cantilever edge in ground vinyl liner pool overflow with rain

[camueller]

Hi everyone. I went to bed last night thinking "hmm, my pool could user some water, i think I'll put the hose in it...oh wait, no there might be rain tonight, I'll wait till tomorrow."

Woke up this morning and the pool was full to the brim from the rain. I've read all over the place that overflowing in a vinyl liner pool is not going to cause liner issues. Worst case is it'll wash out some dirt from around your pool. But it seems to me like all of these statements are based on a vinyl liner pool having a lip that goes up over the surrounding deck. My pool is not that way. there is a gap between the liner track and the cantilever concrete deck poured around it.

So, I'm wondering, does everything I've read about not worrying about it overflowing apply to me and my cantilever deck?

I'm worried because the previous owner told me the wrinkles that existed in the pool when we bought the house were due to the pool overflowing at one point. Now that I know more about how the pool was built (pressure treated pine walls, sand floor, and only one skimmer/return jet) I'm kind of thinking those liner wrinkles are due to the uneven surface the wood walls provide. Is that more likely the cause?

 

[camueller]

anybody? I looked at the pool closely when I got in this afternoon, and don't notice any more wrinkles than before. So I guess no damage was done. I'm not even sure the water rose beyond the liner track. But I don't know how cautious I need to be.

 

[pooldv]

This is all speculation.
Is there any sealer or caulk between pool and deck. Could you?
When it does overflow does the water rise to the top of the deck and overflow?
When rain water fills above the pool top does it settle fairly quickly back to the top of the pool, like the water is draining between the pool and deck?

I would be inclined to look in the skimmer and see about installing an overflow.

 

[camueller]

Good points. I guess if it happens in the future I'll have to pay attention to whether or not the water level would rise to above the concrete deck and spill out over the top of it. I kind of think I happened to catch it as it got to that top of the liner. I panicked because it was still running and the skimmer was completely covered, and the pump sounded a little weird.

My pool was built as cheaply as possible by the previous owner. Not that he got a good deal, mind you, but he (and I) certainly got a cheaply built pool. I knew nothing about vinyl liner pools when I bought the house, and now I wish I had. The walls are made of pressure treated 2x6's stacked on top of each other from what I understand. The floor is made of just sand, which has dented in a lot of spots. The walls have foam nailed to them, and the nails are backing out and pressing into the liner.

All that to say that no, there is no caulking or anything to seal between the deck and the track. I'm half tempted to put some now, but I'm a little afraid of how crappy that may look. I've always been terrible at caulking.