Slight Buckling at Bottom and Small Tears in Wall

We have a 15-20 yr old 24' above ground pool. Over the winter we experienced more ice/snow than usual. This spring our pool has buckled and has bowed out under the skimmer/return. Also, due to the age of the pool and some corrosion, the bottom also now has a couple small tears. I was contemplating installing a new liner this summer anyhow. Is this wall also repairable?


Hi. Yes, I would say repair the wall, install a new liner and you will probably get many more years of use out of you pool.

Once the pool was empty, and the old liner removed, I would hammer the wall flat. You do this with a rubber mallet on the inside and a piece of lumber on the outside. With younger walls this might be all it takes, but your wall is aging so I would give it some additional support.

Most hardware stores sell rolled metal in about twenty four inch widths. It does not have to be real thick, but the thicker the better. You would then pull the coving back and insert this metal into the existing bottom track. The top of the metal can then be duct taped along the top edge to prevent any sharp edges coming into contact with the liner.

By reinforcing the inside of your sidewall you should be able to get many more years of use out of your pool.

If the bottom of the wall is rusted in many areas around the pool it would probably be wise to reinforce the entire area. A normal 24' sidewall is about 77' long so get 80' of coil stock and reinforce the entire wall. That way you for sure know you are good to go.

Your other option might be to start looking in the paper or on Craigslist for a used pool, at an affordable price, with a few less years on it. There are many of them out there.