One Corner About Five Inches Lower Than Others

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wjaneala

wjaneala

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May 17, 2015
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Cullman, AL
I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but I wanted to see if anyone else has dealt with this. Our pool is over 30 years old. It was built on the side of a hill, with the backside of the structure built up with soil and covered with rock. I have been told that the walls are steel, with concrete footers (probably).

Right now, the back right corner (the most 'exposed' corner) is about five inches lower than the other three. As far as we know (bought the house in January), it has been this way for years, due to settling.

My question...is this repairable?

Here's a photo (Note: this is pre-slam. The cloudiness in the deep end is gone. :) ):

pool 061215.jpg
 
If that pool has truly sunk up to 5 inches in that corner, I'd think the bottom shell would be cracked all to pieces. Any evidence of that?
And that concrete apron sure appears to be in good shape in that area. Sure it wasn't just built like that for some odd reason?
 
No evidence of any cracking of the pool itself. There are cracks in the concrete apron on that side, but way more on the opposite side. I assume this is all from settling over the years. It bugs me because it's not level, but my husband says not to worry about it unless we notice a bigger drop. I just don't want it to get to a point where it DOES harm the structure of the pool itself. Tomorrow I'll take a photo of the backside.
 
Certainly no similar experience here, but I can't imagine there is a fix to this for a liner pool. Hopefully my skepticism will invite others with possible solutions to speak up.
 
I'm sure you could fix it.... for the cost of a brand new pool.
 
I'm with hubs. If it's only broke a little don't fix it. :) I've seen a few wonky jawed pools around here from clay soil and whatever issues and they are fine up to a point. Many moved once and haven't moved in years.
 
Many old concrete structures move. It's reassuring that there is no evidence of water leakage. I would get a professional opinion. Maybe two or three. Assuming it was built with enough steel it may not be a big issue
 
I am just building a pool, and have never owned a pool before so can't speak to "fixing it". However, when the time comes, if you replace the liner with something that doesn't have a tile boarder the eye won't pick up on it nearly as much.
 

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The decking & coping don't look like they are cracked or settled and that is the only thing that would cause a pool to go out of level.

I mean if you had a pool floor perfectly level and one side settles 5 inches, as long as the coping & decking haven't settled the water line would still be level.

Unless you see that the decking/walkway concrete is settling/cracked, I would say that pool has always been that way and unfortunately both of your skimmers are on that wall so one is always high and the other always low.

..... Sorry , I see what you are saying the entire footer may have settled, taking the entire pool wall, coping & concrete in that corner down. I would think you'd see the deck really sunk in that corner?
Either way, you could hire some concrete guys with special hydraulic equipment they could very carefully pump more mortar under that footer corner and lift the entire thing.
 
Here's a closer look. There are two cracks in the decking on that corner. One is to the left of the skimmer, and one is right about where that left palm plant is.

pool 061215 2.jpg

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gwegan said:
If you knock on the deck does it sound hollow? When you gently run your hand over the liner in the corner is it sold without give?

If it doesn't sound hollow and the wall feels solid then I would leave it alone.
Click to expand...

I will check this in a bit when I go out. Thanks!

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Ascew said:
I am just building a pool, and have never owned a pool before so can't speak to "fixing it". However, when the time comes, if you replace the liner with something that doesn't have a tile boarder the eye won't pick up on it nearly as much.
Click to expand...

That is a great idea! I'm sure most of my worry is due to my OCD-like tendency to worry. ;-) If I could fool myself into thinking it was more level, I'm sure I could just forget about it.
 
OK, here are some better photos. Sorry for sharing so many. ;-)

Wendy_Milligan_Sack's Library | Photobucket

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gwegan said:
If you knock on the deck does it sound hollow? When you gently run your hand over the liner in the corner is it sold without give?

If it doesn't sound hollow and the wall feels solid then I would leave it alone.
Click to expand...

No, it does not sound hollow, and the corner liner feels solid.
 
I would take some good pics of those cracks using a ruler to keep track of the size. I would save the pics and take new ones after big rains or about once a month just to see if they are getting bigger or changing.

I would NOT try to jack the pool up if it is not losing water.

Kim
 
I'm so happy! Turns out that the company that built our pool back in the 80s is still around (local, family-owned business), and I got some info. Apparently that corner has been that way for many, many years. So, it may not be perfect, but at least I know that it's not an emergency and I know who to go to when/if we want to do any reno on our beast. :punkrock:
 
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