Pool buckling! What should i do right now?

[geempool]

Hello! We're in the Buffalo area and it's been way too much wind, cold and precipitation this winter. This is the pool's 2nd winter. It was winterized/drained below the inlets, it has a winter cover wired on, and an air pillow still (miraculously) in place under the cover. I'm guessing the pool got too full with rain and feets of snow, and then frozen and thawed and frozen, and of course the extra wind/blizzard may have contributed, there's been so much loss and destruction that this is truly minor. But are there any suggestions on what to do or NOT do about this? More deep cold snow wind is expected for several months. I'm tempted to try popping it back to normal, but it's just going to get drenched and frozen again...

 

[ajw22]

I would leave it as is and assess the damage in the spring.

 

[geempool]

Thank you!

 

[phonedave]

Do you have an air pillow in the pool ?

However that looks like something pulled it IN not pushed it OUT, strange.

 

[JamesW]

There was too much weight on the cover with no water support below and the cover is too small.

You might lose the pool as it might not be fixable.

I would probably remove the cover and fill the pool if you can to see if it will straighten out.

Can you plug the lines to fill the pool?

Draining the pool and then allowing the cover to get full of water and snow caused the tension in the cable to pull the wall support leg in.

Can you show what is on top of the cover?

How much weight was on the cover?

I am not very familiar with above ground pools and this is just my opinion.

Filling might cause the pool to burst at the seams since it is compromised.

You might have to drain, rebuild and replace the damaged parts to get a safe pool.

Note: Get some local professional advice before deciding what to do.

 

[Mdragger88]

I would remove the cover now if possible- otherwise, loosen the cable to remove the tension & prevent further damage (you can fish the cover out later). Doing this may help things pop back out & look less bleak. The water on top of the cover should always be fully supported by the water in the pool, with some slack in the cover, when it’s not this will happen.
It looks like you will at least need a new upright. If the wall is creased you may have more of an issue.
Let us know if that helps.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I say release and remove the cover, open up the skimmer so any additional precipitation can flow out (or unplug some returns if there's more than one) and leave it alone until the Spring. The cover clearly put so much inward force on the upright that it bent in. You don't want that to happen again. If precipitation fills it up, it can drain out the skimmer or return hole. As others have said, you may lose the pool if the uprights and wall can not be repaired/replaced and the liner could be compromised. So at this point you want to make it so that the pool can simply drain whatever excess precipitation falls into it.

 

[magiteck]

Another vote for releasing the cable tension. Cut the cable if you have to. Let the cover fall into the pool. Then we can see what you’re working with.

If the water is frozen, you can fish the cover out when the ice is melted.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Looking at the pictures more closely it appears that you lost one upright and perhaps 2 or 3 top caps and maybe parts of the track. If the liner survived unscathed, then it may just be a matter of draining the pool, and rebuilding that one section. The pool wall is mostly aesthetic and can be banged out straight’ish. The upright, cap and track are what holds the liner in place. If the liner is old, then draining the pool will likely cause the liner to be unusable but it may be salvageable too.

Best to find a reputable pool company that does AGP’s in your area and see if they can come out early in the spring to assess and give you a repair estimate.

 

[JamesW]

I would loosen the cable and let the cover fall in.

Filling might be a bad idea.

Maybe try to gently straighten the bent parts.

You will probably need to have someone replace the bad parts.

 

[wireform]

Obviously the cover did you in. As others have said, best is to cut everywhere it's attached to the walls and leave it till spring. This way you may save what is still undamaged. I think by it filling up as the winter progresses may actually be helping it from collapse but di nothing till spring, then assess. You probably will need to drain and replace the one support as the wall doesn't look bad ....

 

[phonedave]

For some reason I thought I had read that the cover was resting on the water. I went back and looked and I don't know why I thought that.

Looking at it again it is definitely pulled in by the weight of the cover and accumulated precipitation.

At this point, forget about maintaining the pool water, you need to concentrate on minimizing any further damage.

Cut and remove the cable from the cover and let it flop into the pool. Come spring you will have to drag it out. As others have said, the reason this happened is because the cover was suspended above the surface of the pool water, and when it was loaded with rain and snow, it pulled the walls in. Covers must rest on the water in the pool.

In the spring, see how bad it looks. You may need a new liner. You have a chance with that wall, from the pictures it does not look like a totally sharp crease, and it is higher up the wall (where pressure is less)

That support looks pretty toasted, and I myself would order a new one for the spring (so it can be replaced when you change the liner.

 

[cj133]

If you leave it, it's just going to get worse as more and more weight piles up on the cover.
Carefully release the cable and give a yank back on the walls evenly going around the pool. You might just get lucky.

But the cover needs to go now.

 

[thefloatqueen]

OP, did you ever remove the cover? That is the #1 priority, imo!!