Dented wall

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M

MersPool

0
May 16, 2017
24
Taylorsville, Ky
Our pool came with the house we bought and this is our second pool season and I don't have a lot of information on the manufacturer or model. Previous owner said they thought it was one from Watson's here in KY.

Our railing hasn't been secure (see picture) since we've owned the house. A lot of the pieces are seperate from eachother and a few of the holes for the screws are broken. Previous owner said it wasn't an issue but I'm starting to doubt that bit of information.

When we were opening the pool about a month ago, I noticed that one of the walls on the backside of the pool (our yard is sloped, back of the pool is mostly above ground) is dented in and seperating from the risers. I have a feeling this is not good.

How should we go about fixing this and preventing future issues? Our pool is a 33' monster so I'm hoping we don't have to drain it but I'm afraid that's what it will have to come down to.

Thanks for the help!
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Looks like you may be out of the track which is putting pressure on your top rails and making them shift.
 
I could walk around my 33' round pool and find the same gaps from the upright and pool wall. Some are bigger than others but none are very big nor have any of them changed since we had the pool put up. I made a note of all of them just to be on the safe side.

Now onto the tops-Lets do some looking:

-you can and should take the plastic "caps" off. You might have to unscrew them on the underside.

-Once you get them off you can see what is what with them. You might need to loosen and adjust the the top rails as needed to square them up. If the screw is broken you will need to use an "ezeout" to get it out and go from there.

Kim:kim:
 
kimkats said:
I could walk around my 33' round pool and find the same gaps from the upright and pool wall. Some are bigger than others but none are very big nor have any of them changed since we had the pool put up. I made a note of all of them just to be on the safe side.

Now onto the tops-Lets do some looking:

-you can and should take the plastic "caps" off. You might have to unscrew them on the underside.

-Once you get them off you can see what is what with them. You might need to loosen and adjust the the top rails as needed to square them up. If the screw is broken you will need to use an "ezeout" to get it out and go from there.

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...
Your comment about the gaps is comforting.

I'll try to take the caps off Friday or Saturday morning as I'm sure getting it all squared off is not a one person job (maybe it is?)

I think all of the screws are OK, the piece I'm saying is broken it the actual hole on the top rail pieces themselves. I'm thinking that if the rails were not set right to begin with, the pressure probably caused them to pull apart and break since they're resin not metal. Would I need to buy a whole new top rail? Replace the sections that are broken? Or is there a way to fix them?
 
If you want to replace them I have the place for you: Swimming Pool Supplies - Pool Parts - INYOPools.com They are AWESOME for stuff like this! It may take some picture taking with a measuring tape to find the right one if you don't know the kind of pool but they can/will find you a replacement piece if you end up needing it.

Fixing them......I am thinking something like JBweld would work. When you get to the parts that are broken take and share a pic so we can really see what you are dealing with and we will go from there.

Kim:kim:
 
You have the same top rail and caps as my pool. The caps are secured with 2 screws on the underside by the uprights and they lift up and in toward the water to come off. Take a look at the ends of the top rails and you'll notice that the top hole is just there to access the screws. The screws actually tighten down to the bottom layer of rail. Some rails may actually be broken or cracked in which case you may want to consider replacing the sections that are broken or if possible, use a washer to capture more material when tightened.

As for the wall gaps, I'm going to agree with Casey that it looks like the bottom of the wall has come out of the track. This will also cause the pool to become out of round which will cause the top rails to want to pop out of place like they are. And since they are resin I'm going to guess that the screws have popped through the holes in the rails allowing them to move and shift as the pools shape is no longer a true circle.

IF it is the case that the wall has come out of the bottom track and the wall is out of round then you may not be able to get the top rails back into place properly and look right until the water is removed and the wall is put back into the track and reshaped.
 
A little update, looking for suggestions on how to proceed please.

We have not had time to take apart the top rail yet. The pool has been significantly warmer for the last week and I was finally able to hop in during a pool party. Upon further inspection I can see where there is a decent sized area (about 13" long along the wall, about 10" wide into the pool and 4" deep) that has washed out from under the pool on the section next to the dent and directly in front of our pump/filter platform? This leads me to believe that the wall is certainly out of track. How should we proceed? Should we take the time to look under the caps for the top rail or is it going to be pointless if we know that it's probably out of track and won't go back into a perfect circle? We'll be moving the platform to prevent future issues, how far from the pool should it be? Also as far as I can tell, none of the vertical supports are set on concrete or pavers but directly on the ground, is this an issue? Sorry for all the questions, but I feel like we're in over our heads.
 
The uprights should have been installed on concrete blocks. They may be covered by dirt, but they should be there. Use a little hand trowel to scrape the dirt at the base of the upright and see if it is buried a couple of inches deep. If they are not installed on blocks I highly recommend you take down the pool and set it up properly. The location of your equipment pad is not the problem.
 
Well that's not the news I was hoping for. I was afraid of having to empty it and reset it so I'll just go cry in a corner (joking, kind of haha). Should we hire somebody to do this or realistically is it something we could tackle ourselves or would that be crazy? Is it going to cost a fortune? There are currently a lot of divots in the sand under the pool would adding foam under the liner prevent this in the future?

Edited to add:
I'm sure this is irrelevant at this point but I did figure out that it's an Artesian Sandy Point pool. After I found the installation manual, it states that you should not backfill against the pool wall. The previous owners set the pool into a slope in our yard which buried about half the pool at least 1/3 of the way up the wall. This just seems to get better and better...
 

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That is a big piece of the puzzle right there. I am guessing over time there has been some movement/push from that side.

You can do it on your own. It will be a LOT of work....what do you have more of? Wallet or sweat? Which do you want to "spend"?

Here is what I THINK needs to be done:

-take down pool all of the way :( knowing you will not be able to reuse the liner :(:( We have had several people that just had to try and none of them were able to. You can try if you like.

-either cut back the wall of dirt that was on the pool OR move the pool out from it about a foot. What you want is to be able to get this corrugated pipe (with holes in it) between the dirt and wall of the pool. Shop ADS 4-in x 100-ft Corrugated Perforated Pipe at Lowes.com I would also get the one with the "sock" over it to help keep the dirt out. You will want to run the end to a place where the water can run out and not cause any problem with erosion over time.

-rocks-you can and should put rocks over the pipe. I might even put some edging beside the pool to help keep the rocks and any dirt away from the wall.

It is not going to be fun but needs to be done. You risk losing the whole pool completely if you allow it to stay like it is.
 
So far I have not seen one that was taken all of the way out being able to be reused :( I have been here since 2012. Several have tired but.....I am sorry but at least you know it up front. You are more than welcome to try! You might be the first!!!

Kim:kim:
 
Liners shrink when they dry out. They can also get brittle if they are older. Some folks have been able to use newer liners, but you will have to patch and recut the skimmer and return openings.
 
zea3 said:
The uprights should have been installed on concrete blocks. They may be covered by dirt, but they should be there. Use a little hand trowel to scrape the dirt at the base of the upright and see if it is buried a couple of inches deep. If they are not installed on blocks I highly recommend you take down the pool and set it up properly. The location of your equipment pad is not the problem.
Click to expand...
I have since discovered that the uprights have been installed on concrete blocks... Do I still need to take it all the way down to fix it?
 
IF you have some good friends that can listen and follow directions you might be able to do this:

-dig out the dirt that is by the pool wall. That will show you if the wall is pushed out of the track on that side.

-can you see where the wall in out of the track? Like from start to finish?

-IF you can see where the wall is out of track and can get to it with your friends you MIGHT be able to drain the water out of the pool and work the wall back into the track. It will take some push/pull/lift, etc. You will have to use GREAT care to not move or mess up the cove (sand or foam) that is along the inside bottom where the wall meets the bottom. It keeps the liner from pushing out of the pool.

You might want to watch a few videos on how liners are installed so you can see what I mean.

Kim:kim:
 
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