Pool Uprights Not Straight

by Matt
(NH)

We just finished installing a 24ft above ground pool. It says in our directions to fill with 12 inches of water and then make sure all the verticals are level. Some were off a bit, and when we tried to level them the walls began to buckle in! Any advice??



Hi Matt. I am going to work under the assumption that when you say you leveled the verticals you meant you made them straight up and down. Forcing the verticals, or uprights, to much in any direction could easily bow a sidewall.

When an above ground pool is set up perfectly level and perfectly round you should not be having a problem with some of the uprights being straight and others not. When the first upright is set straight, and all the top rails are set in the proper screw holes, they should all remain straight.

There is a way to straighten the uprights without bowing the sidewall. You could try resetting all the uprights using different holes in the top rails. Using the correct holes in not critical, keeping the uprights straight is.

Most above ground pools have top tails that will work on several different size pools. They do this by using different screw holes. You can make use of these different holes or you can even make new one it you need to.

There is one more trick that we use occasionally. When the bottom rails fit very loosely into the foot plates, it is easy for the footplates to get bumped and moved. If some of the uprights wind up at an angle, lightly tapping the footplate with a hammer will move them over and straighten the upright.

Another cause for pool walls to be buckling is a bottom rail or two that is to high. Scraping dirt out from under them with a screw driver will allow the wall to pop back into place.

It is also possible that you are talking about the overall pool level being a problem. Measure from the top rail down to the water level in several places around the pool. All your readings should be within an inch of each other. Fixing this type of leveling problem is described on this page.

Pool Out of Level