Boy oh boy! What blessing to find this site. I have had a devil of a time trying to move my pool from one spot to another. Anything that could go wrong has. Here is the sordid tale, along with my questions. Thanks so much, in advance for your help and feedback. I'm attaching pics.
Bless you for allowing questions and offering your expertise. I am at my wit's end with my pool!! I thank you in advance for your help, truly!
About 10 years ago I installed a 15 x 48 round, metal walled above ground pool. How I did this virtually by myself I do not know, but I did and as I recall it took no more than a few days! Due to illness our pool hasn't been opened for several years. In trying to find help to change the liner and filter, I encountered a gentleman who was willing to do it. He then suggested we move the pool to a sunnier spot, since back in the day I was a total newbie and I hadn't put it in an ideal location. It was under two trees. I was reluctant to move the pool since it had been standing for so many years with no problems. The walls were stable. But I let him talk me into it. His first visit to start the move was on June 28th, 2012.
It is now July 28th and the pool is STILL not installed! We found out upon digging up the pool, the wall had rusted below the ground and the track was all but destroyed. Thus I ended up having to unexpectedly purchase a brand new pool. I have an autistic nephew who has a few joys in life, swimming being one of them. My daughter and I taught him to swim in the old pool. I am just so determined to do this for him, but it has cost so much for parts, tools, pool, etc., not to mention we've been working on this thing like a part time job since June!
The "helpful gentleman" soon petered out, as the job was more than he anticipated. I tried to warn him, but he repeatedly insisted "it won't be that bad to move it." In hindsight, I think he embellished his pool building skills quite a bit and I was a dummy to allow the move. It's hot as Hades here in Kansas right now, so he soon tired of all the work out in the heat everyday. When he abandoned the project, I still had equipment I'd purchased, a new pool, sand, new filter, covers, liner etc., so I was in too deep to simply abandon the project. The new ground had also been cleared and leveled. But I also know everything happens for a reason, so whose to say that if we had only replaced and not moved, the wall wouldn't have broken anyway. So I try to believe this is/was a blessing in disguise. It's been very disheartening though and hard to keep plugging away at it, but we have been troopers!
My daughter and I have spent every free day we've had working on this pool. I don't remember it being so difficult. I feel as though we were jinxed somehow! I'm sorry to bend your ear, but I'm giving you all this background to explain why I'm wanting to try the solution I'm asking about today. On the old pool, since I was a single mother doing the whole thing on my own, I cleared the ground by hand. It was "mostly" level, but when the old pool was done, there was about a gap, but no more than a foot difference, in the sides. Near the skimmer side it was more shallow than the opposite side with the ladder. This caused the water to spill over the side when it was full, but other than that, it stood for many years with no other problems. Luckily the seam side of the wall was on the shallow, skimmer side, so any additional pressure was distributed along a straight, solid wall.
This time, the ground is mostly level in my opinion. I made sure the stone slabs under each connector are level. There may be a slight difference similar to what I noted with the old pool's overall depth, but not quite as bad. This is not the current problem (and we've had problem after problem trying to get this puppy up and going!). We've got the wall up, cove built and we were ready to hang the liner last Monday. Here's where the newest snag begins.
We measured the pool, as it appears round to the naked eye. The dimensions are- on three sides it is about 14 x 11, on one side it measures 15 x 5. We are measuring from side to side (like drawing two straight lines through a circle), going through the middle of the pool. The liner has about a one foot gap on one side making it impossible to stretch the liner to fit the pool without caving part of the wall in. We tried the installation on a day when it was well over 100 degrees, so that isn't the problem. I also found the original invoice for the liner (I bought it last year, but due to illness was not able to take on this project, so I saved it for now), so I know I have the correct size- 15 x 48/52. But after two attempts to hang the liner, one side is on and appears relaxed/loose, but the other side won't fit at all. I know we could move the track in, but somehow that doesn't seem as though it would make the liner fit, then there is the issue of would it cause the wall to need to overlap. SO, my solution is to buy a 16 by 48/52 liner and roll up the excess, leaving the pool shape/dimensions as they are. That one foot of difference should cover any overage in diameter, and wouldn't be that big of a deal with regards to the overhang.
My question is, do you foresee great problems with doing this, if all the vertical, top and bottom stabilizer rails are firmly in place? The old pool was a bit off and had no problems. I would like to know if you feel this slight discrepancy would cause problems later down the line? I'm tapped out on money and sanity
. I did have a person (a pool installer willing to do it as a side job) yesterday offer to finish it for $250. But, I have issue with that because to me, all the hard work is already done! Plus I've spent all I can trying to get this thing right and just don't have it. My nephew checks on our progress everyday. I feel so bad that it is not done yet.
So is this liner idea worth a try? If it is, have you had good luck with using Bestbuypoolsupply.com? They have the cheapest price. I've used InTheSwim in the past, with no problems. I got this liner from Doheny's who of course would not do anything since I'd had the liner a year. I understand that, but it is possible that this thing just doesn't fit. At any rate, a 16 x 48/52 seems like it would be the easiest solution, and the least aggravating. But with as hellacious as this experience has been, I don't want to do it, if the pool will eventually collapse or something!
I appreciate any advice you can give. Time is running out, I hope the child will get to dip in a finished pool at least once before school starts again!
Again, thank you in advance for your help! I've attached pictures to give you an idea of what we're working with.
Pictures:
1. The pool as it looks now
2. The gap that won't stretch to fit the rest of the pool
3. The other side which does seem to fit
Bless you for allowing questions and offering your expertise. I am at my wit's end with my pool!! I thank you in advance for your help, truly!
About 10 years ago I installed a 15 x 48 round, metal walled above ground pool. How I did this virtually by myself I do not know, but I did and as I recall it took no more than a few days! Due to illness our pool hasn't been opened for several years. In trying to find help to change the liner and filter, I encountered a gentleman who was willing to do it. He then suggested we move the pool to a sunnier spot, since back in the day I was a total newbie and I hadn't put it in an ideal location. It was under two trees. I was reluctant to move the pool since it had been standing for so many years with no problems. The walls were stable. But I let him talk me into it. His first visit to start the move was on June 28th, 2012.
It is now July 28th and the pool is STILL not installed! We found out upon digging up the pool, the wall had rusted below the ground and the track was all but destroyed. Thus I ended up having to unexpectedly purchase a brand new pool. I have an autistic nephew who has a few joys in life, swimming being one of them. My daughter and I taught him to swim in the old pool. I am just so determined to do this for him, but it has cost so much for parts, tools, pool, etc., not to mention we've been working on this thing like a part time job since June!
The "helpful gentleman" soon petered out, as the job was more than he anticipated. I tried to warn him, but he repeatedly insisted "it won't be that bad to move it." In hindsight, I think he embellished his pool building skills quite a bit and I was a dummy to allow the move. It's hot as Hades here in Kansas right now, so he soon tired of all the work out in the heat everyday. When he abandoned the project, I still had equipment I'd purchased, a new pool, sand, new filter, covers, liner etc., so I was in too deep to simply abandon the project. The new ground had also been cleared and leveled. But I also know everything happens for a reason, so whose to say that if we had only replaced and not moved, the wall wouldn't have broken anyway. So I try to believe this is/was a blessing in disguise. It's been very disheartening though and hard to keep plugging away at it, but we have been troopers!
My daughter and I have spent every free day we've had working on this pool. I don't remember it being so difficult. I feel as though we were jinxed somehow! I'm sorry to bend your ear, but I'm giving you all this background to explain why I'm wanting to try the solution I'm asking about today. On the old pool, since I was a single mother doing the whole thing on my own, I cleared the ground by hand. It was "mostly" level, but when the old pool was done, there was about a gap, but no more than a foot difference, in the sides. Near the skimmer side it was more shallow than the opposite side with the ladder. This caused the water to spill over the side when it was full, but other than that, it stood for many years with no other problems. Luckily the seam side of the wall was on the shallow, skimmer side, so any additional pressure was distributed along a straight, solid wall.
This time, the ground is mostly level in my opinion. I made sure the stone slabs under each connector are level. There may be a slight difference similar to what I noted with the old pool's overall depth, but not quite as bad. This is not the current problem (and we've had problem after problem trying to get this puppy up and going!). We've got the wall up, cove built and we were ready to hang the liner last Monday. Here's where the newest snag begins.
We measured the pool, as it appears round to the naked eye. The dimensions are- on three sides it is about 14 x 11, on one side it measures 15 x 5. We are measuring from side to side (like drawing two straight lines through a circle), going through the middle of the pool. The liner has about a one foot gap on one side making it impossible to stretch the liner to fit the pool without caving part of the wall in. We tried the installation on a day when it was well over 100 degrees, so that isn't the problem. I also found the original invoice for the liner (I bought it last year, but due to illness was not able to take on this project, so I saved it for now), so I know I have the correct size- 15 x 48/52. But after two attempts to hang the liner, one side is on and appears relaxed/loose, but the other side won't fit at all. I know we could move the track in, but somehow that doesn't seem as though it would make the liner fit, then there is the issue of would it cause the wall to need to overlap. SO, my solution is to buy a 16 by 48/52 liner and roll up the excess, leaving the pool shape/dimensions as they are. That one foot of difference should cover any overage in diameter, and wouldn't be that big of a deal with regards to the overhang.
My question is, do you foresee great problems with doing this, if all the vertical, top and bottom stabilizer rails are firmly in place? The old pool was a bit off and had no problems. I would like to know if you feel this slight discrepancy would cause problems later down the line? I'm tapped out on money and sanity
. I did have a person (a pool installer willing to do it as a side job) yesterday offer to finish it for $250. But, I have issue with that because to me, all the hard work is already done! Plus I've spent all I can trying to get this thing right and just don't have it. My nephew checks on our progress everyday. I feel so bad that it is not done yet.So is this liner idea worth a try? If it is, have you had good luck with using Bestbuypoolsupply.com? They have the cheapest price. I've used InTheSwim in the past, with no problems. I got this liner from Doheny's who of course would not do anything since I'd had the liner a year. I understand that, but it is possible that this thing just doesn't fit. At any rate, a 16 x 48/52 seems like it would be the easiest solution, and the least aggravating. But with as hellacious as this experience has been, I don't want to do it, if the pool will eventually collapse or something!
I appreciate any advice you can give. Time is running out, I hope the child will get to dip in a finished pool at least once before school starts again!
Again, thank you in advance for your help! I've attached pictures to give you an idea of what we're working with.
Pictures:
1. The pool as it looks now
2. The gap that won't stretch to fit the rest of the pool
3. The other side which does seem to fit
