mole ruts under above ground pool

Liner issues and problems installing or
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leman8

mole ruts under above ground pool

Postby leman8 » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 10:40

I had a mole that dug tunnels under my above ground pool and the water pressure destroyed the tunnels, leaving ruts inside the pool. Is there any way to put something inside the ruts to make them safe other than removing the liner and filling the ruts with sand?


Backglass
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Re: mole ruts under above ground pool

Postby Backglass » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 14:46

leman8 wrote:Is there any way to put something inside the ruts to make them safe other than removing the liner and filling the ruts with sand?


First, what makes you think a mole burrowed under your pool? I am not a mole expert but a full pool weighs many TONS. I wouldn't think that a mole could actually burrow out tunnels under it without being crushed. Plus moles are looking for food, grubs, etc. There aren't any grubs under your pool. Unless the ruts were already there before you filled the pool.

But I digress....you have two choices.
  • Drain, remove liner, re-sand and level the bottom.
  • Live with it.
There isn't any way to fix a vinyl lined pool bottom from above. :(
Guest

mole ruts -- had em and this is what I did

Postby Guest » Sat 24 May, 2008 19:26

I live in the country and had the same problem... some from moles and others from tunneling toads --- Here is what I did and it worked fine --- I drained the pool all the way -- unhooked the top rails for 2 sections (in the center of the pool -- ( opposite side from the skimmer )-- marked the top of the liner with a sharpie and unhooked the liner at these sections -- from inside the pool I was able to pull the liner low enough to get between the liner and the metal side and crawl under the liner along the edge of the pool to the problem spots. I cut the insulation mat and filled the ruts with lime sand and packed it in. I then put the mat back and climbed back out --- took a few times and I went slow to make sure I got all the ruts filled --- also the air was bad under there and it was very hot --- saftey first --- pushed the liner back against the walls and got it as close to perfect as I could with no water in it.
I put 1 to 2 inches of water in the pool and used a soft push broom to push the liner back against the sides and make sure I didn't have any wrinkles in it on the bottom and hooked the liner back into position and replaced the 2 top rails.
Then I filled it 6" at a time checking for wrinkles as I went -- once it got roughly 16" in it I was home free.
I told by the pool place I was going to do this they said that this probably wouldn't..... but they also said the liner might fail from the stress of the deeep mole ruts .... so it was a gamble either way.
I'm sure the moles will rut it again over the next few years but when I need to replace the liner I'll pour a 2" concrete floor in it.

hope this helps someone with the same problem ---
llflips

mole ruts under above ground pool

Postby llflips » Sun 19 May, 2013 17:47

I was glad to see that I'm not the only one with ankle twisters in their pool. I uncovered my pool this weekend only to find that they had tunneled even more, so bad in fact that it pulled my liner out of its bead in 2 places. The pool supply stores try to tell you have to replace the liner because the pool chemicals make it brittle and it will crack. my pool is only 4 years old this summer. And I hate spending the money on a new liner until I know I have mole control !!! I was just out there looking at it wondering if I could do the exact same thing you said you did. I have a 33 x 52 round so the water and chemicals are costly enough. Was this a project you were able to complete in a weekend ? Any advise helpful at this point. Lori
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mole ruts under above ground pool

Postby CGPoolman » Sun 19 May, 2013 18:19

All good advice in this thread. Follow Pool user's procedure and you shouldn't have any problems fixing your ruts and wrinkles. It will take longer to drain/refill the pool than it will to fix the pool bottom.

Best advice I can offer is don't do this by yourself - have a partner outside the pool to holler at you and make sure you are OK under there. Like Pool user said - it is pretty darn hot under that liner, and the air can be pretty rank! If you have a shopvac, drop the vacuum hose behind the liner and have your partner blow some air in there every few minutes.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a patch kit with you when you go under the liner. You can check for any pinholes while you're there. They are pretty easy to spot from underneath.

Best of luck!

-CG
Aterix

mole ruts under above ground pool

Postby Aterix » Wed 02 Oct, 2013 13:54

As stated elsewhere, glad I am not the only one having the mole problem. I was actually told as a couple have stated above, that moles would not go under the pool because of the weight- unfortunately my mole didn't read the instructions. On a happy note, I will say that with the help of a few mole traps I no longer appear to have issues with new trails in the yard or under the pool; so next spring I will be going through the process of draining the pool, filling the tunnels and smoothing the sand.
trukinfuzzy

mole ruts under above ground pool

Postby trukinfuzzy » Mon 10 Feb, 2014 17:47

Well the moles have not got under my pool liner and caused the liner to stretch and develop holes in the liner but once they started they have tore up my back yard. Im putting in a new happy pad and liner in this year and im hoping i can eliminate the moles.

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