Crooked uprights

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jblatham

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May 22, 2019
23
West Springfield, MA
I had a 24' round above-ground pool installed in May. The pool was an Internet purchase (Wilbar IslaMorada 24' Round 54" Saltwater Above Ground Pool (Skimmer Included) - PMOR2454RWRSRQ1 - Recommended Products - INYOPools.com), and I used a local installer. After he was done, it initially looked good, but after the pool was filled, several of the uprights had significant "lean" to them. I brought him back and he said that he'd fix it at the end of the summer.

Earlier this week, the guy comes back, drains the pool, pulls back the liner, puts more sand on the bottom (he claimed the liner did not stretch enough and that was part of the cause of the issue), fiddled with a few of the uprights' bases, and refilled it again. Again, it looked great without water in it, but after the water was added, several of the uprights have significant lean to them (see picture below...the lumber is for the deck that I'm building on the other side).

Any advice on whether this is fixable or whether I should just break the whole thing down and start over? Is my liner going to be salvageable if I do that?
 

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Can you get a few more pictures of these uprights? It's hard to tell with this one pic what's going on. Thanks.
 
Did your builder level those posts front to back and side to side? It appears he did not. Is your pool level inside, meaning the water level is the same all the way around?

Sounds to me like you need to bring in someone else to do it right. That pic looks like a leveling issue, not a "too little sand" issue.
 
The bottom track/radius may be off too. That could kick the post in at the top too if the top track/radius is smaller number than the bottom.
 
Thanks for your replies. The top rail is definitely not level between some of the uprights. I am guessing that the bottom plates were not perfectly level, and that the bottom track was not a perfect circle when he put it together.

What should I take pictures of or check on to help figure out what's going on (and how to fix)?
 
See, the thing about measuring the bottom part of the radius is... the pool has to be empty. Maybe tomorrow, get pictures of the pool from a short distance away and the offending upright posts. How many are affected?
 
I attached some pictures. I'd say that about 1/3 of the uprights aren't perfectly plumb, but it's only two of them where there is a small gap where the wall isn't pressing evenly against the upright. You can see that in the picture with the skimmer basket in it. Also, there is one upright where the base is lifted off the ground.

After getting past the initial emotion of my situation, I've come to acceptance that there is no quick fix here. I suppose my question here has morphed into a few different ones: what do you think is going to happen if I just leave it as is? Is it just cosmetically unattractive and it will be fine, or is this going to cause premature failure?

Is the recommended fix taking it all down and starting over, releveling everything and making sure the base is a perfect circle?
 

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According to basic physics water is going to push outward with equal force all the way around the pool. An area that is out of round is a weakened area and over time may fail. The rail and bottom plate that is lifted up is an indicator of a bigger problem. Either the bottom rail is not connected in that area, meaning there is no structural support for the water to push against, or the ground is not level and the bottom rail is bent. You live in an area that gets hard freezes so frost heave may also be a problem.

I would take down the pool, make sure the ground is perfectly level all the way around and across the span of the pool. Make sure the bottom rail is perfectly round. You may be able to save the liner if you wipe it dry and pack it in a storage container away from heat. It will be next to impossible for the openings for the skimmer and return to line up correctly, so be prepared to patch the liner and re-cut those openings.
 
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With the post not touching the ground, the paver could be out of level, on the lower end out. If it were higher, you would see the bottom portion of the wall crumpled.
 

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The wall did crumple in the spot near the filter that's out of level. Once the wall crumples, is there any fixing it? When the guy re-did the pool the first time, he banged at it with a mallet for a while to get the crumple out. Unfortunately I did not watch him the whole time, so I don't know if he tried to relevel everything or not.
 
When the pool was built it needed to be level but it also needed to be unobstructed both top and bottom all the way around as it was filled. This allows it to expand and shift to it's natural shape.

Was it able to do this? Was anything keeping the uprights or track from expanding outwards as it filled?

This is even in the instructions and is very important.
 
I didn't watch all the steps that were performed, but I don't think there wasn't anything preventing the pool rails from going where they wanted to go. The installer piled up quite a bit of sand outside the pool around the rails after he was done, but I don't think that was preventing any movement since the rails easily pushed it aside as they shifted.
 
jblatham said:
I didn't watch all the steps that were performed, but I don't think there wasn't anything preventing the pool rails from going where they wanted to go. The installer piled up quite a bit of sand outside the pool around the rails after he was done, but I don't think that was preventing any movement since the rails easily pushed it aside as they shifted.
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What about the deck?
 
I only started installing the joists last Friday. That side of the pool doesn't have the leaning uprights, so I figured it was OK for me to continue with construction while I figure out what to do with the pool. It definitely wasn't in the way when the pool filled because it didn't exist yet. :)
 
Thanks to all for the feedback so far; it is truly appreciated. To summarize what I'm hearing, it sounds like taking down the pool, releveling and ensuring the base is perfectly round, and then refilling it is the answer.

If it were your pool, would you try to save the liner this point or just invest in a new one? What about the pool wall where it is a little crumpled?
 
Can you show us a picture of the crumpled area of the wall? Your plan sounds good. You can do this yourself with a little help from a friend and ensure it gets done right. I would make sure every post pad is level. And make sure that your bottom radius is round. And then the top too.
 
I spoke with the installer and he's going to refund me his labor fee, and he offered me a new pool and liner (what otherwise would have been an end of season special) to replace the one I have since he's sticking by the story that he thinks something's wrong with the pool itself but doesn't know what.

I am skeptical that the pool is the problem and am pretty convinced that the issue is that the ground settled after the initial pool installation once the weight of the water was added. It makes a lot more sense. My plan is to wait a few more weeks until the swimming season is over, drain it, re-level everything, and put it back up. I think that I can re-use the pool that I have unless you see something not worth saving. Pictures of the bulge / crumple are attached. It is just a little wrinkle.

Any flaws with the plan? Should I use the new liner from the guy instead of trying to save the one I have? Any other things I should think about when I re-do this?
 

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Settling? Did you have the site built up? There should be absolutely no settling if done correctly. The pool should sit on undisturbed earth (dig down, never build up). That crumple is from a high spot somewhere.
 

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