month. It's ridiculous!! My kids just want to get in but I don't like the idea of them being in cloudy water- they've only been in three times. It just seems to be problem after problem.
Thanks for everyone's advice!!!
 
I hope it works out for you. I'm not sure why you've spent $300 on chemicals though.

My pool's more than twice the size of yours and so far, I've bought about $40 of bleach (half remains in my shed), $20 for DE (I should have at least half the DE left over for next year) and $1 for baking soda. I had 1 box of Borax leftover from last year ($4) and 3/4 of a bottle of CYA ($18 stabilizer at Walmart). I bought a bottle of Muriatic acid 2 years ago that I've only used a little of at the end of the season to clean my filter fingers. I did spend $7 on CYA reagent for testing and my testing reagents should last at least the rest of the season -- I spent about $20 on refills last year. I will probably spend another $40 or so for bleach for the remainder of this season.

Anyhow, the point I'm trying to make is that there are less expensive ways to maintain your pool if you do a little more reading on this site. I had some cloudiness and algae at the beginning of this season, but after cleaning the filter and adding more bleach than I had to last year, the pool sparkles. So I spent maybe an extra $7 or 8 on bleach this year.

Good luck with your pool!
 
We bought an Intex this year, too. Even if you do drain and start over, just make sure it is level and that you put pavers under the support legs. I read Pool School several times over, asked ALL my questions here on this site , too (not at the pool store where they did not know what CYA reagent was) and am 100% SOLD on the BBB method. 6% bleach is cheap but I can purchase 10% chlorine at any of our local grocery stores at about 10.00 for a case of 4 gallons so I use that. Besides the $12 for muriatic acid to bring my TA down and $20 on an HTH 6 way test kit, that is all I have purchased in the way of chemical and my pool is crystal clear. In the beginning I tested 3x/day and now I do it am and pm. I also ran my filter 24/7 for the first few weeks. Now I am comfortable running it in 4 hour blocks of time. Again, don't give up, it will come together--keep on keepin' on!
 
"I hope it works out for you. I'm not sure why you've spent $300 on chemicals though."

The reason for that is because I went to Walmart and bought all the HTH chemicals and then a friend of mine who has owned a pool for years told me to take a water sample to the pool store and they will tell you what you need. Well of course I spent $170 there!! Walmart doesn't take back chemicals (even if they are still sealed) and the pool store only does exchanges. So I got liquid chlorine from pool store when I took back some unecessary things. I have a bunch of Crud I don't need now! I have since bought Borax, Baking Soda and now that I'm out of liquid chlorine and powdered shock I'm going to get bleach today. I've read this and another pool forum and am converting to the BBB method. If I ever do a pool again I know I won't spend near as much!!
When I took my water sample to the pool store the manager was a real Di** and said that they don't do them for free- if I wanted it tested they would expect me to purchase whatever was needed there. I was desperate so I said ok, not knowing how much they would take me for. Oh I hate that place now!!! I still have a credit there but it pains me to walk in the door :grrrr:
 

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Use the store credit to buy cool/fun things for the pool like water toys, lights or fountains, etc. Stick with it, it DOES get better. I know all about the rain, rain, rain, monsoon season stuff here too - pumped more than 5" of water out within the last week alone, but regularly pumping to waste or backwashing as needed with the excess rainwater every week here - the sun WILL shine and you will be happy you have the pool.
 
We're in a drought here in the middle of a loooong heatwave -- forecast for the next 10 days is hot & sunny, too -- just what we need (NOT).

I bought some tabs at Walmart before I first started my pool and they took them back (sealed) but that was 2 years ago -- might be worth seeing if maybe they'd do a store credit, too? Too bad about the pool store, there are lots of horror stories posted here. All the ones here do pool testing for free with no commitment (I've only had one do testing out of curiousity). The few I've dealt with have been OK thankfully but I've never really asked advice or bought any chems from them, just DE. I had one open and close the first year, and had them close last year and it was a good experience. I've just paid a neighborhood kid to help me with opening the past 2 times. Buying toys with your credit is a great idea!

I'll trade you some sun for some healing rain for my poor plants and grass (last year it was cold and wet here -- just can't seem to get nice moderate weather).... Hope you get your pool running smoothly and get a chance to enjoy it!
 
Sorry about all of your trouble. I hate to hear the kido's may not be swimming much longer. I would also say that it would be wise for you to put a paver under your poles. Those rubber pieces on the bottom of the poles are likely to punch out anyway. We had an intex two summers ago. Although a great pool, we had issues with the filtration. I don't believe that the filter and pump systems sold with the pools are really capable of proper filtration for that size pool. We were like you, frustrated from purchasing shock, chlorine and cartridges and we were unable to enjoy it. My brother hard plummed his intex and purchased a 19 in sand filter/pump system from our local pool store. His is very clean now and he is very happy with it. I know that you are frustrated with the $$ spent on chems right now, but if you decide to give it another shot, an AGP sand filter/pump system would be an excellent upgrade for you. That along with BBB will result in a cleaner and safer pool.

Good luck
 
Thank you Wireman! Your jack setup instructions worked like a charm.

It turned out that the posts broke through the plastic feet and they were just sinking deeper and deeper. We ended up having to install two (2) 12"x12" pavers under three of the posts on the lower side. We started with the lowest one, jacked it up to get one paver in and then did the posts on either side, and so on until we had six (6) pavers in. At that point we went back to the lowest and started jacking again and put in another paver, and then proceeded to do the post on either side.

We potentially have a Tropical Storm hitting us here in Florida by the end of next week, and if we didn't get this done today we would likely have a nice new tarp from the material that made up the pool....

Thanks again!
 
super duper old thread ... i know... but it was a super helpful topic!!... was wondering if anyone still monitoring this thread knows... can you use the rubber material paver base stuff, instead of actual pavers? our ground is super hard and we are in central california... pretty much no rain or wet ground... and even with kids soaking and splashing... ground just doesnt soak in the water.. yeah, had a hard time growing anything... :)
 
I really dont think so, Some of them can be hard material but I would go with at least a 1 inch paver, probably a 2 inch x 10 or 12 inch
 
I would recommend using treated 2x6's cut to about 5" in length and sanded to remove any sharp edges that might cut the liner. Why? Pavers are somewhat porous and over time, as moisture penetrates them, they can weaken, crumble and break. The concrete surface and edges are abrasive and would not be good for the liner (should it make contact) whereas the properly sanded, treated wood would be softer and more forgiving.


BLUEMONSTER107 said:
super duper old thread ... i know... but it was a super helpful topic!!... was wondering if anyone still monitoring this thread knows... can you use the rubber material paver base stuff, instead of actual pavers? our ground is super hard and we are in central california... pretty much no rain or wet ground... and even with kids soaking and splashing... ground just doesnt soak in the water.. yeah, had a hard time growing anything... :)
Click to expand...
 
WARNING!!! Cinder blocks are notorious for collapsing when being used to support a lot of weight. I know someone who was crushed while working under a car when the cinder blocks that were supporting the car collapsed. I'm sure this procedure could be modified to use something else in place of the cinder blocks. Would love to see a picture of this setup as I'm having difficulty understanding exactly how things are positioned in this setup.

wireman said:
You can drain and start over as TXParrothead suggested and if you do I would add 12"x12" concrete pavers under each upright support. The plastic feet used on the Intex poles are not large enough to support the weight on soft ground.

Another approach you can do is to relevel the pool support legs by jacking them up and placing the pavers under the legs. This is the method my brother and I used a couple of years ago when he experienced the same problem with his 18' Intex pool without fully draining it. He has not had this problem since.

In good conscience I must issue a warning here. The amount of weight in a half full pool is still considerable and there is a lot of stress on the frame of the pool. If you do attempt this proceed with care and caution.

Materials needed:

Enough concrete pavers to under each leg. 6x6" or larger.
Hydraulic automotive jack.
Approx. 3' length of 4x4 lumber.
A couple of cinder blocks.
A couple of pieces of 2x6's the length of the cinder blocks or longer.
A length of 2x4 lumber.
Sand.

Method used:

First drain approx, 50% of the water from the pool to lighted the load.

Next place the 2x6's 12 inches each side of the upright and then put the cinder blocks on top of the 2x6's.

This is to give you enough height to be able to use a hand shovel under the support once it is jacked up.

Place the 4x4 on top of the 2x6's bridging the gap. Place it so it's against the support pole.

Place the hydraulic automotive jack on top of the 4x4 next to the support pole.

Measure the distance from the top of the jack to the underside of the T connector.

Cut a 2x4 to this length and make a notch in the top of it the same diameter as the T connector.

Place the 2x4 on top of the jack and under the T connector right next to the support pole.

Slowly and gently begin jacking the support up checking as you go to make sure that the jack and 2x4 are in alignment and won't slip out or collapse. Keep jacking until the support pole is about 1/2" higher than you want the bottom of the leg to be.

Using the hand shovel dig out from under the support pole so that when you place the paver under it the top of the paver is at the height you want the bottom of the support pole to be at. (Use caution and keep hands out from under the support pole at all times.)

Slide paver under the pole making sure it is centered under the pole and level.

Using the sand fill the gap between the paver and the bottom of the support pole. (This is to prevent the paver from coming into contact with the liner.)

Slowly and gently lower the leg onto the paver.

Repeat for each support pole.

Refill pool and enjoy.

A couple of additional tips:
If you have access to or have a laser level use this to make sure all pavers are at the same height. Also, and I don't think this would be the case in your situation, if you have to raise the supports more that about 2 1/2 to 3 inches I would raise the support legs in two or more steps, that way you won't be stressing the metal support structure any more than you need to.

Good luck to you.

Glenn
Click to expand...
 

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