The weight of ice or snow are common culprits of pool collapse. Draining your pool too much. An older inground pool may not be able to withstand the weight of dirt against it once it is empty or if the water levels are too low. Groundwater can also push against the pool walls and cause it to collapse.
Pools with vinyl liners will last more than 20 years, as long as you replace your liner every 6-12 years. Concrete pools have exceptional longevity, but you need to resurface the concrete every 10 years or so. Fiberglass pools have the longest lifespans of any in-ground pool, often easily surpassing 30 years.
Much of this rain water penetrates into the ground, raising the inground water table, which creates a lot of hydrostatic pressure pushing up on the pool. After the water table raises enough, the pool may float or pop up out of the ground.
Concrete Pools
There's a misconception that due to the weight of concrete, these pools have less of a tendency to pop out of the ground. That would be incorrect, as concrete pools are just as at risk at any other inground pool.
You may typically use light pressure to bend the wall back into place if necessary; the pressure inside the pool may fix the wall automatically. Contact a professional pool repair service if the wall won't go back to its original shape. Repeated or excessive force may damage the wall permanently.
Major Issues with an Unlevel Pool
The pool will twist, buckle, or even collapse, causing property damage and injury to anyone in or around the pool.
A common cause of pool collapse is a build up of snow, rainwater, and ice on the pool's cover. The weight of the elements can be too heavy for the pool walls to contain, causing them to fracture and collapse.
It's not good to leave your pool empty when the weather gets cold. Leaving your pool filled with water can help prevent your vinyl or concrete foundation from being damaged.
Close the pool for winter – but don't drain it.
In winter, the water in your pool is still your friend. Especially when properly winterized, it helps to protect the pool liner, keep it clean and prevent unnecessary damage from debris, harsh weather and other factors.
The water in the pool helps hold the liner into place. If you drain your pool you can cause your vinyl pool liner to shrink and upon refilling, if the liner has lost its elasticity it can cause the liner to rip or tear. The liner can also become hard and brittle.
What Does It Mean When Your Pool Is “Popped” or Floating? A popped or floating pool is a swimming pool that has risen out of the ground. Popped pools are not an everyday happening, but when they take place, they may result in irreversible damage to your pool.
A concrete pool that “floats” – or pops out of the ground – is an extremely rare event. Most of them occur during major flooding events or hurricanes. 80% of the weight of a pool is water (8 lbs per gallon) and when full, an average inground pool can weigh 250,000 lbs!
A pool pop-up occurs when a pool “floats” out of the ground because of the hydrostatic pressure of ground water seeping into the pool excavation under the pool shell.
Both are guaranteed for 25 years but can last much longer. My 30-year-old steel walls looked great when we replaced the liner a few years ago, and I saw no signs of deterioration, no dents, and no rust. The shell of a concrete pool can be expected to last 50 years in most cases.
Resale Value
A pool can increase not only your social worth but also the value of your home. However, the increase is probably not as much as you think. According to HouseLogic, there's no real guarantee that you'll make your money back. In fact, adding a swimming pool may only increase your home's value by 7%.
A fiberglass pool is not prone to growing algae, which is one of the main reasons why this pool is easier to maintain. Anyone who is looking for a pool that doesn't require a lot of maintenance may want to consider going with a fiberglass pool.
This will vary depending upon several factors including: weather, if the pool is covered or not, bather load, and if it is heated or not. With pools that are covered, a good rule of thumb is that they should not have to be refilled more often than once every 2 weeks.
You may throw up your hands and decide the best course of action is to drain the pool and start over. In fact, draining a pool should be a last resort. Most in-ground pools will have to be drained and refilled at some point. But cleaning should not be the reason to do it.
The level at which pool skimmers function properly is between one third and about half way up the opening of the pool skimmer. If the water level is too high the debris floating next to the opening may pass by without being pulled into the skimmer.
Use a jackhammer, sledgehammer, or other tool to smash holes into the bottom of the pool. This will allow water to drain out of it in the future. Remove any top decking concrete walkways, coping tiles and any other concrete around the pool that you don't want anymore. Toss it into the pool over the holes you have made.
Many swimming pools are slightly out of level and under most circumstances it is not a significant problem. If a pool is out of level by a 1/4 to a 1/2 of an inch, most inspectors will not give it much thought, unless there are other issues.
A sinkhole can occur whether you have an inground pool or an above-ground pool. A pool that is allowed to leak into the foundation underneath can lead to a very large, very dangerous sinkhole. In fact, leaking water is the main cause of a sinkhole. Sinkholes start developing a long time before they actually appear.
Pool Collapse – An above ground pool collapse is often caused by the results of ice damage, but it can also happen when there is too much snow accumulated on top of the pool and the frame cannot handle the weight.
The water will press with more force on one section of the pool than the others. This uneven weight distribution can buckle, twist or even collapse the pool wall, resulting in property damage and injury to anyone in or around the pool when it fails.
It is impossible to get a pool with water in it perfectly level, so do the best that you can. Since you will be handling rough material, we recommend that you wear a pair of work gloves to avoid any injury to your hands. They will also give you a better grip.