Pool Kit - Seeking Advice

[Duke77]

Hi,

We purchased an 18x44 in-ground steel wall pool kit back in July. The hired contractor for the excavation did not do a good job on the hopper. The hopper walls have pretty much no slope. (See picture) A few Mississippi rain showers later and I am stuck with no ground left to install the side steel walls. In other words, the hole is a little bit more than 19' wide where the hopper is located.

I would be grateful for anyone that could provide advice on:

1 - How do I go about installing the walls?
2 - What can I do to build-up the hopper walls?

Thank you!

 

[kimkats]

Oh Duke! I have a big sad for you! I don't know the answers to your question but am thinking it might be in your best interest to see if you can find a pool installer in your area to help you out with this mess. Now someone might come along with some great ideas so here is hoping they do!!!

 

[jimmythegreek]

I'll say it again. An excavator can be good but digging a pool is an art. Took me a second trip inside pool w a mini excavator to fix mine and I have lots of hours in the seat.
Get ur depth right and pour the hopper floor in concrete wider than it needs to be by almost a foot around. While concrete is wet throw a little rebar in the ends angled up the way hopper walls will go. Run lines in a grid and figure out exactly where walls will end up and wake string lines. Make forms to pour concrete and create the hopper walls and bench u will sit panels on. Will probably have to do this 3 or 4 times in sections. Can leave it a little low and sides shallow and the collar will fix panels w shims and vermiculite will fix hopper. Floor can stay concrete. If u don't have virgin soil concrete on virgin soil is best next thing. This is tons of work when it happens. Theres a post on here w pics if a guy who did ut so some searching

 

[Duke77]

Thank you jimmythegreek, this makes a lot of sense. Will vermiculite bond to the concrete hopper walls without any special treatment? Also, this is the post you were referring too? Help. Plastics soil overdig

Again thank you for the advice.

 

[jimmythegreek]

yeah thats it. you dont really need to dig tubes to set the panels on but it can help with figuring out where the walls will end up. The other thing you can do is get an additional panel for the pool and make it a foot or two wider whatever you need to get back on virgin ground. This will be ALOT easier and cheaper in long run. to fix this is ALOT of work I cant stress that enough. So much so even if you have the liner the thousand bucks wasted will be a fraction of the concrete cost and labor. Steel panels are cheap and so are braces, very easy to do and the way to go unless you are REALLY diy and have the tools/experience to go forward

 

[SBall]

Agree with Jimmy. Id get out there with four stakes and string and put the 18x44...then see if you can either move it or shift it any particular way or ways to at least cut down on what you have to fix. Going to 20x44 and moving the whole thing a foot towards that panel with the light niche cutout could be a very easy solution, and the time/money you spend on trying to fix the current issues would be way more than just buying a new liner as jimmy pointed out.

 

[mclifford]

I'm interested to see the outcome of this project. Posting a comment so I can follow. Big fan of the DIY pools.