Bowed sides - 18ft x 9ft On soil with scaffolding boards under legs. Foam mats under pool.

On my oval softside that was normal for that water height, filling up 4 more inches from there would mostly straighten it out.

I read here that emptying a pool can cause the liner to “shrink”. Maybe that’s what is happening?

JCosenza718 said:

I read here that emptying a pool can cause the liner to “shrink”. Maybe that’s what is happening?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't say so. The soft liners for hardside pools will do that, but for a softside pool like that it's a fiberglass cloth.

What's pictured is normal, even for a brand new pool. The water level is low.

I just retired a very similar pool after 12 seasons. It looks to me that it's not full.

Stop me if you heard me tell this story before: In the last week of April I fill the pool halfway, wait until I'm sure the meter reading has happened then finish filling it. (This way most of the water is in my tier 1 usage. If I were to fill it in on billing period I'd blow past tier 2 and into tier 3.) Every year, for almost two weeks I'd have severely bowed sides. Once it's full, they straighten out. (Ditto with the new pool.) And after 12 seasons, the old liner is still useable.

Fill it and enjoy. Oh, and expect it to bow an inch or two when full.