Sunken deep end options (if any) pool Reno?

[new2pools16]

My area has limited pool companies and contractors. I have a pool that has sunk several inches on one side so the water line is high in the deep end and low in the shallow end.

Are there repairs ppl know about or other experienced contractors do like excavate and lift or dig out the deep end more so it's deeper to offset the slope it now has?

The only recommendation I've got here is to just redo the liner and use a borderless pattern but if it continues to sink the water will rise too high or even now it's obvious. Or is there nothing to do and you just build a new pool with piles so it doesn't sink again ?

I never thought having a pool I would have to start over from scratch just maintain it and repair it vs build a brand new pool for example. Now I think the weight is also likely to make the problem worse if it's all flowing to the deep end on a slope.

 

[Newdude]

How old is the pool ? Did you install it or inherit it after moving ?

Steel, cement or resin walls ?

 

[ajw22]

How old is the pool?

What is the slope of the deck around the pool?

Digging out the deep end will not change the difference in water level between the high side and low side. And it will not stabilize the low end from dropping more over time.

What is the land conditions and n soil where the pool is?

Show us pictures of your situation and the pool area.

 

[new2pools16]

Inherited it, I guess thinking behind digging the deep end down was so the water would sit lower giving it the illusion of a better water line matching the shallow end but it wouldn't change the conditions of it being lower by several inches. So by lowering the water in the deep end it would look better then it does now,being at the liner installation bead. So to me that would help address the water being too high and then visually you wouldn't notice it unless you got a laser level of looked at it from a certain angle far back. Lower it a half foot the water line would look even but the pool would still be sunk and sloped down ya. If you look at it now from center outside you clearly see 6 inches from the top in shallow and like 1 inch from the top in deep so it's noticeable this and a no border liner would help visually I think vs a deep end that's almost overflowing ? Unless ppl can dig and jack it up like a house.

It's clay soil and I can take pictures in summer. Surrounded by concrete decking so while I can do mud jacking to level the pool decking back up you'd probably see the gap and foam then fixing that...it's about 3-6 inch drop from shallow to deep end.

Vinyl liner, steel walls, concrete collar, finished floor not sand so whatever that mixture is it's not a thick concrete slab floor or anything.

There's repairs near the pool jet in the deep end and then the old line to the floor drain shows wash out so I think the pool leaked a lot in two spots likely washing away a lot of soil maybe so maybe that's why it sunk or that plus clay shrinkage and weight all over time it just dropped several inches.

 

[ajw22]

Lowering the deep end will not level the water line. The water line is always level.

The high side wall sunk into the ground creating the slope. You should see it if you put a level on the deck along the pool.

It should also show in coping cracks or open joints.

The pool walls need to be adjusted, not the water depth.

 

[new2pools16]

Can you adjust pool walls once installed ? And if so how ?

I guess I don't understand your statement or maybe you don't understand what I'm suggesting. It won't be level, it can't be unless you raise the walls / pool and level the structure.

What will happen is that visually and if you measure the water line it would be let's say 6 inches from the top in both shallow and deep end after excavating and lowering the deep end but you keep the same amount of water. So when you check a level it's still off and sloping down, but visually it looks cohesive and the deep end isn't at the risk of overflowing.

It's like when a house sinks people usually leave it and stop it from sinking more and then just address the repercussions inside with different strategies and it's more cost effective.

So it's not a fix to level the pool it's a fix to address the visual issue and the risk of overflowing. So you wouldn't notice unless you get a level or stand far back looking at the landscape.

So yes you're correct in that digging down can't fix the slope or fact it's un level. Last I looked into a house raising it was a huge factor more expensive then just underpinning it and leveling the floor on each level so it remained Sunk yes but it was addressed by fixing floor slopes and building up sub floors so the concept is similar here it's more cost effective to dig out more, lower the water level in the deep end, not risk overflowing, and looking at it the pool gives the illusion of the water line being the same because there's more vertical space to fill in the deep end now so it lowers. Same idea with a bath tub tilt it down 6 inch slope but make the deep end deeper and water line drops but it's still at a slope.

 

[ajw22]

Lowering the deep end will not keep the same amount of water.

You can lower the water level of the pool now. Whatever you lower the deep end will also lower the shallow end.

Where is your skimmer(s) located? You cannot lower the water level below the skimmer.

Adjusting the pool walls is major surgery and depends how the walls were anchored. I assume you do not know your pool wall material.

 

[ajw22]

. Same idea with a bath tub tilt it down 6 inch slope but make the deep end deeper and water line drops but it's still at a slope.

deep end deeper but shallow end is less deep.

 

[new2pools16]

I think just steel walls in those old traditional steel pool wall kits with vinyl liner.

I guess i'd update and add that if just because of gravity it will always have a uneven water line one side to the other (which makes sense) then it's a matter of digging out the whole pool so the entire water line drops inches so it doesn't sit too high in the deep end? Then it's off but at least not overflowing but one being 6 inches and one 12 inches from the top wouldn't be as bad as 1 and 6 inches from the top...

And ya the issue is to get skimmer high and jets it's too high and close to the top of the deep end.

 

[ajw22]

You can lower the pool water level now to get the deep end 6 from the top and shallow 12 from the top.

Digging out the deep end is unnecessary.

 

[new2pools16]

But then if the water line isn't high enough up on the skimmer and jets ? It's at risk to evaporate and run the pump dry and / or hear the jets above the water line so optimal water level is the 6 inch from the top shallow and 1 inch from the top deep end.

 

[ajw22]

But then if the water line isn't high enough up on the skimmer and jets ?

Yes and that is an issue digging down the deep end will not fix.

It's at risk to evaporate and run the pump dry and / or hear the jets above the water line so optimal water level is the 6 inch from the top shallow and 1 inch from the top deep end.

Correct.

Changing depths will not change skimmer and return placement.

That is why I want to see pictures of your situation to see how much slack you have to make adjustments.

 

[new2pools16]

Ok I will take pics after thaw so snow isn't in the way. Sketching it out, ya it makes sense in that the shallow end would have to be dug out or deep end widened so maybe a partial rebuild / design adjustment would help was my ultimate thinking if raising and leveling isn't possible or too expensive.

At this point rebuilding from scratch is also cost prohibitive and costs here are a magnitude higher due to everything costing more up north, labor too, then fraction of contractors and companies in this space and only half a season so if there's no fix I'm hesitant to spend the high cost of redoing the liner only for it to potentially overflow and sink a bit more getting another 15 years for a liner would be a huge gamble and the cost is triple or quadruple what it is in the US to just do a liner.

 

[ajw22]

Let’s say the deep end wall settled 6 inches over 12 years. That is half an inch a year.

How long have you been in the house?

I would want to establish a baseline of elevation and slope of the walls of the pool and measure it every 6 months to see if the walls are continuing to shift.

Digging only will be a short term fix if the walls continue to settle.

 

[new2pools16]

I think the major issue was the two leaks that have since been fixed. The previous owners had one and we inherited one and repaired it (the old floor drain). We've seen some settling but not much since being here for a handful of years. We actually didn't realize the pool until after buying in winter it wasn't disclosed and nothing we could have done, here it's a liability and since covid only then became popular most of the time buyer beware or scares ppl off mostly because of the cost here.

I hope the settling is done and now aside from rain there's nothing adding to the ground water. The shallow end of the pool hadn't moved at all so it's only on the one side.

But I can measure it do I just measure the bottom of the pool wall to something I know isn't moving outside on my house ? Then keep checking in it?

I didn't realize that jacking up a pool would be such a huge cost and also have no options in my area ideally we'd level it and back fill. And if I could at least make a motivation and lower the level in the deep end to something lower even if it was sloped or off still that's an improvement since a hard rain and it's right up to overflow point, that would ruin the liner too getting water behind it so a huge cost liability as well if a liner only lasts a couple years due to overflow.

 

[Bill1974]

My neighbor had this happen to their pool, issue was from leaks. His was fixed by installing repair wall panels in the sunken area to make it level with the rest of the pool. New liner track and liner was installed, concrete was repoured behind the sunken area. Then decking and coping was redone in the sunken section. Don't let leaks linger.

Really not that bad of a job of fix. Also fixed the typical light niche leaks at the same time. If you have pavers or brick around your pool pretty easy to make it look like nothing was done.