New pool not level... Advice for reassembling

[s0m3oNe]

Hi everyone,

New owner of an 18 foot round resin/steel wall pool. I recently hired a landscaper to level and prep the ground, after which I assembled the pool.
Unfortunately once the pool was up and we started filling it, we noticed that it is out of level by about 3 inches.

The pool will need to be taken down, and the landscaper will be redoing the leveling. At this point, it is most likely that I'll be putting the pool back up next spring.

I'm looking for any advice/tips in taking down the pool and storing it for the winter. My main concern is with the liner. Currently the pool is sitting about half full, with no cut-outs made to the liner yet. I spoke with the company I purchased the pool from, and they say it shouldn't be a problem to fold up the liner and use it next spring. However I've read a lot of opposing views online.

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[phonedave]

How long was the liner in the pool, how full did the pool get, and how long has the liner been sitting with water in it.

As the liner sits in the sun, it looses the plasticizers in it, so it no longer stretches. The water keeps it semi pliable and stretched into place, but once you remove the water, the liner will shrink as it dries. Then if there are no plasticizers left in it, when you try to stretch it again, it rips.

 

[s0m3oNe]

Thanks for the response. The liner has been in the half-full pool for about a week and a half. I didn't want to continue filling it once I knew it'd have to be drained, so I left it as is until my landscaper was able to come back to confirm that it'll need to be taken down. Sounds like that may have been a mistake though...

Would there be any way to test or inspect the elasticity before attempting to reinstall it? I'm wondering if I'll need to have an extra liner on hand when I put the pool back up.

Another option would be for me to fill up the pool the rest of the way and cover it for the winter. I only worry about the stability of the pool with it being out of level. Or is the damage already done by leaving the pool half filled for this long?

 

[phonedave]

I'm no way an expert on liners or plastics. My understanding is, since you have left the pool half full, the liner has not shrunk, however it has lost some elasticity.

I have heard cases of people keeping it in a tote, and sealed, so it does not dry out.

I don't know. I would be leery of keeping a pool that is 3" out of level filled over the winter. I would also be leery about re-using a liner that was stored for that many months.

If it was stored for only a week, then maybe (and this is even iffy) but storing it for 4-5 months would not be worth the risk to me.

 

[Bperry]

The vinyl takes a long time to degrade so only be up for a couple weeks isn’t going to be a problem with taking it down and storing it.