Above Ground Pool Wall Repair

by Samantha
(Depauw, In)

We took down a 10 year old 21x41 swimming pool 4 years ago. I want to put it back up but am concerned about the wall. There is some rust and I was gong to sand down the wall, spray it with Rustoliem and possible cut out sections and add steel in those spots.

Now my question is this, we are amateur when it comes to installing and this will be the first oval pool. Should we treat the wall and hope for the best or toss it?

Hi Samantha

If there are no spots in the wall that are rusted through, like where you can see daylight, then I would say you are fine to use it. Sanding and painting is a great idea and will surely prolong the life of the pool.

An easy way to do an above ground pool wall repair of this type is to assemble the pool first. With the pool up, and all the top rails in place to keep the wall from blowing down, it's easy to sand and paint.

If your wall has rust holes all the way through it is still possible to use, just a little bit more risky. There are ways to tape sheet metal to the inside allowing for many more years of use.

I talk more about wall repair on this page.

Pool Wall Repair

Above Ground Pool Wall Repair

by Mrs. Raymond Foley
(Fairmont,WV)

We have a 20 year old above ground pool. The walls are put up in sections, last Sept. two of the sections buckled. We would like to try to fix if possible.

It was sold to us by Imperial Industries of Allison Park, Pa. We have had a couple of people look at it but we can't seem to find the answer. It's a 24 by 4. We have replaced the liner a couple of times but other than that it has been a very good pool. We would like to try to fix it if possible.

Hi

You should not have a problem straightening and reusing the existing wall panels, even if you have to reinforce the panels with a flat metal plate taped to the inside.

I have taken above ground pool side walls that have been buried in dirt from a pool caving in, and straightened them. I unroll the wall on concrete, using my feet and a hammer, I pound the wall flat. I then roll it back up and reuse it.

When your pool is installed correctly the pressure on a wall should all be going out. Unlevel ground is the usual cause of wall buckling. This can be from the ground freezing or just improper installation. If the bottom rails have been raised slightly the wall could buckle, usually lowering the rail allows the wall to be pushed back into shape.

Liner shrinkage or an improperly installed liner could pull down on the wall and have the same effect. Resetting the liner at the top will usually fix this problem. You might also need to replace the liner, depending on how bad the shrinkage is. This situation is very common for a pool that has been emptied and refilled. If there is enough liner to pull over the top, or fit into a bead receiver, without pulling down on the wall you should be OK, if not, a new liner is needed.

Repairing a section of wall is easy, just make sure you also find, and fix, the reason for the wall to have buckled.

Above Ground Pool Dented Wall

Hi, we had a pretty bad winter and a pipe broke so I lost all the water in my pool. So the ice created a pressure on the wall and the liner. The liner is totally broken but and I got some dent on the bottom of the wall. So I would like to know if it's possible to fix it or I need to replace the wall? thanks

Hi

There should be no reason to replace the wall. You will need to flatten it out and make sure it is firmly seated back into the bottom rails, but I do not see any damage that cannot be pushed out.

You may need a rubber mallet on one side and a piece of lumber on the other to get all the dents out, but it can be done.

Aluminum Wall Pitting

by Eileen
(Pa)

When replacing our above ground pool liner 8 years ago, the installers pointed out numerous pinhole sized pitted areas. They installed wall foam to protect the new liner.

When opening the pool this year we noticed water dripping out of some of these pinholes. There are about 10 places on the skimmer outlet side of the pool, but not all right under the skimmer. Where can the water be coming from? If the liner is leaking wouldn't the foam wall prevent it from coming through? Or is the foam porous?

Thanks!

Hi Eileen

I can't give you a for sure answer but I can tell you some things I would check.

Start with the skimmer and make sure it is not leaking. Most of the time a leaky skimmer will drip down the outside of the pool, but not always. If the skimmer has not been touched in 8 years you may just need to tighten the screws.

If the gasket looks bad you may need to replace it. Examine the return the same way. Tighten it and if needed replace the gaskets.

When you are sure the skimmer and return are not leaking start inspecting the liner. I would suspect the liner last because most liner holes develop in the cove area or across the bottom. The water is not going to work its way up to leak out of the holes in the wall. You would just be looking for something from the level of the wall pinholes and up.

Base Of Pool Has Folded On Itself

by SJ
(Vaudreuil, Quebec)

Hi. I have a 12 year old 27 foot above ground pool. The liner in the pool is six years old

This past winter seems to have been a bit more harsh that usual with all the freezing and thawing that went on this January.

On one quarter of the pool the base has folded down on itself. Now that part of the pool is roughly an inch below the top support ring.

I have a bit of room to play with. I am wondering if I should lower the water to get behind the liner and hammer out as much of the fold as possible to allow the wall and liner to be able to reach the support ring?

The rest of the pool is fine. No issues, everything is in place and solid

Thoughts?

Any help and or advice would be greatly appreciated. I really do not want to have to budget for a new pool this year if I don't have to.

Hi SJ

That sounds like your best option. You need to access the wall from both side to flatten it.

This usually happens during a freeze, when the ground raises. Fixing it is not easy, but doable, and necessary.

Best of luck and I hope it works out.

Hole Under Skimmer

by Bob Schuman
(Long Island, NY)

Hi, I am hoping to get some useful information. Over the winter my skimmer broke and ripped the pool wall and liner in a straight down pattern and buckled the metal below.

I plan to buy some hot dipped galvanized sheet metal and repair the wall, then install a new liner. My real question is I have a 24 X 15 Oval pool, what is the gauge of the metal they use for the steel wall?

I plan to blind rivet the piece in place with a washer back.

Thanks, Bob

Hi Bob

I don't know the exact thickness of the wall material but it is really not that important. If you plan to install the skimmer back into the original place, you would want to get the thickest material possible from a place like Home Depot.

Another idea would be to move the skimmer to an undamaged section of side wall. A new opening could be made and the original section could just be patched over. The metal used for just patching would not need to be as thick as the wall and it would not need to be riveted. Duct tape would hold it in place just fine, and once the pool is full it would not go anywhere.

Another consideration would be how far down into the pool your patch will be. The farther down the wall it is, the thicker and bigger it should be. There is not much water pressure up around the skimmer area. You get down into the lower half of the wall and you need to be very serious about wall repairs.

Tear in Bottom of Pool wall

by Courtney
(New Jersey)

I had a pool sitting for 2 years and now finally putting it up. It had a decent amount of rust but I buffed it off and put Rust-Oleum over top to protect it. The only problem now is the pool wall has a tear about an inch long on the bottom, can that be repaired??

Hi Courtney

It can be repaired. The best way would be to rivet a piece of flat stock metal to the inside of the wall over that area.

Pool Already Filled

Hi, I have a 10 year old. 18ft. round pool. The liner is only 4 years. The problem is, I already filled the pool, have it filtering, and clean, and I just noticed a 3 inch rust split from the bottom. I really didn't want to drain, the pool if I don't have to, but I've been in a pool that burst open once. Would it help any if I put flex tape over it on the outside of the wall?

Hi

I would drain and make repairs from the inside of the wall.

Damaged wall pool by snow and ice - Canada

by Corina
(Quebec, Quebec Canada)

Hello, My pool suffered some top damages because of the ice and snow. I found all pieces to replace the broken ones and my only concern is the wall.

Two parts of the walls are bent on the up part, the rest of the pool looks good, I attached some pictures.

Can the wall be fixed and still be safe to use the pool?

Thank you, Corina

Hi Corina

You should have no problem straightening the wall out. Drain some water out of the pool, flatten the wall and reset the liner. It is nothing to be overly concerned about.