Water Loss Over Winter/ Buckling Walls - HELP!!!

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A

Arzgrl21

Active member
Aug 7, 2022
25
Michigan
Pool Size
25700
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
We have had our pool for 7 years and have closed it the same each year. The last two years (after getting a new cover) there has been significant water loss over the winter. The water right now is only a 1/4 full from what we can tell. Just noticed walls are also starting to buckle!! We had a new liner put in two years ago and have no water loss during the summer so I find it hard to believe it’s a leak. Why the water loss and is there anything we can do now to prevent further damage? We still have a month or more of winter to get through. Do we put more water in to prevent further buckling? Is the cover causing too much pressure with the ice? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I think that pool is gone.

Nothing you can do now other then wait for a thaw to lossen the cover and assess the damage.
 
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ajw22 said:
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I think that pool is gone.

Nothing you can do now other then wait for a thaw to lossen the cover and assess the damage.
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Any ideas as to why this happened?? Trying to figure out why even if it’s a loss. Could the cover be too big and allowed too much water to collect? We are at a loss as to where the water went when it was fine all summer.
 
Do you use a cover pump? They can pull water through the cover essentially draining your pool. Maybe the new cover isn't as solid as your last one.
 
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Definitely unhook the cover & let it be free ASAP. It’s pulling on the walls & top rails which is why u are seeing the buckling. The cover is supposed to rest on the water in the pool at all times.
Tell us (show us) exactly how you winterize the skimmer & return (s).
I have a feeling that as precipitation collected on the cover it displaced the pool water and it came out of either the skimmer opening, returns, or both.
This is the only reasonable explanation if you don’t have a leak or use a cover pump. A deflated pool pillow’s worth of water shouldn’t equate to 1/4 of the pool’s volume.
 
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A common problem with agp the walls need water for support all year and the duress caused to the walls from tarps and the like do them in alot of times. I always recommend a screened kind of tarp which let's in the water but not the foliage for the fist x amount of time till the leaf season is over for good then leave it uncovered for the winter. Easier to see the water level and less chance of caving and just a bit more cleaning in the spring.
 
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1. As others have said, remove the cable and turnbuckle, the water jugs and anything else you have holding the cover onto the wall. Do it now, but do not try to remove the cover at this time. Just let it float free - this may save your wall.

2. My gut reaction is there is a leak in your pool somewhere. Maybe there is a tear in your liner, it happens, even with a new liner. How did you plug your return eye? I used to use a rubber bung because I had an aqualuminator and one year the ice pulled the bung out of the return. My pool then quickly drained down to the return level. Lucky for me I use covers with a lot of extra material because I have a 27' pool and all I can ever get are 28' covers.

3. Even if there is not a leak in your pool, the pool water had to leave somehow. It looks like it is below the return level however. Did you get a LOT of rain/snow, and then pump the cover off?

4. You MIGHT be able to salvage the pool in the spring. You will definitely need new legs to replace those with the bends in them. Your wall MAY come back into shape by filling the pool. A SMALL crease in the wall can be something you live with, especially if it is as high up as it looks like you might have one. I lived with a small 2' long crease in my old pool wall for 4 years (I did it myself when changing the liner). It was a slight bend, not a sharp crease. If you can prevent any sharp creases from forming you might get lucky.
 
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Well, that's somewhat encouraging. Not knowing the first thing about AGPs (except to call in those that do), it does seem possible, if nothing else is damaged, to replace a couple of supports and get back in business. Hope so. 👍
 
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Dirk said:
Well, that's somewhat encouraging. Not knowing the first thing about AGPs (except to call in those that do), it does seem possible, if nothing else is damaged, to replace a couple of supports and get back in business. Hope so. 👍
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Assuming replacement parts can be obtained.
 
ajw22 said:
Assuming replacement parts can be obtained.
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Worth a look see, no? Being handy, I'd be tempted to just repair them by adding some additional struts of some kind for support. I could probably even do an attractive job of it. Seems like a 2x4 might be able to hide inside one of those. But, again, I don't have a AGP, so I wouldn't know if that's possible. @Mdragger88?
 
Dirk said:
Worth a look see, no? Being handy, I'd be tempted to just repair them by adding some additional struts of some kind for support. I could probably even do an attractive job of it. Seems like a 2x4 might be able to hide inside one of those. But, again, I don't have a AGP, so I wouldn't know if that's possible. @Mdragger88?
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You also would not know if it was safe.
 
+1. It's 214,388 lbs of water. The 2023 Ford F150 weighs 4705 lbs. I would never try to corral or prop up 45.5 Ford F150s with 2x4s.
 
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Dirk said:
Worth a look see, no? Being handy, I'd be tempted to just repair them by adding some additional struts of some kind for support. I could probably even do an attractive job of it. Seems like a 2x4 might be able to hide inside one of those. But, again, I don't have a AGP, so I wouldn't know if that's possible. @Mdragger88?
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The right parts definitely need to be used but if they are obtained it’s possible to replace them!
Only time will tell if the wall can be salvaged. That’s the big factor in this instance.
 
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I think @phonedave is spot on with his summation.
Just Gotta see what the wall does after the undue cover pressure is off & water is back in place.
Hopefully with a 7 year old pool replacement parts for top rails & uprights are still available- that’s not a terribly long time. Inyo pools can help the OP find them if they exist.
In the interim its just a waiting game until the ice melts.
If the creasing increases and the wall needs replacing it’s generally cheaper to replace the whole pool.
 
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