Pool walls bowed in 1/2 inch - fix or not?

[PoolCat200]

Hi! As some may recall from a previous post, we are having a fiberglass pool installed. The original concrete deck that was poured had to be broken up and removed due to a bad batch of concrete that caused immediate cracking. Par for the course on this project, that has caused other problems. It appears to have pushed the pool walls in along the two long sides. Each gradually bows in to about a 1/2 an inch in the middle. The walls are straight from bottom to top. The pool builder feels confident this small amount will not cause structural issues and wants to proceed. He would install the pool rails to make the walls appear straight. However, he said he would try digging it out and see if the walls straighten out if we really want him to. We are not sure because every step we take seems to cause other problems. If the problem is simply cosmetic, we can certainly live with it. If it is going to cause functional problems, we’d want to fix it. What would you do? Thank you for any advice!

 

[Texas Splash]

A 1/2" isn't a lot, but if he is willing to remove some dirt to allow the walls to expand, now is the time. Once that decking is poured you know it's a done-deal. With a backhoe it shouldn't take long to remove enough of the dirt to see it work, then carefully repack. But certainly your call. It is an inconvenience and it sounds like you are ready to just have this whole thing done.

 

[Texas Splash]

The only other thing to be cautious about though are any liner on the sides of the pool like return jets or lighting.

 

[PoolCat200]

The only other thing to be cautious about though are any liner on the sides of the pool like return jets or lighting.

Yes - they would have to go below return jets and lighting on both sides. We are not confident on how carefully the dig out/repack would be. Thanks!

 

[Lanzz]

If your warranty would remain intact with that 1/2" variance, I would leave it alone. Feels like nothing but risk to start digging on the sides...

 

[Casey]

It honestly doesn't look that bad to me. You need to weigh the risks to reach perfection. I think you should leave it alone in my humble opinion. An inward bowed wall is harder to fix than an outward bowed wall. I had an outward bowed wall that was fixed with a 2x4 and a huge guy's body weight as the pool was being backfilled. If this were an inch or more out, then I'd take my chances and have it fixed.

 

[offtheclock]

If they can slightly cantilever the deck so that it can be straight I would leave it. You would never notice it.

 

[Toxophilite]

Given the variance in the walls of gunite pools on the horizontal, vertical, and floor, all later covered with water and coping and never noticed, I can't see how that 1/2" over the distance could even be seen as well

 

[sktn77a]

In cases like this, the cure is often worse than the cause. Leave it alone and be thankful it's only 1/2"!

 

[PoolCat200]

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thoughts. It is very reassuring that most people seem to think it is ok to move forward. Hopefully, we can get to the end of this project without any other issues!