How to Fix Rust Holes

[bjagd02]

Hello, I am a very new home/pool owner. The pool that came with the house seems to be in pretty good shape, but there are 3 or 4 rust spots on the walls that have rusted the whole way through. None are bigger than the size of a penny. I have an example of one on this post. There also seems to be rust where water ran down the side of the walls. I will take a picture and post. The rails that hold the liner in place seem to be in good shape, no rust. I'm having trouble finding a good example of how to repair these holes. Is there a sticky I'm not seeing, or a place that has a good step-by-step process? The pool is not opened yet, so fixing this rust will be a part of the opening process.

Another question I have is, since I have well/septic, if I need to completely drain the pool, is it safe to drain into my septic or should I use another method?

Thanks!!

 

[bjagd02]

Here are some more pictures. The one rust spot is larger but the hole itself is smaller than the rust spot. I would assume however that the entire rust area would need removed. The picture with the rust running down the wall is weird because there are no rust holes, just small holes where it appears to be a template where you would cut the wall out. The third picture is of already fixed holes. The fix to the right seemed to be half-assed, imo, so I think I might need to re-do it.

 

[laceygirl]

Rust is cancer to a pool, and it will continue to die a slow death :-( Is panel replacement an option?

 

[Casey]

You can sand down the walls (surface rust) and coat with rustoleum to prevent further rusting. It looks like the skimmer box may need replacing or at least the gasket. The gasket is probably the main reason why your wall around the skimmer looks like that. As far as the holes in the wall, you can clean them up surgically by carefully cutting away the rust and using sheet metal and pop rivots to repair the walls where it's needed and then triple tape the inside of the pool wall and new steel sheets with duct tape to protect the liner. You may as well as purchase a new liner too because you'll have to more than likely drain the pool. Liners can get dry and brittle once they are exposed to air and drained off. Good luck and let us know what you'll do!