Liner has tears

[Ace7211]

Just bought a home with a pool. The liner is 20 years old and has tears above the water. There is no water leaks (Tears below water level) that I can tell right now. Can I open the pool? Should I replace the liner right away?

If tears above the water is only visual then I'd like to open the pool and replace the liner next year.

 

[zea3]

You can try and patch the tears and see if it gets you through this season. Keep in mind the liner may be very brittle and further deteriorate as you try to patch it or use the pool. If you can afford to replace it now that would probably be the best option. Can you post a picture of the damaged liner?

 

[Ace7211]

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You can barely see the tears in the far side of the pool. However, the worst tear is in the corner that is not shown. I'll take and post a better picture tonight or tomorrow.

You might also be able to make out a dead rabbit.... The water is now a cloudy teal. I am waiting for my test kit so I can SLAM. I tried SLAM'ing this past weekend, but was having troubles priming the pump and it lost the prime over night, twice.

 

[Ace7211]

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Here is a pic of the corner tear.

 

[techguy]

That liner looks dead. I would plan on replacing it as soon as practical. I would replace the skimmer frame/faceplate also.

 

[Mmonaco]

My brother had this problem on his 8 year old liner. he caulked the bad part to the wall so it was mostly waterproof and it got him through the season. it lasted several months. his liner wasn't nearly as old though.

 

[Ace7211]

What are the consequences of using the pool and it tears below the water level? I assume it just becomes unusable until it gets replaced..... Are there other ramifications I'm not thinking about?

 

[yeggim]

What are the consequences of using the pool and it tears below the water level? I assume it just becomes unusable until it gets replaced..... Are there other ramifications I'm not thinking about?

Depends. More than likely you'll have to address issues under the liner be it sand or Poolkrete, tear or no tear. A large tear could erode a lot of either, more so if just sand and dirt. Personally I'd start shopping now. Might be able to get a good price on the install when the pool builders slow down as the swim season winds to a close. If the weather cooperates a September install would allow you to get a jump on next season.

Grab one of the recommended test kits now or this May, attend the fall semester of Pool School and you'll have a backyard oasis come spring.

 

[Ace7211]

Great stuff. So, there must be a thread on what mil and design people like best for liners somewhere.... I'll see if I can't find myself.

Also, is it possible to buy a liner and have a separate company install as opposed to paying the local pool builder for the liner and install. I'm guessing the cost saving on the liner would be offset by higher charge of install. I don't have $$$ to do all right now, but if I can buy a liner in the 'offseason' maybe I can get a better deal and save money for an install in the spring.

Lastly, I'm in MN. I don't expect that pool builders are constantly busy here... but I could be wrong.

 

[Ace7211]

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So, I'm making progress. I have Slammed and finally seem to be getting somewhere. The water is still cloudy though. I assume I just need to keep up with the SLAM process...

Test results from this morning (pool store):

FC - 19.35
CC - 0.00
pH - 7.8
TA - 111
CH - 294
CYA - 46

My K2006 test gave me 25 FC...

I will be adding enough liquid Chloring to bring up to 20 ppm per the CYA/Chlorine chart. This should be 10oz....

Anything else? I'm vacuuming, brushing, and backwashing daily.

 

[yeggim]

Backwashing on a daily basis can be counterproductive if not needed. After backwashing, note your clean pressure. Only backwash when your gauge reads 20 to 25% over that clean pressure. You'll trap much finer particles as the filter gets dirty.