Above Ground Pool Wall Buckled and Broke

by Frank
(Rochester, NY)

Hello, Can I fix this by replacing that section of wall? The mounting strip is behind the left support.

I'm wondering if I could tie in on the right one. If so do you know where I can find that strip, can't seem to find one online. Thanks.

Hi Frank

Side walls for above ground pools are sold as a whole roll, meaning you would have to replace the entire wall. Here are your options, in my opinion.

My first choice would be to drain the water down to well below the skimmer. Remove the skimmer, return, top rails and metal rods in that area. Have some cloths pins handy to hold the liner to the wall when needed.

With one person holding the liner back out of the way another person or two can use a hammer and a piece of wood and flatten the wall. It should all go back into it's original shape without too much problem. A piece of flat metal will have to be riveted over the torn part but with so little pressure up that high it should hold just fine. With that done you will want to line up the skimmer opening and reattach the skimmer. This can be the tricky part because the liner may shrink a little. Hold the liner in place with cloths pins exactly where it should be over the skimmer opening. If it does not line up properly you can either make use of the sun to warm the liner and make it stretch easier or drain a little more water out of the pool. Once the pool is back together it should fill up and be good to go.

Replacing just a section of wall requires cutting the wall and drilling a new set of holes to bolt the new section to. This can

be done if you do it right. Since ordering an entire wall is probably going to be cost prohibitive you could look for cheap used pools in your area. Many people give them away for free if you dismantle and haul away. Any size pool would work, all you need is four foot of side wall. You might also come up with lots of other pool accessories you could use now or in the future. I've brought home brand new three hundred dollar pool cleaners before, just because they were no longer needed.

When you are ready to cut the wall plan it so your two rows of nuts and bolts can be hid behind an upright. The wall can be deeply scored with a razor knife and bent back and forth to make a clean cut. Since you can't fold over and crimp the wall like the factory does, two rows of nuts and bolts works fine. If you plan to use the same liner all the water should not be taken out of the pool. Take out just enough so the liner can be pulled back out of the way and held there while the work is being done. If too much water is taken out the liner will probably become unusable. Be sure your skimmer and return openings are exactly where they were before, or a new liner will for sure be needed.

Some pools use a stainless steel service panel. This is about six foot of stainless steel wall with a skimmer and return opening cut into it. If you could locate and order one of these, and install it like I described above, that would work also.

Hopefully you will get it all back together and be able to enjoy the pool all summer. Next winter block the skimmer off with a skimmer guard and you may prevent this from happening again.