Ants undermined the cove

[brewtus]

Hey all. It's been a while since I've been here, which is good-from the aspect I've had no pool problems.
But now..... ants have undermined the cove in two spots.
I noticed the ants early last year and put down some Terro Ant Powder to get rid of them. I could feel the pockets then, but thought I'll leave well enough alone.

It seems over the last several months or so, the pockets have turned into gulleys, although the ants haven't returned.
In the worst of the two locations, the cove is completely gone, 12 inches long and dips almost 2 inches below the pool floor. There seems to be a small rock jutting up under the liner in the deepest area.
The other area isn't as bad, but will still need to be addressed.
I'd post pics, but the wife would frown on taking the camera underwater. :lol:

How can this be fixed? Will I have to drain the pool and remove the liner?
In which case, I'll have a Happy Bottom or other type of pad/liner installed along with a foam cove.

I have yet to get in contact with the installer, I wanted to come here first to see what my options are.

 

[Casey]

The only way to fix it is to drain the pool and pull the liner back. You may be able to save the liner and just dump the sand back there but if you go with the floor pad, you'll most likely have to replace the liner.

Good luck and let us know what your plan of attack will be.

 

[brewtus]

Update;

I talked to the pool store where I purchased the pool from.
The installer is no longer in business. Which is a bummer, because he had his own tanker that the pool could have been pumped into, saving the water, chemicals etc.

The owner said that removing and resetting the old liner is a risky deal due to the possiblity of tearing when we refill the pool. Which I knew could be the case.
He said if the stone is close enough to the wall, that maybe I could dig out under the area, and remove the stone that way. Then pack fresh sand into the cavity.
This might be the way I go, since the stone is only about 3 inches from the edge.

Or , I just let it be, and hope to get many more years out of it..... LOL, not likely with my luck.

So, tomorrow, I put on some gloves, and get dirty.

 

[MikeInTN]

I wouldn't do that, if I were you. The cove is there to keep the liner from bulging out under the edge of the wall (even though in your case it sounds like it's partially gone in spots). You dig out under the edge of the wall, and I have a feeling you're going to end up with a bigger problem then you have now.