Depending on the kind of pool you have, discovering a leak to late may mean costly repairs in the spring, or even a whole new swimming pool (above ground). I will keep this simple and describe the situation as it pertains to above-ground pools, and in-ground pools, while offer some advice and information.
Water is an important structural element to any pool. Without water, an in-ground gunite pool can pop out of the ground, or the walls on a vinyl lined pool can shift or cave in all together. Above ground pools with no water are especially susceptible to damage.
Don’t Use A Pool Cover If your Pool Is Leaking
You can see this pool on the left, what happened here is this, the water froze, then the water leaked out under the ice, then the heavy snow on the cover collapsed the ice, which tore the liner down the wall. This happens in all types of vinyl lined swimming pools that leak.
With in-ground pools like this one with a safety cover, that hooks onto anchors in the deck. Whether mesh or solid, they can not support the weight of snow, “without” water under the cover to support it. So if the water leaks down while the pool is closed, you will likely damage the cover. These covers cost a minimum of $900.00.
With above-ground pools, the cover will get heavy and may pull the walls down. It is better to just remove the cover, you may want to loosen the cable or carefully cut the cover, so the ice on the cover doesn’t collapse the wall.
Even with water bags and a tarp you will lose the tarp which is only worth a hundred or two. But again, if you have a vinyl liner pool, the water may leak down to a point where it does not support the ice cake, and it will eventually crash down into the pool. This almost always damages vinyl liners.
Above-Ground Pool Leak Concerns
Hopefully your above ground pool does not completely empty. Even a foot of water may be all that is needed to keep the walls from caving in. Without any water, even the wind can cave in your pool walls. Even if the walls don’t collapse, without any water, the liner will shrink and pull away from the walls. Even if you fix the leak, if your pool empties, you can expect to be replacing the liner at a minimum.
In-ground pool Leak Concerns
With cement or gunite pools, you probably don’t have to worry. It isn’t likely that it will pop out of the ground, possible, but not likely. Especially because most have a hydrostatic valve that relieves pressure from beneath the pool. Just be sure to remove the cover so it doesn’t get damaged.
With vinyl liner in-ground pools, as long as you can keep at least 6 inches of water on the shallow end of your pool, you probably won’t lose the liner. If your pool leaks down to a point where the water is off the floor, you should try to patch it and put some water back in it.
Many pools have a vermiculite (cement) pool floor or hopper. Without water in the pool, it can get damaged too. If it lifts, you will need to get the old vermiculite out and have the whole pool bottom re-done. This could set you back an additional $600.00 to $1500.00 when replacing your liner.
This is just another reason to try and get the pool patched and some water back in it. If ice forms and the water leaks out below the ice pack, you run the risk of the ice dropping and causing additional damage.
Whenever possible, repair the pool before closing it. If possible, repair the leak even if you have already closed the pool.
In the picture below, we found a leak right at the water line. Because glue does not adhere well in cold temps, we pumped the water down another 3 inches to do a dry patch and so we could heat the liner before patching. You can see in the pics that the liner has already begun to sag. We were able to get water back into cover the floor in the shallow end. So even if this customer can’t refill the pool without the liner tearing. The vermiculite pool floor should not need to be replaced. Also, we were able to get the cover off, saving this customer the likelihood of having to replace it.
I hope you found this article helpful, and it enables you to minimize damage and the cost of future repairs. Just remember that your in-ground pool should be roped off or something to keep anyone from falling in.
If you have any questions, please just ask us in the comments below.
