Doughboy Pool Disassembly

by Joel
(Illinois)

Pool Seam

Pool Seam

I am trying to remove an old Doughboy pool from my mother in laws house to reinstall at my house. I have run into a problem where the pool wall is joined.

It is held together by a C shaped strip of metal and I have no idea how to remove it. If anyone has any tips on helping me remove this, I am more than thankful. Please see picture of seam.

Hi Joel

The wall bar on a Doughboy can take some doing to get off, but the wall will reinstall much easier if you take the time to remove it.

I leave the wall standing up. Laying it down to hammer the bar can leed to creases and dents.

I spray WD40 on both sides of the wall, all over the place. I then use a hammer and gently tap the bar back and forth to try and loosen it a bit.

I then take a large set of vice grips and lock them onto the bar near the top. Be sure there is a little gap between the ends of the grips and the wall. If not, when the bar starts to move you can tear the wall.

With the grips firmly in place I start hitting them from underneath with a hammer. The grips will pop off and need to be reset often, this is normal. As the bar begins to move I continue to lower the grips keeping them at about the same height as the bar makes it's way up.

Sooner or later the bar come off and you can roll the wall up without creasing it.

Comments for Doughboy Pool Disassembly

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May 28, 2012
 Removal
by: Anonymous

You sir, or mam.......are the man! Did just what you said with the vise grips and some liquid wrench, and that thing came right off. Thank you so much for the tip, now I can get the pool assembled at my house.

Thanks!

May 30, 2012
 +1!
by: Anonymous

Great advice- worked like a charm for me as well! (I was afraid I was going to have to go the sawzall route...)
Nov 08, 2012
 thanks
by: Jeramiah Meade

Thanks, will try now.
Jun 17, 2013
 Help
by: Anonymous

What happens if u went the sawzaw route? Can the wall be put back together?

Hi

The wall can be spliced. A 4' section of old sidewall does a good job for this.

Jul 02, 2014
 Fabulous Tip!!!!!!!!
by: Anonymous

Took me 10 mins on a pool that has been set up for 25 years!! Dont be shy with the WD40, use lots and let it sit for a minute before. I also used the claw end of the hammer at the bottom while someone pulls at the top. and use a flat screw driver to pry the c-clamp apart a hair. Other than that follow his directions to the T. Thank you Shade Builder!!
Feb 23, 2017
 Great tip
by: Anonymous

worked like a charm for me as well! thank you for the valuable tip
Jun 09, 2017
 Putting up use doughboy pool
by: Anonymous

We try to install used doughboy pool but we run into problem,when we connect the c clamp connector it doesn't move so we hammer it & every time we pound the other side of the wall go up & other go down. Now we can't take it apart. Can we just cut it & secure it with screws?

Hi

You could try lots of WD-40 and gentle taps with the hammer. The bends on both ends of the wall need to be smooth. The wall ends need to meet perfectly at the bottom.

To use nuts and bolts you would need to add another section of wall.

When we see this start to happen we use a pair of pliers on the side going down lowest and pull it up while the bar gets hammered down. This keeps the wall ends even at the top.

Jun 30, 2019
 It worked!!
by: Tim

This was the only resource I could find on how to remove the metal wall bar from a doughboy metal wall above ground pool. I applied rust penetrating wd40, let it sit, and then hammered on the vice grips for about 5 mins before it started to move, but eventually (after about 20-30 mins) I was able to get the bar off. Thank you!!!
May 28, 2020
 Doughboy Pool Disassembly
by: Brian

Saw this post from many years ago and have tried this technique three separate times without success. I'm inclined to simply take my circular saw with a metal blade, recessed until only 1/8" of the blade is exposed, and open up the "side bar joint" and peel it away from the pool wall ends. But I need to confirm that a replacement piece is available. The local dealer has not responded and I cannot find a number for Doughboy Pools HQ in Arizona.

Hi

B&L Pools in Phoenix should be able to order one for you.

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