Pool Wall Buckled

by Mark
(Smithville, ON)

We moved into our new home and found the pool wall was starting to buckle outwards in a couple of spots. I presume this is from someone kicking off the interior pool side as the rest of the pool is in mint condition.

I'm taking a 'wait and see' approach as I really don't want to empty the pool to fix it.

Given the strength of the other supports, should I be concerned about this pool collapsing - it is close to the house...

Thanks!



Hi Mark. A buckle usually implies some sort of crease in the wall, where dents from kicking off are just that, dents. They are round in shape, slightly larger than a heel. I have seen these on occasion, and no, they are not a cause for concern.

Creases are usually caused by the liner pulling down hard on the top of the pool wall, or from the bottom rail being too high. The bottom rail could have been installed that way or the ground freezing over the winter caused the ground to rise. Creases near the top can be caused by a pool being drained, the liner shrinks, and when the pool is refilled the liner pulls on the top of the wall. Ice in a pool can have the same effect. It pushes hard against the side wall and if the water level lowers by just a little bit, the wall is pulled down.

Most buckles, dents or creases do not cause the wall to collapse, but you should keep an eye on them. Damage near the top is not a problem as there is not much water pressure up there. From the midway point to the bottom of the pool is where the pressure is the greatest.

Without photos it's impossible to say how save the pool is but most of the time you will be fine until the next liner change, when you can flatten it out.

Pool Wall Buckle

by Cathy
(Texas)

We just installed a 24 foot round Mighty Sun Rushmore pool. There is a dent at one of the uprights. Is there a way to fix this?

Hi Cathy. The dent appears to be there because that post is a little to high. I would drain about half the water out of the pool and very carefully lower the post. When I do this I use a spade or a long crew driver and remove dirt from under the footplate and the bottom rails on both sides. As the upright lowers the wall should pop back into shape by its self.

The block makes it a little more difficult but it needs to be lowered. That will allow the upright to go into it's proper position.

Pool Wall Bow or Buckle

by Steve
(North Carolina)

Whichever you want to call it? This is a 3 year old pool that we purchased used and are reinstalling. We have leveled the blocks the post are on with a transit and leveled all the sand under the liner. We have made sure the circle measures the right distance from post to post to ensure roundness.

We purchased a new liner and upon putting it in and filling with water you can see from the picture what the walls are looking like. What causes this and how do we fix it. Keep in mind the pool is filling and the vacuum is on. Would it be safe to keep filling the pool.



Hi Steve. Most of the time the water pushes the wall into place as the pool is filling. When this does not happen it probably means the ground under the rail, or footplate, is a little to high. I have had to use a screwdriver and scrape some dirt out from under them on occasion to get the buckle out of a sidewall.