Sand washed out

[Casey]

Correct. Unfortunately didn’t know that at the time of the build because only about 2 ft was exposed on the edge of the pool. I did a poor job of explaining this portion I apologize. It doesn’t run through the center and only about two ft is exposed on the edge of the pool. The options were to build up or did out the pipe to see where it goes. Obviously you know what the choice was made.

@kellyfair

If the pipe is a throw away, dig it out and go to solid ground. Right now, you're on built up ground and it's not stable. That pool weighs thousands of lbs and you can not bank on that liner seam holding back all that weight. I wouldn't.

 

[Pv2]

If the pipe is a throw away, dig it out and go to solid ground. Right now, you're on built up ground and it's not stable. That pool weighs thousands of lbs and you can not bank on that liner seam holding back all that weight. I wouldn't.

I would be nervous about the liner anywhere ballooning like that, not just the seam! sure intex skins can hold a lot of pressure, but regular liners are meant to be supported fully by ground, cove, or wall.

 

[bioguy]

Others have provided some good advice here.

We had a similar issue to you when installing our agp. We found a foundation of what was probably a small shed that was filled in when the installers dug. They moved the footprint of the pool away from there by a couple of feet so they could put it on "virgin" soil. Since it is on a slope, and we get a lot of water coming downhill on our site, I installed a french drain on the uphill site to catch the water and divert it around the pool. It was a lot of digging, but I feel happier knowing that the water isn't going under the pool and removing the base.

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon. 19,350 x 8.34 = 161,379 pounds of water. I wouldn't want that washing into my yard.

As far as pressure on the liner, if it's 4.5 feet deep, each inch of liner is only supporting a column of water that is 4.5 feet tall. Each 2.31 feet of water will create one pound per square inch (article). So that should be about 2 pounds per square inch. I don't know about how much a liner will hold, but I do know they are designed to have something behind them.

If it were my yard, I'd take out the pipe, have the installers dig down to virgin soil and add a french drain on the upper side of the pool.

 

[BT]

Make them fix it right you be stuck with a bad build once you accept it. You will be always wondering f it is compromised

Good luck

 

[CuckooChris]

Reading through this brings back some funny memories! Was a teenager when my dad told me before he went to work that he thought the pool had a leak. That afternoon with a few friends over to swim, I thought I'd put my goggles on and try and find the leak. I found a hole right in the seem at the coping and the sand was washing out behind it. Being a dumb kid, I stuck my finger in it! A few seconds later we were standing in a pool with no water

 

[BT]

I looked at those pictures on my phone yesterday and it did'nt look so bad. Seeing them on a full screen that looks bad. They need to start from scratch. As others said rip out that unused pipe if you are sure it is unused. if you neeed a raised base there has to be a retaining wall with a footer. Do it right you won't regret it. I can't believe a professional crew installed it that way.

 

[Nubs101]

They should be coming out Monday to replace the liner. I’m going to use that time to discuss with them either starting over or building the wall. I suspect my best course is the wall to provide structure. If they refuse and stay tough on it’s fine how it is what is my course of action ? Could I have them sign a waiver of liability or am I just out of luck ?

 

[zea3]

The installers should repair the faulty installation. A few days of rain should not have caused that much washout, unless it was an extraordinary rain even that rarely happens. If they refuse, document what what repairs they make with photos. If it washes out again demand the pool be taken down and installed correctly.
They will probably tell you a retaining wall is beyond normal installation and charge extra to build one. This is fair, however they should have known that the site needed a retaining wall once they could not dig down to level the site, and given you the option of building one at additional cost, which probably would have delayed installation.

 

[NowintersinAZ]

What about removing the pool and pouring a concrete slab. I know cost might be a consideration. First year I put about 3" of sand under one end of the pool to level it and it washed out. I took the pool down and scraped the high end to the low end and tamped it no more sand. Then added a tarp, 1 1/2" styrofoam board, and another tarp. I use a battery leaf blower to clean between each tarp and foam board, then over the last tarp before the liner went down. I would have poured a pad if the slope had been more.

In fact the instructions that came with the pool said no sand base, but I listened to a contractor friend who said sand would work fine. He is also the one who help scrape the ground to level it the second year.

So far the pool has been stable this year.

 

[Mdragger88]

What about removing the pool and pouring a concrete slab. I know cost might be a consideration. First year I put about 3" of sand under one end of the pool to level it and it washed out. I took the pool down and scraped the high end to the low end and tamped it no more sand. Then added a tarp, 1 1/2" styrofoam board, and another tarp. I use a battery leaf blower to clean between each tarp and foam board, then over the last tarp before the liner went down. I would have poured a pad if the slope had been more.

In fact the instructions that came with the pool said no sand base, but I listened to a contractor friend who said sand would work fine. He is also the one who help scrape the ground to level it the second year.

So far the pool has been stable this year.

Seasonal pools like intex are fine without sand or another base but regular above ground pools depend on the sand base & cove or foam base w/foam cove to put liner bottom higher than the bottom of the wall or else the liner will push out under the wall causing a catastrophic problem.