Replacing a Section of Rusted Pool Wall Questions

[deathcharge]

Hello,

The pool is 9 years old and has split at the very bottom about 1/4 up the wall; just below the skimmer. The liner is still intact holding water.

The plan is to entirely cut out the bad section of wall and bolt in a new piece of wall I got from my pool supplier. This is last ditch effort to save the pool.

The problem is the new piece of wall is 52" and my existing wall is 48" Once I trim that wall height down to 48" I'm going to lose one of the factory rolled edges of the wall.
I'm debating if I should place the cut side down at the bottom inside the track along the ground or put it at that top and cover the sharp edge with multiple layers of duct tape to protect the liner when hanging? (overlap type)

I guess the main question is; where would you think placing the remaining rolled edge the most important, top or bottom?

 

[jblizzle]

Honestly, the idea of bolting a piece of wall to the pool just seems like a bad idea to me all around. If it is rusted out and already splitting, I would think the entire thing should be replaced before the catastrophic demise which could happen at any moment ... we just recently have had a few posts showing the damage from the pool wall giving way.

 

[deathcharge]

The attempt may be for nothing but if I could get a few more years out of the pool then it's worth it to me. The new section of pool wall didn't cost me a dime so I'd like to try.

This can be done; there is a store online selling entire kits. Wall Repair Kit – Hopkins Above Ground Pools

His video is here if anyone is interested :

My situation is just less than ideal than the video above because of the mismatched wall height.

 

[Bosley]

In order to patch the wall you need to drain and pull the liner back. Chances are the liner will need to be replaced. If you plan on investing this much labor to patch and hope it holds for a couple years why not spend the extra and just install a new wall? This way your good to go and have no worries for yrs to come. I just got my pool up and running and already researched the cost of a replacement wall, just for curiosity sake. In the grand scheme of things, its not that expensive. Personally I would hate to do all that work now to patch it then have to do it again in the near future. Just my 2 cents.

 

[jblizzle]

That raises a good point.
If the liner is 9 years old, once you drain the water, the liner will shrink and then when you go to fill it back up it will likely tear.

 

[deathcharge]

I thought about shrinkage. From what I read, drain down to about 1 foot the night before after sun has gone down then start very early in the morning; draining the rest to beat the sun from hitting the old liner.

Even if it does tear, I rather replace a $300 liner than $1800 for a wall and liner I was quoted.

I was just looking for thoughts on the repair itself, and regards to placement of the rolled edge, top or bottom... not if it's a good idea or not. Rolling the dice I know.

 

[zea3]

I would put the cut edge on the bottom, with several layers of duct tape, and try to cut it as straight as possible. Since the split is under the skimmer you will need to replace the liner. It will be difficult to match up the liner and skimmer opening when you try to re-install the liner.