Image Heavy...HELP!!!! Fiberglass Pool Bulge

Tropic23

Member
Apr 18, 2025
6
Middle TN
1st post, so hi to everyone. Thanks for any input and advice. Now onto the issue...

16x42' fiberglass pool installed last summer. No issues. Several storms blew through the TN area recently and our 200# grill was blown by the wind approx 15' away, over pavers, onto the cover and dumped into the pool. Grill was removed and the cover was pulled back to inspect for damages. Water level was down and paver damage down both long sides (42') was observed. Initital thought was that the grill damaged/cracked the pool shell, water leaked down, earth pressure pushed in and sides bulged in. Now the pool wasn't empty but the level had dropped to about 2 inches below the jets. Pool installation company was notified and they said to add water back to the pool. They made 2 or 3 trips out to inspect. Insurance company was called, adjuster came, engineer came, leak detection company came. Still waiting on the full report. Leaks had apparently came from broken seals around jets, lights, etc... when the walls bulged, it caused this. Otherwise no leaks detected, no cracks or defects. I feel as though its going to turn into a finger pointing match between my homeowners insurance, the installers insurance and the pool manufacturers insurance companies. So any thoughts on what caused the bulge?

I've been told several possibilities. Still waiting on the engineers findings. I have my own opinions. I don't want to sway the comments but would to hear opinions on possible causes.

Plan is to remove the pavers, hand dig the gravel out and hopefully let the sides re expand and then put it all back. Hopefully better than it was so this doesn't happen again...but again, what caused it to begin with so that it doesn't reoccur?

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1st post, so hi to everyone. Thanks for any input and advice. Now onto the issue...

16x42' fiberglass pool installed last summer. No issues. Several storms blew through the TN area recently and our 200# grill was blown by the wind approx 15' away, over pavers, onto the cover and dumped into the pool. Grill was removed and the cover was pulled back to inspect for damages. Water level was down and paver damage down both long sides (42') was observed. Initital thought was that the grill damaged/cracked the pool shell, water leaked down, earth pressure pushed in and sides bulged in. Now the pool wasn't empty but the level had dropped to about 2 inches below the jets. Pool installation company was notified and they said to add water back to the pool. They made 2 or 3 trips out to inspect. Insurance company was called, adjuster came, engineer came, leak detection company came. Still waiting on the full report. Leaks had apparently came from broken seals around jets, lights, etc... when the walls bulged, it caused this. Otherwise no leaks detected, no cracks or defects. I feel as though its going to turn into a finger pointing match between my homeowners insurance, the installers insurance and the pool manufacturers insurance companies. So any thoughts on what caused the bulge?

I've been told several possibilities. Still waiting on the engineers findings. I have my own opinions. I don't want to sway the comments but would to hear opinions on possible causes.

Plan is to remove the pavers, hand dig the gravel out and hopefully let the sides re expand and then put it all back. Hopefully better than it was so this doesn't happen again...but again, what caused it to begin with so that it doesn't reoccur?

View attachment 638843View attachment 638844View attachment 638845View attachment 638846View attachment 638847
Was the water level intentionally lowered below the jets? What’s below the pavers and the coping? ie, can rainwater seep past the pavers and enter the soil around the pool shell?
 
Welcome to TFP.

What caused it was the grill falling onto the cover and pool. And the cover anchors not being securely in the ground so it pulled on the pavers which put pressure on the sides of the pool.

To prevent it from happening again the cover anchors need to be securely placed in the ground, not the loose pavers. And loose objects cannot be left around during storms.

Your insurance company should cover you and then subrogate as necessary to the other insurers.
 
our 200# grill was blown by the wind approx 15' away, over pavers, onto the cover and dumped into the pool.
The 200 lbs is distributed over all of the anchors, so it should not place too much pressure on any single strap.

The pressure is not evenly distributed, but it should not be enough to cause excessive force.

Pavers require paver tubes for proper installation.

I do not see any obvious bulge, can you show exactly what is bulged?
 
+1. 200lbs dispersed over several straps isn't making a dent so to speak, IMO.

Can you confirm the water level was higher at closing? 2 inches below the returns is suspiciously where i lower mine to close with a mesh cover.

Is it a mesh cover or solid ? Maybe they lowered the pool thinking it was mesh and water/ ice on a solid cover pulled inwards without a higher water level to support it ?
 
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+1. 200lbs dispersed over several straps isn't making a dent so to speak, IMO.

Can you confirm the water level was higher at closing? 2 inches below the returns is suspiciously where i lower mine to close with a mesh cover.

Is it a mesh cover or solid ? Maybe they lowered the pool thinking it was mesh and water/ ice on a solid cover pulled inwards without a higher water level to support it ?
If the covers are supposed to hold an elephant, I’d think a BBQ wouldn’t be an issue.
 
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Yeah. Even if they used the short anchors and not paver tubes, they held just fine and the pool gave way instead.

Screenshot_20250418_112135_Chrome.jpg

Much more weight was applied IMO.
 
The 200 lbs is distributed over all of the anchors, so it should not place too much pressure on any single strap.

The pressure is not evenly distributed, but it should not be enough to cause excessive force.

Pavers require paver tubes for proper installation.

I do not see any obvious bulge, can you show exactly what is bulged?
Agreed. There's no paver disturbance at any joints around the anchors which suggest that no excessive force was applied in these areas.
 
Yeah. Even if they used the short anchors and not paver tubes, they held just fine and the pool gave way instead.

View attachment 638866

Much more weight was applied IMO.
I agree. The paver joints around the anchors are intact with no cracks. All the paver issue is in front of the anchors on the pool side. There should be joints open on the back side of the paver that the achor is installed in if anchors were the issue. Also, the concrete bond beam should stop any pressure from pulling in on the shell if they poured the bond beam to specs and the paver coping was properly secured to the beam.... this should elimate any outside cover pressure.
 

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+1. 200lbs dispersed over several straps isn't making a dent so to speak, IMO.

Can you confirm the water level was higher at closing? 2 inches below the returns is suspiciously where i lower mine to close with a mesh cover.

Is it a mesh cover or solid ? Maybe they lowered the pool thinking it was mesh and water/ ice on a solid cover pulled inwards without a higher water level to support it ?
water was about 2-3 inches higher at closing. Thinking the bulge occured and opened up the seals around the lights and jets and water level dropped. There were detected leaks around these areas but not the shell itself. The cover allows water to pass through and there was never any significant snow accumulation.
 
Welcome to TFP.

What caused it was the grill falling onto the cover and pool. And the cover anchors not being securely in the ground so it pulled on the pavers which put pressure on the sides of the pool.

To prevent it from happening again the cover anchors need to be securely placed in the ground, not the loose pavers. And loose objects cannot be left around during storms.

Your insurance company should cover you and then subrogate as necessary to the other insurers.
The concrete bond beam should alleviate any outside pressure from the shell and protect it. If the bond beam was poured to specs and the paver coping was properly adhered to the bond beam there's no way the cover/paver pressure could've pulled in on the shell from this point. Also, there's no seperated paver joints on any of the pavers the anchors are installed at. A 200 lb grill isn't that much either and it was in the shallow end where there's a tanning ledge, seating areas and extra fiberglass reinforcement adding more rigidity to the area the grill took a dive. The damaged/bulged shell areas are in middle of the long sides of the pool. No issues where the grill was.

The grill was under a covered porch and was blown up a slight incline, over irregular pavers, out onto the cover and dumped over. This was approx. 15ft away. Storms were bad and many trees, roofs and other pools were damaged in the area.
 
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water was about 2-3 inches higher at closing......

.mesh cover


OK so you started there, more or less filled back up with rain and then leaked it all out. The only question is when the bulge happened. It may have happened from being too low at closing, then leaked any rain as it entered the pool, or you picked up a foot+ before losing it when it bulged recently.
 
Hello everyone. Just wondering what everyone is doing for bond beam specs on a 16x42 fiberglass pool? Manual is basic but states 1-2 feet if pavers are being used (which we have). So, 1-2 ft width but what about bond beam depth/thickness. I currently have a max of 9" wide (less in other areas) and a tapered 5" deep/thick at its max. The concrete also didn't flow under the lip or to the side of the fiberglass (see pics). We've had loss of structural integrity with bulging down both sides. Any thoughts are appreciated. I have another thread going but wanted to do this one to specifically address the bond beam questions? Thank you.
 

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