Inground Steps Backfill

[DTechno]

Sorry if this isnt the appropriate forum - My wife and I recently bought a home with a 22k gal inground vinyl liner salt pool. Today, I was stepping into the pool and my heel sunk down a little on the step. I pressed down in the same area with my hands and the soil (? Maybe sand?) Compressed slightly. I kept pushing around and stopped because the area that got compressed was around 24x4 inches.

Is this "normal"? For some reason I was thinking that steps were formed from fiberglass or concrete underneath the liner. There is now a visible dip in that spot and I'm concerned that the whole step is structurally compromised.
The pool is about 5 years old. Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[kimkats]

Welcome to TFP. Sorry to be meeting in this way. I am guessing your steps are vinyl covered. If so they might have not filled in the underside properly or it could have washed out over time. Either way I would avoid stepping in that area as much as possible.

Some vinyl covered steps are made using a steel frame and filled with dirt/sand packed in around dirt bags to fill in the bigger spaces. If there were fiberglass steps you would know it as they would be white or gray.

 

[DTechno]

Thanks, TFP is a neat community. Theres a whole lot of really helpful informayion on here.

They are vinyl covered, you're correct. Do you think that washout like that happens because of a small hole in the liner? Or maybe just ground water finding its way? I haven't noticed the water level lowering any more than normal evaporation.

I suppose I'll wait to fix it until we need to replace the liner one day. Maybe I'll find a foam pad to put over it in the meantime.

 

[kimkats]

I would think the hole would be much worse if there were a hole in that area. It could be the ground water finding a way in.

I would not put a pad of any kind over it as that could become an algae farm after a while. It you want to "mark" that area to keep people off of it you could ask for a sample of vinyl that is in contrast to your liner and put in on that area.