Unlevel Pool Danger

by lj
(ashburn, ga)

A friend gave us a 24ft. above ground pool (one piece metal wall) which we installed ourselves (crazy).

We have a couple of issues. (1) The pool is not level. One side is about 5-6 inches lower than the other side. We thought this would be okay since the filter and return are on the deeper side. Another friend then told us that we couldn't leave it this way because if a wave went over the side everything and everyone in the pool could be swept out. Is this true? We have two small children and are now afraid to take them in.

(2) We (stupidly) had way too much sand brought in. So we just spread it out and set the pool down in it. Which we now know is a no-no. There is a lot of sand packed around the outside and everything looks stable enough but can we leave it this way or can we remove the sand from around the outside and replace it with dirt? Or do we need to just drain it and start all over?

I really fear the answer to this because it took a lot of back breaking work to get it done. Most importantly, though we want it to be safe for our kids. We really don't care about damage to liner because we plan on buying a new one next year. We would really appreciate your time in answering these questions. Thanks, lj



Hi Lj. I would suggest draining the pool and doing some leveling on it. Five inches off level can be tolerated if the pool is set on firm ground with a lot of firm dirt packed around the pool to keep it from shifting or collapsing.

The issue I have with what you described is that the pool is set on a base of sand. It is setting on very unstable ground with nothing to speak of on the outside to help hold it together and keep it from shifting.

I think I would at least drain the pool enough to pull the liner back from the edges just enough to allow you to do some leveling under the rails and uprights. I would make sure you have patio blocks under all the uprights, this is very important if you pool is set on a sand base.

Hopefully by doing this you can bring the pool to at least within a couple of inches of level. I would then make sure you had dirt packed around the outside of the pool. That should help to hold the sand in place.

Pulling the liner back without completely draining the pool is described on this page.

Pool Out of Level