Pool Install - Didn't go well.... a little/a lot of help needed

[philderbrand]

Buddies and myself installed my pool yesterday. Terrible weather (50s and windy) but did it anyway. The liner did not go on straight nor did we vacuum behind in (one of pool buddies who did his own said no need). I noticed air between vinyl and pool wall. As I added water, it got worse. Quickly started pulling the straight sides in. Pool is sitting on 4" blocks all around. Can't tell but they are buried 3" with 1" above ground for foam board. We leveled first block and leveled all the way around (always leveling with previous 2 blocks using a long level). In the end, we were about 1/2" off.

What are my options? I was thinking of draining the water and resetting the liner. I know I need to get seem higher up the cove. Could this be the problem or is it something else?

 

[hwy17]

I'm not super clear on the block arrangement but I think you have a problem. The blocks are for leveling purposes only and should not provide structural support to the pool wall. The pool wall should sit with as close to perfectly even pressure all the way around on what it's sitting on, that being the blocks and the dirt or whatever else is in between them. The blocks bearing no more weight or pressure than the area in between them.

Aside from as a convenient point to check leveling, their only other purpose is to provide a firmer surface for the outer part of the bottom plates, to support pressure coming down on them through the upright from weight on the top rail preventing the uprights from sagging.

I put my blocks level with the dirt, assembled the pool wall, and then laid foam inside the pool, raising the floor of the liner within the pool by 1" above the bottom of the wall.

What to Use for Leveling an Above Ground Pool - INYOPools.com - DIY Resources

Leveling an Above Ground Pool

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How to Fix an Off-Level Above Ground Pool: Expert Tips

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Regarding a 1/2" off level, that's not bad and should certainly be structurally acceptable provided the wall is evenly supported.

Regarding the inward inflection, a bit of that is normal and expected during filling of an oval pool, but I don't know how much of yours is the result of pavers not level with ground.

If the pavers do protrude above the ground in the way that I am imagining the pool wall is likely to buckle over the pavers at some point during filling or after. Unless I'm imagining it wrong I do think the pool needs to come down and the pavers levelled with the ground.

 

[philderbrand]

Update. Drained pool (had some liner shrinkage) and waited until the temp hit 70. Pulled liner out, actually centered it, had outside seems go up a couple of inches on the foam coves, and added water back in. Looks great. I had 2 sections opposite each other where the liner appeared to be uneven and the water weight seemed to be pulling my walls in. Water is about feet deep right now and everything is looking good.