Winter Damage To Above Ground Pool

by Jo Fo
(Quebec, Canada)

This winter has left my 27' above ground pool with the sides separating from the top rail. On the days the temperature is above 0 C there is no water between the wall and the ice inside the pool. I imagine there is a hole in the liner.

What can be done to save the bending sides until the snow melts and the liner can be replaced?



Hi Jo Fo. Here's an idea that might work. You could start by cutting the liner just below the top rail all the way around. This would allow you to straighten the sides out, and keep them from getting damaged further.

The only problem with that is if any water gets behind the liner it could decide to all come out at once causing some structural damage to the pool. To prevent this from happening you would need to drain the pool before the ice melts. Could you drill through the ice and use a garden hose to start a siphon?

Most of the time the solution is to just keep as much water in the pool as possible until things melt, and then make repairs. I'm just not sure that's the right answer for you pool. If the water lowers daily, bringing the wall down with it, I think I would relief the pressure by cutting the liner.

The good news is it should be easy to straighten the walls and pound them out flat before you install the new liner.